The Best Sourdough Discard Walnut Chocolate Chip Cookies

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The best sourdough walnut chocolate chip cookies are perfect if you’re looking for a cozy treat that uses up that sourdough discard sitting in your fridge. These sourdough walnut chocolate chip cookies are soft in the middle, crisp around the edges, and full of warm, nutty goodness. The sourdough adds a subtle tang that takes the classic chocolate chip cookie to a whole new level.

Whether you’re baking for your family, sharing with neighbors, or just need something sweet with your coffee, this recipe is a keeper.

What Are The Benefits in Using Sourdough Discard in Recipes?

Great question! Using sourdough discard in recipes isn’t just a smart way to cut waste—it actually brings some real benefits to your baking and cooking. Here’s why so many home bakers (and homesteaders) love working it into their recipes:

1. Reduces Food Waste

Let’s start with the obvious—it saves waste. Instead of tossing out the unfed portion of your starter during feedings, you can use it to make everything from pancakes to cookies, biscuits, crackers, and more.

2. Adds Great Flavor

Sourdough discard brings a mild tangy flavor that can make sweet or savory recipes more interesting. It adds depth without overpowering, especially in things like muffins, waffles, and quick breads.

3. Improves Texture

That natural fermentation magic helps create tender, soft textures in baked goods like cookies and muffins, and a nice chew in flatbreads or crackers.

4. Slight Nutritional Boost

Thanks to the fermentation process, sourdough discard may help:

• Break down gluten slightly
• Increase digestibility
• Add trace nutrients and natural yeasts

While it’s not a health food per se, it’s definitely a more wholesome addition than some fillers or processed ingredients.

5. No Extra Rising Required

Unlike an active sourdough starter, discard isn’t used for rising—it’s there for flavor and structure. That makes it perfect for recipes that use baking powder or soda instead of yeast, like muffins, pancakes, cookies, or quick breads.

6. Stretch Your Ingredients

If you’re baking from scratch, discard can help stretch your flour and liquid, making recipes go just a little farther—great for homesteading and pantry-friendly cooking.

Why These Might Be Your New Favorite

• Great way to use discard – No waste here! This recipe puts that extra starter to good use.
• Soft and chewy texture – Thanks to the starter, butter, and brown sugar combo.
• Perfectly balanced – The sweetness of chocolate, the crunch of walnuts, and that gentle sourdough tang.
• No complicated steps – Just mix, chill, and bake.

Here’s What Goes Into It

• 3/4 Cup Butter, browned and then cooled
• 1 Cup Brown Sugar
• 1/4 Cup Granulated Sugar
• 1 Egg
• 1/2 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
• 1/2 Cup Sourdough discard
• 2 Cups All Purpose Flour
• 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 2 teaspoons Cornstarch
• 1 Cup Milk Chocolate Chips
• 1/2 Cup Toffee Chips (I use Heath English Toffee Bits)
• 1 Cup Chopped Walnuts
• Sea Salt for topping

Cookie Dough Instructions

1. Combine browned butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar in a stand mixer and mix until all creamed together.
2. Once the butter and sugars are well combined, add in the egg, vanilla extract, and sourdough discard until all the wet ingredients are fully incorporated.
3. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, and cornstarch and stir until mixed together.
4. Pour half of the dry ingredient mixture into the wet ingredients and mix together until there are no dry spots. Repeat again with the second half of the dry mixture until a dough forms.
5. Using a spatula, fold the chocolate chips, toffee bits and walnuts into the dough until evenly distributed.
6. Divide the dough into 24 balls of cookie dough (weighing around 50g each), and chill them in the refrigerator for 2 – 48 hours depending on the level of fermentation you want to achieve.

Making Cookies

1. Once the dough has chilled for a minimum of 2 hours and you are ready to begin baking, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. On a baking sheet, place the balls of dough 2 inches apart from one another.
3. Bake the cookies for 10-15 minutes, or until they appear to be baked all the way through. They should have a firm center and golden, crispy edges.
4. Remove the cookies from the oven, and immediately sprinkle each cookie with a few flakes of flakey sea salt.
5. Allow the cookies 10 minutes to cool on the baking sheet before transferring them to a cooling rack.

Follow These Tips For The Best Results

• Use quality chocolate – It’s the star of the show alongside that tangy dough.
• Toast the walnuts – For a deeper, nuttier flavor, try toasting the walnuts before adding them.
• Freeze for later – You can scoop and freeze the dough to bake fresh cookies anytime you like.
• Don’t skip the chill time – It makes a big difference in texture and flavor.

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A Sweet Way to Use Your Sourdough

These cookies are the perfect example of how versatile sourdough discard can be. They’re easy to make, pantry-friendly, and just a little different from your usual cookie recipe—in the best way possible.

So next time you feed your starter and have some discard left over, give these cookies a try. You might just find your new favorite treat.

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