Brown Butter Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies

Brown butter sourdough chocolate chip cookies make the most decadent, gooey, chocolatey dessert! Dark chocolate chips melt together with browned butter cookie dough for a cozy treat you’ll fall in love with.

Nothing beats a warm chocolate chip cookie, especially if it’s made with sourdough starter. Well, nothing except for a brown butter chocolate chip cookie that is. 🙂 Browning butter takes only a few extra minutes, but it makes such a difference in these cookies! While it may sound a bit intimidating, browning butter is actually relatively straightforward. With simple instructions, you’ll be able to brown your butter at home like a pro! Once you realize how easy it is, I bet you’ll be adding brown butter to all your favorite recipes. Keep reading to make these yummy cookies for yourself!

Can I freeze Cookie Dough?

Yes! Freezing cookie dough is a great way to be prepared in case of last-minute visitors or when you just really need a cookie at 9:30 pm. Make the dough like normal, then roll it into balls. Put them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and freeze for 1 hour or so, until they are hard. Then put the balls of cookie dough in a container and into the freezer. You can freeze these cookies for up to 3 months. Past that, they will probably get freezer burn. Although you can freeze baked cookies, I wouldn’t recommend it. When they defrost, they lose their characteristic texture and do not taste nearly as good as when they are freshly baked.

Tips for making Brown Butter Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies:

• Although you can use active sourdough starter to make these cookies, they will turn out just as well with discard starter. Don’t be afraid to use older discard. As long as you’ve kept it in the fridge, and it looks and smells healthy, feel free to use your discard starter from the week before if you don’t have any on hand at the moment.
• It’s almost always a good idea to refrigerate your cookie dough for at least 1 hour before baking your cookies. This prevents the butter from melting too much, which will give you thin, spread-out puddles of cookie.
• However, if you don’t have the time to refrigerate your dough, make sure to use butter that is not too soft, to prevent your cookies from spreading in the oven. If any of your butter is liquid, it’s probably too warm for making cookies.
• Depending on how you like your cookies, experiment with baking times to find the perfect texture. I personally like my cookies on the slightly underbaked side, which makes them more gooey and soft. However, if you like a crisper cookie, feel free to leave your cookies in for a few more minutes. Just watch them carefully to ensure they don’t burn!

Tools you will need

To make these cookies, you’ll need a skillet with a spatula, a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, a bowl, measuring cups and spoons, a cookie dough scooper, two baking trays, and parchment paper.

Ingredients you will need

• 1 3/4 cup flour – All-purpose flour is best, but you can use a mix of whole wheat and all-purpose if you like.
• 1/2 cup sourdough starter – Active or discard, whatever you have on hand.
• 2 eggs – If you can think ahead, leave these out on the counter to come to room temperature before making the cookie dough.
• 1/2 cup butter – This is the star of this recipe! Use unsalted butter or else omit the salt in this recipe.
• 1/4 cup white sugar – You can also use coconut sugar if you like.
• 1/2 cup brown sugar – Can’t have chocolate chip cookies without the brown sugar!
• 1/2 tsp salt – Kosher salt works well here.
• 1 tsp baking soda – This will make the cookies rise, so the starter doesn’t need to be active.
• 1 tsp vanilla – Can’t forget this!
• 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips – Semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips work best. 🙂

How to make Brown Butter Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. (I nearly always use the convection setting on my oven because it circulates the heat and cooks more evenly.) Line 2 baking trays with parchment paper.

To brown the butter, heat a skillet to medium heat and add the stick of butter to the skillet. Stir occasionally while the butter turns golden and bubbly. After about 8-10 minutes, the bubbles will start to disappear and you will see brown bits on the bottom of the skillet. Immediately remove the butter from the heat and pour it into a glass container. Let the butter cool by placing it in the fridge or freezer.

While the butter is cooling, mix together the eggs, brown sugar, and white sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer using a paddle attachment. Add in the vanilla and sourdough starter and mix until well combined.

Once the butter is cool, add it to the bowl with the rest of the cookie dough and stir until combined.

Measure out the flour, baking soda, and salt, and add to the dough. Mix only until just combined. You don’t want to have unmixed flour, but also don’t want to over-mix your dough either. Fold the chocolate chips into the dough.

Optional but definitely worthwhile: Refrigerate your cookie dough for at least 1 hour before baking with it. If you really can’t wait, you can skip this step, but your cookies will have a better texture and shape if you refrigerate them.

Roll balls of cookie dough about 1 Tbsp in size and place on the lined baking trays. Make sure to space them about 2″ apart since they will expand slightly in the oven.

Bake the cookies for 12-15 minutes, or until the bottoms are golden brown. Enjoy!

Looking for more cookie recipes?

If so, make sure to head over to the Kitchen Counter for more yummy cookies. Here are a few you might like:

• Sourdough Sugar Cookies
• Sourdough Snickerdoodles
• Sourdough Graham Crackers
• Lemon Ricotta Cookies
• Sourdough Shortbread Cookies
• Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies

If you make this recipe and enjoy it, let me know in the comments section below! You can also tag me on instagram @oldfashionedinspiration with a picture of your creation.