Best Chewy Sourdough Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

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I’ve been chasing the perfect sourdough oatmeal chocolate chip cookie for a while—chewy but not dry, hearty but not dense, with those golden edges and gooey middles that make your mouth dance. So I tested. And tested again.

I played with the oat and butter ratios,
the amount of sourdough discard,
and chocolate chips versus a chopped dark chocolate bar.

The result? These chewy-buttery-cozy sourdough oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, with nutty flavor from the toasty oats and rich chocolate chunks that melt into every bite. The kind you keep coming back to, even if you swore you were done after one, just like my reader favorite gooey sourdough chocolate chip cookies.

A little flaky salt on top is how I prefer to finish them; it brings out the caramel notes of the brown sugar and elevates the chocolate flavor. I like to throw in a little cinnamon too, just to warm things up. And did I mention how much I love their golden color?

These cookies get an upgrade from sourdough discard.

Yep, you’re using your leftover sourdough starter to balance the sweetness and add tender, chewy bite bite without being cakey! It’s why my sourdough peanut butter cookies are so tender, too.

You’ll start like most cookie recipes: creaming butter and sugar until it’s light and fluffy. The egg and vanilla are added, just like normal, but the sourdough discard gets mixed in at this point, too. 75 grams of discard ended up to be the magic amount, just enough to give them a soft chew. When I tested the dough with more discard, it started to overwhelm the other flavors and caused them to spread too much.

Using Chocolate Chips versus Chopped Chocolate in Cookies

I tested these cookies with both chopped chocolate from a bar and chocolate chips to demonstrate how it affects the texture of the cookies. You can use either, but I highly recommend chopped chocolate for the very best cookie that spreads the right amount and has the perfect chocolate distribution.

Chocolate chips are made with emulsifiers, so they hold their shape. This means they do not melt well; your cookies will spread less when they are used and be more cakey. And I don’t know about you, but cakey cookies are a big debbie downer.

Does Sourdough Discard Make Cookies Sour?

Nope! Believe me, I was surprised too. Sourdough discard actually provides moisture and a developed flavor to the cookies. It doesn’t have enough power to make the cookies rise, as the gluten structure is weakened from it being left to ferment, so I use baking soda as the leavener.

I keep my discard in a closed jar in the refrigerator and add to it for up to 10 days. (Longer than that and it will get pretty sour, and isn’t great for baking with.) I love having it on hand so I can make things that don’t take a full day of prep like sourdough bread – instead I can quickly whip up a batch of flaky sourdough discard biscuits and our weekend staple; quick and fluffy sourdough pancakes that are better than the diner.

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Best Chewy Sourdough Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

These chewy, brown sugar oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are one of the most delicious ways to use up sourdough discard! They have buttery, golden edges and gooey middles, with nutty oats and melty chocolate in every bite. No fancy techniques needed, just the addition of leftover sourdough starter that gives them the absolute perfect texture.

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time :10 minutes minutes

Cook Time :13 minutes minutes

Refrigeration Time :1 hour hour

Yield: 18 cookies

Author: Amanda Paa

Ingredients

• 130 grams softened, unsalted butter
• 145 grams brown sugar
• 100 grams granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 75 grams sourdough discard
• 165 grams all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon + pinch of fine salt
• 120 grams old-fashioned oats
• 110 grams chopped dark chocolate from a bar*
• flaky salt for finishing, optional

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Equipment

• Half Sheet Pan
• Size 24 Cookie Scoop

Instructions 

• In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Scrape down the bowl. Add the brown and granulated sugars and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes, stopping once to scrape the sides of the bowl.
• Then add egg, vanilla, and sourdough discard. Mix on low speed until mostly combined.
• Grab a bowl and add the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Stir, then add to the bowl that’s on the stand mixer. Mix on medium speed until mostly combined, a few flour streaks are okay. Add the oats and chopped chocolate and mix on low speed until just combined. Remove bowl and use spatula to clean the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure everything is incorporated.
• Refrigerate dough for 1 hour (up to overnight – the longer you refrigerate, the more flavor they will have).
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Scoop dough into 55 gram balls and place 8 of them onto baking sheet.
• Bake for 13ish minutes, until edges are just golden and center looks melty and slightly underbaked. (They will continue to bake when you take them out of the oven.) Remove from oven and place pan on wire rack. Sprinkle with a little flaky salt, if desired. Let cool for 5 minutes, then take cookies off the pan.

Notes

• You can refrigerate the dough for up to 24 hours. The longer they are in the fridge, the more you will be REWARDED with a more intensified the flavor and goodness. 
• I highly recommend using an inexpensive oven thermometer when you are baking, as no oven is calibrated exactly precise, even one that is brand new. Your other likely runs hotter or cooler than it actually reads, and this can determine how much your cookies spread or do not spread and if they will look and taste like the recipe was written for. Using an oven thermometer allows you to slightly adjust the temperature to make it correct.
• If you use chocolate chips, these cookies will not spread like they should. Chocolate chips have emulsifiers, which means they don’t melt as well and the cookies are thicker than desired.