It’s been over 4 months since I made my sourdough starter, and I couldn’t be more proud of myself that, A. I’ve managed to keep the damn thing alive this long, and B. that my bread baking game is going strong since making bread a weekly ritual. Bread aside, I have been experimenting with different ways to use my sourdough starter, especially the discard after its weekly feeding. It always feels like such a waste to just throw it away, so I’ve been using the discard to make a few different things, but my favorite of all experiments has been cookies.

But not just any old cookie, I’m talking the queen of all mother f’ing cookies, the one and only, chocolate chip. My cookie experiment turned into a quest to make my version of the ultimate chocolate chip cookie and see how sourdough starter would effect a dough that only barely needs to rise in the oven. I am no expert baker by any means, so it took several tries-4 to be exact, to get this recipe right.

For me, right is a cookie that has crispy edges but is chewy in the middle. It’s buttery, and nutty, but doesn’t have any nuts, packed full of gooey dark chocolate, and just a bit salty. A combination of dark rye and whole wheat flours give the cookies a rich, nutty flavor, and the addition of sourdough starter brings just the right amount of tang. Bittersweet chocolate disks and chunks create large pools of chocolate that melt in your mouth, making it almost impossible to eat just one.

This shouldn't take much convincing, but if you have a sourdough starter, get to making these cookies STAT! And if you don’t have one, what in the hell are you waiting for?

Sourdough Rye Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

1 C unsalted butter

1 C vanilla sugar

1/2 C dark brown sugar

1 egg

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 C sourdough starter discard

1 1/4 C dark rye flour

1/2 C whole wheat flour

1/2 C all purpose flour

1 tsp kosher salt

3/4 tsp baking soda

7 oz bittersweet chocolate baking disks, (I used 80% cocoa)

1/2 C bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chunks

Maldon sea salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or with a handheld mixer, cream together the butter, vanilla sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg, vanilla, and sourdough starter discard, and mix together, scraping down the sides of the bowl and until everything is completely incorporated.

In a large bowl whisk together the rye flour, whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, salt, and baking soda until combined. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix until the flour is just combined. Mix in the chocolate disks and chunks until fully incorporated.

On a parchment lined baking sheet scoop dough out into 1 1/2 Tbsp balls and place two inches apart. Sprinkle with a tiny pinch of flaky sea salt and bake in the oven for 10 minutes, until the edges are golden brown. Let cool for a minute on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire cooling rack to finish cooling completely.