Gluten-Free Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies are your basic cookie recipe made with sourdough starter discard. They’re thick, soft cookies that just melt in your mouth!
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Gluten Free Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies
You guys, YOU GUYS. I made the most amazing Gluten-Free Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies and now these are officially THE ONE food I never want to have to stop eating.
Oh my word are they forking delicious! They’re super thick and soft. They almost just melt in your mouth.
I wouldn’t call this a cakey cookie though because the texture is still dense. While still soft, they’re not light and airy.
I chilled these for 6 hours and it was the perfect amount of time. The dough was still soft enough to easily scoop and I didn’t even have to roll them into a ball. Just scoop with a Large Cookie Scoop and drop onto the cookie sheet.
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They don’t spread much so these aren’t thin cookies. Because they’re nice and thick, the edges don’t get crispy like with my Gluten-Free Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies or my Bakery Style Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies. The texture of these cookies actually reminds me a lot of my Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cookies.
And the best part about these cookies? They’re the perfect way to use the discard from your mature sourdough starter.
If you love this recipe, I’ve got more sourdough discard recipes planned so stay tuned!
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Key Ingredients for Sourdough Cookies
- Sourdough Starter – I use the discard from my mature sourdough starter.
- Gluten-Free Flour – I use my Nightshade-Free Gluten-Free Flour Blend in this recipe with great results. If you use a flour blend with xanthan gum already included, omit what I called for in the recipe.
- Butter – I use unsalted butter and I prefer using butter with at least 82% butterfat (European Style butter).
- Shortening – I use a little bit of Nutiva Shortening in my cookie recipes for the perfect texture and balance between cookies made with all butter and cookies made with all shortening. Cookies made with a combination have the best of both worlds. Butter for flavor, shortening for structure and texture.
- Sugar – The combination of granulated sugar and light brown sugar makes the best tasting chocolate chip cookies!
- Chocolate Chips – I use semi-sweet chocolate chips but you can use milk chocolate or dark chocolate if you prefer.
Can I make Dairy Free Chocolate Chip Cookies?
Yes, these cookies can be made dairy-free. Use Miyoko’s Vegan Butter in place of the regular butter (or your favorite vegan butter stick). Use dairy-free chocolate chips, such as Enjoy Life Foods or Nestle Simply Delicious.
Equipment Needed to Make Cookies
- Stand Mixer or Hand Mixer – you can mix cookie dough by hand but I find it way easier and much faster to use a mixer.
- Half Sheet Pan – I love half sheet pans for baking cookies. There’s plenty of space for the cookies to spread a bit. Just don’t over crowd your pan. You can read more about my list of essential baking pans here as well as which brand of sheet pan I prefer.
- Silicone Baking Mat – if you bake regularly, I highly recommend getting a couple silicone baking mats. I own and use Silpat and Artisan Metal Works and love them both. They both fit my sheet pans well, they’re easy to clean, and they can go in the refrigerator and freezer right to the oven I’ve been using both for 5+ years now with no issue.
- Large Cookie Scoop – I swear by the OXO Large Cookie Scoop. It holds about 3 tablespoons of dough and I think they make the perfect sized cookies.
- Digital Kitchen Scale – I highly recommend using a Digital Kitchen Scale to measure your ingredients. You’ll need one anyway to make Sourdough Bread 😉
How to Make Sourdough Cookies
Step 1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the gluten-free flour, sorghum flour, xanthan gum, salt, and baking soda until combined. Set aside.
Step 2. Add the butter, shortening, granulated sugar, and brown sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix on medium-low speed until combined. Scrape down the bowl and add the egg and vanilla extract and mix well. Add the sourdough discard and mix until completely incorporated.
Step 3. Pour in the flour and mix on low speed until the dry ingredients are combined. Turn off the mixer and add the chocolate chips, stirring them in by hand.
Step 4. Form the dough into one large ball in the bottom of the bowl then cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill for at least 6 hours (or up to 72 hours).
Step 5. After the dough has chilled, preheat oven to 350 degrees and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
Step 6. Once the oven has preheated, scoop the dough out and form into 24 even-sized balls of cookie dough (I use a large OXO scoop).
Step 7. Bake the cookies in batches of 6-8 per sheet on the center rack for 8-12 minutes. Once done, cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before removing and cooling on a wire rack.
Tips for Making Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies with Sourdough Discard
- Don’t use the discard from a new starter. You want your starter to be around 5-10 days old before using the discard and you want it to be bubbling, growing, and smell yeasty/sour.
- Use a starter with 100% hydration. Meaning, your sourdough starter is made with equal parts flour and water by weight.
- If you use a starter made with a higher percentage of flour or water, you’ll have to adjust for that when making this recipe.
- Don’t over-measure your flour. Too much flour will make your bread dense and dry. Get my free guide to measuring flour here.
- Chill the dough for a minimum of 6 hours – don’t skip the chill time! Chocolate Chip Cookies baked before chilling the dough lack flavor.
- Add extra chocolate. I like to press a few extra chocolate chips or chunks into the tops of the cookies as soon as they come out of the oven.
- Cool the cookies on the pan for 10 minutes before removing them to cool on a wire rack. If you move the cookies too soon, they won’t have a chance to set up and will fall apart.
Other Recipes Using Sourdough Starter
- Gluten-Free Sourdough Discard Banana Bread
- Sourdough Pancakes – coming soon!
- 4-Ingredient Gluten-Free Sourdough Bread
- Sourdough Discard Cornbread – coming soon!
- Gluten-Free Sourdough Chocolate Cake – coming soon!
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Gluten Free Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups 280g gluten-free flour blend (see notes)
- 1/4 cup 32g sorghum flour (see notes)
- 3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum omit if your blend contains it
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter cool room temperature
- 1/4 cup 46g Nutiva shortening
- 1/2 cup 100g granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup 100g light brown sugar
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup 265g mature sourdough starter, unfed (see notes)
- 2 cups 361g semi-sweet chocolate chips or chunks
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the gluten-free flour, sorghum flour, xanthan gum, salt, and baking soda until combined. Set aside.
- Add the butter, shortening, granulated sugar, and brown sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix on medium-low speed until combined. Scrape down the bowl and add the egg and vanilla extract and mix well. Add the sourdough discard and mix until completely incorporated.
- Pour in the flour and mix on low speed until the dry ingredients are combined. Turn off the mixer and add the chocolate chips, stirring them in by hand.
- Form the dough into one large ball in the bottom of the bowl then cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill for at least 6 hours (or up to 72 hours).
- After the dough has chilled, preheat oven to 350 degrees and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Once the oven has preheated, scoop the dough out and form into 24 even-sized balls of cookie dough (I use a large OXO scoop).
- Bake the cookies in batches of 6-8 per sheet on the center rack for 8-12 minutes. Once done, cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before removing and cooling on a wire rack.
Notes
- I used my Nightshade Free Gluten-Free Flour Blend in this recipe. Omit the xanthan gum if your blend contains it.
- 1/4 cup gluten-free flour can be used in place of the sorghum flour.
- I use the mature sourdough discard from just before I feed my active starter. Do not use the discard from an immature starer.
- Keep the cookie dough chilled between baking each batch.
- Cookies can be frozen once baked. You can also freeze the cookie dough after scooping. Frozen cookie dough can be baked from frozen and will take 10-14 minutes to bake.
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Nutrition Information
Disclaimers
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Nutrition Facts are estimated and aren't always accurate. Please consult a doctor or nutritionist if you have special dietary needs.
Did you make this recipe? Leave a star rating and let me know in the comments! You can also leave a photo/comment on this pin for others to see.
We’ve tried many gluten free chocolate chip cookie recipes and this is our new favorite! Thank you so much for sharing!!!
I’m so glad they are your favorite!!
I served these to my non-gluten free friends and they raved! They loved their slightly crunchy exterior and soft interior. So did I. However, none of us was able to taste the tang of the sourdough. I suspect it’s because of the amount of sugar and chocolate chips in this recipe, since my mature starter and discard are quite tangy and come through my other dessert recipes.
(I’m not as weird as this might sound! LOL! I just like taste of the sourdough). I think the next time I make these I’ll try 75g each of the sugars and 1 cup of chips and see if I prefer them that way.
These are so delicious!! My family is crazy for them!! Would the dough freeze well if I made a giant batch and portioned to pull as needed?
Thanks for sharing Lindsay! I haven’t frozen the dough but the baked cookies freeze really well.
How many days after starting my starter will it be considered mature? I really want to minimize waste, but don’t want to rush it too much and create more waste with bad cookies.
I wouldn’t use discard until your starter is at least 7 days old. The amount of discard in the first 7 days is fairly minimal.
These are delicious. So soft and fluffy, different from any I’ve made before but wonderful. Thanks for the great discard recipe!
Glad you enjoyed them Jeanette!