Brown butter sourdough chocolate chip cookies are soft, chewy, and decadent. With the benefits of long sourdough fermentation, the sweetness topped with flaky sea salt makes for that perfect blend of sweet and salty. This is my go-to cookie recipe!
Why Sourdough?
Sourdough is fermented which means that it includes beneficial live cultures and wild yeasts. These yeasts allow bread to rise as well as break down phytates in the wheat grain, making the flour more digestible and less inflammatory.
Here is an excerpt from the book Real Food for Fertility by Lily Nichols RDN, CDE and Lisa Handrickson-Jack FAE, HRHP:
“In wheat, rye, and barley, the process of traditional sourdough fermentation reduces the level of the protein gluten as well as compounds called phytates, both of which can be irritating to the digestive tract and impair mineral absorption. Sourdough fermentation also changes the structure of starches and increases the levels of organic acids, which contributes to a lower glycemic index of the resulting bread (meaning that sourdough bread typically doesn’t spike your blood sugar as much as regular yeast bread).” pg. 82
By using the longer fermentation methods of sourdough baking, delicious baked goods can be a little more digestible. These brown butter sourdough chocolate chip cookies, mixed up and long fermented in the fridge, offer a more nutritious alternative to just the next cookie.
Sourcing ingredients and nourishing our family
Because I am very intentional about the ingredients we source for cooking and baking from scratch in our home, I feel much better about serving these goodies to my family. We use sourdough, grass fed butter, pasture raised eggs, organic unbleached sugar along with organic unbleached flour, whenever we can. Raw milk is very expensive in our area so we opt for whole, organic A2 milk from pastured cows.
If you are just beginning with sourdough, these brown butter sourdough chocolate chip cookies are very forgiving and a great place to start.
If all you can do in this season is focus on cooking one meal from scratch then out of a box, that is a huge win. Over the years we have made incremental changes in opting for nutrient dense foods. This looks different based on our budget and my capacity. But every year eating nourishing foods becomes more simplified and streamlined as I learn more, cook more and delight in the creativity it can add to my day.
Brown Butter Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes 3 dozen 2.5 inch cookies
Oven temp: 350 degrees F
Prep time: 20 minutes
Bake time: 10 minutes
Cooling time: 5 minutes
Ingredients
2 cups (300g) organic unbleached all purpose flour
3/4 cup (186g) organic brown sugar
1/4 cup (75g) organic cane sugar
1/3 cup (100g) fed sourdough starter or sourdough discard
1/2 cup (115g) softened grass-fed butter
1/2 cup (115g) melted browned butter
2 large pastured eggs
1 tablespoon of pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon (5g) of baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cup semisweet or dark chocolate chunks or chips
Flaky sea salt for topping (optional)
Directions for Brown Butter Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies
- First, add softened butter to a medium sized bowl.
- Then, over medium heat, melt the other half of the butter and stir until the butter starts to brown.
- Next, remove the butter from the heat and let it cool for a few minutes.
- After 3-5 minutes pour the melted butter over the softened butter.
- Using a hand or stand mixer cream together the butter, cane sugar, brown sugar and vanilla. The mixing process will help to cool down the butter enough to add in the eggs and the sourdough starter.
- After mixed until well incorporated, add in the eggs and sourdough starter. Mix until well combined.
- Sift in flour. Stir until no dry parts remain.
- At this point for longer fermentation, cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel and place in the fridge over night and up to 3 days.
- The next day or when ready to bake, remove the bowl from the fridge. Allow to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes.
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Next, add baking soda and salt to your dough. Knead until well combined with the dough. I like to use my hands for this part but a spoon or dough hook would work as well.
- Then, add in your chocolate chips the same way, using your hands, spoon or dough hook.
- Recover the bowl and place in the freezer for 5 minutes to firm up.
- Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or I like to use these silicone mats.
- Next, remove your dough from the freezer.
- Using a cookie scoop or rolling into balls by hand, place cookie dough onto baking sheet 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes or until edges are just slightly brown.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes on the baking sheet before moving to a cooling rack.
- Sprinkle flaky sea salt on top for a hint of saltiness.
- Enjoy!
Brown Butter Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies
Brown butter sourdough chocolate chip cookies. Sweetness topped with flaky sea salt makes for that perfect decadent chocolate chip cookie.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (300g) organic unbleached all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup (186g) organic brown sugar
- 1/4 cup (75g) organic cane sugar
- 1/3 cup (100g) fed sourdough starter or sourdough discard
- 1/2 cup (115g) softened grass-fed butter
- 1/2 cup (115g) melted browned butter
- 2 large pastured eggs
- 1 tablespoon of pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon (5g) of baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cup semisweet or dark chocolate chunks or chips
- Flaky sea salt for topping (optional)
Instructions
- First, add softened butter to a medium sized bowl.
- Then, over medium heat, melt the other half of the butter and stir until the butter starts to brown.
- Next, remove the butter from the heat and let it cool for a few minutes.
- After 3-5 minutes pour the melted butter over the softened butter.
- Using a hand or stand mixer cream together the butter, cane sugar, brown sugar and vanilla. The mixing process will help to cool down the butter enough to add in the eggs and the sourdough starter.
- After mixed until well incorporated, add in the eggs and sourdough starter. Mix until well combined.
- Sift in flour. Stir until no dry parts remain.
- At this point for longer fermentation, cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel and place in the fridge over night and up to 3 days. *
- The next day or when ready to bake, remove the bowl from the fridge. Allow to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes.
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Next, add baking soda and salt to your dough. Knead until well combined with the dough. I like to use my hands for this part but a spoon or dough hook would work as well.
- Then, add in your chocolate chips the same way, using your hands, spoon or dough hook.
- Recover the bowl and place in the freezer for 5 minutes to firm up.
- Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or I like to use these silicone mats.
- Next, remove your dough from the freezer.
- Using a cookie scoop or rolling into balls by hand, place cookie dough onto baking sheet 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes or until edges are just slightly brown.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes on the baking sheet before moving to a cooling rack.
- Sprinkle flaky sea salt on top for a hint of saltiness.
- Enjoy!
Notes
*If you want to skip the fermentation step, refrigerate dough for 1 hour then continue with the next steps as directed.
Nutrition Information:
Serving Size: 1 cookieAmount Per Serving: Calories: 73Total Fat: 3.4gSaturated Fat: 2.1gCholesterol: 6mgCarbohydrates: 10.2gFiber: 0.2gSugar: 5gProtein: 1g
Freezing brown butter sourdough chocolate chip cookies
These cookies as well as the dough, freeze great! My favorite trick is to freeze the cookie dough balls for fresh baked cookies in no time.
Using a cookie scoop or rolling cookie dough balls by hand, place cookie dough balls right next to each other on a parchment lined cookie sheet.
Freeze for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes is up, place frozen cookie dough balls in a freezer safe Ziploc or silicone bag.
When you want fresh baked cookies, place cookies on baking sheet and bake as directed. 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
This will result in the same great cookie as if never frozen! My favorite trick is to bake these 30 minutes before having company over. This makes the house smell divine and then I have a fresh baked treat for my guest.
This method is also great for baking just a few cookies at a time. I don’t know about your house but in mine, it doesn’t matter if I bake 12 cookies or 3 dozen. Somehow they are all gone in no time.
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Thank you for being here! Until next time!
Amanda
