Published: · Modified: by Hannah Dela Cruz · This post may contain affiliate links
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Soft and fudgy, these Sourdough Chocolate Cookies are made with three types of chocolate. Sourdough discard adds a delicious tang that perfectly balances the rich flavor of chocolate. This easy one bowl recipe is ready is less than an hour!
If I could only have 1 sweet thing for the rest of my life it would definitely be chocolate, so this triple chocolate cookie recipe was a no-brainer. These come highly recommended, with my boyfriend (who is my biggest critic) saying they are the best I’ve ever made!
Jump to:
- All about chocolate
- Ingredients needed
- Baking with sourdough discard
- Step-by-step Instructions
- Make ahead instructions
- Recipe FAQs
- More sourdough cookies you may like
- Sourdough Chocolate Cookie Recipe
All about chocolate
These cookies are made with three different types of chocolate. Starting with dark chocolate melted into the dough which gives these cookies a great chewy and fudgy texture. Cocoa powder imparts a really rich chocolate flavor. Finally, chocolate chips add a rich texture and pockets of chocolate throughout the cookies.
These Sourdough Chocolate Cookies are all about chocolate so make sure you invest in the best quality you can find. I linked the specific chocolate brands I used in the ingredients list below.
If you like chocolate as much as I do, you’d love my Sourdough Crinkle Cookies, Sourdough Brownies, Sourdough Chocolate Shortbread Cookies, Sourdough Chocolate Muffins and Sourdough Chocolate Cake.
Ingredients needed
Espresso or strong brewed coffee: brings out the flavor of chocolate, sub an equal amount of water, Earl Gray or black tea, if you don't drink coffee.
Sourdough discard: Both active sourdough starter and sourdough discard will work for this recipe. If you don't have sourdough, simply add 28 g water and 28 g all-purpose flour into your recipe.
All purpose flour: Don't substitute whole wheat flour or your cookies will be dry and crumbly.
Cocoa powder: Use Dutch-processed cocoa powder, not natural cocoa powder which is acidic and will make your cookies too puffy.
See the recipe card for full ingredient details.
Baking with sourdough discard
Sourdough discard adds a great tangy flavor to these cookies. Since you are not using it to make bread, your sourdough starter does not need to be activated or fed for it to work in this cookie recipe. Feel free to use your discard directly from the fridge.
Older discard will have a tangier, acidic flavor than freshly-fed sourdough starter. Both will work for this recipe, you’ll get a slightly different result but your cookies will still be delicious!
Love cookies made with sourdough discard? Check out my My Top 5 Sourdough Cookie Recipes.
Step-by-step Instructions
STEP 1. Melt chocolate in hot melted butter and strong brewed coffee
STEP 2. Whisk sugars into cooled chocolate, butter mixture
TIP: Let your butter cool completely. Hot butter will melt sugars and may cause your cookies to spread as they bake.
STEP 3. Fold in the sourdough discard, egg, vanilla, flour, salt, baking powder and cocoa powder
STEP 4. Stir in the chocolate chips until well distributed throughout the dough
TIP: Double-check your baking powder! Its leavening power fades over time which will affect the texture of your cookies.
To check if it still works, combine a pinch with a drop of vinegar. If the mixture fizzes it will work!
STEP 5. Portion out the dough and arrange on a parchment lined baking sheet with room to spread
STEP 6. Bake at 375 for 8 to 10 minutes
TIP: For perfectly chewy cookies, let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. This utilizes residual heat for gentle baking, keeping them soft and delicious.
Make ahead instructions
Prep ahead: You can make this cookie dough up to a week in advance, giving the flavors time to deepen and develop. Simply cover the bowl with plastic wrap and store in the fridge. Then portion the cookies out and bake according to instructions when ready.
Unfortunately, this cookie dough doesn’t freeze well.
Recipe FAQs
I don’t have enough sourdough discard, can I still make this recipe?
Absolutely! Simply use the same proportion of freshly fed sourdough starter in the recipe. Your starter won’t add a strong tangy flavor to your cookies, but will still work.
If you don’t have a starter, but still want to try out this recipe, simply add 28 grams of all-purpose flour and 28 grams of water to your cookie dough.
Why do my chocolate cookies taste chalky?
Your cookies are over baked. Chocolate cookies have a tendency to taste chalky and have a dull flavor when they are baked for too long. These cookies need to be baked for 8 to 10 minutes at 375 F. Your cookies won’t be totally set after you take them out of the oven, let them fully cool on the baking sheet (about 30 minutes) before moving them.
How long do these cookies last?
These cookies last about 7 days stored in an airtight container at room temperature.
More sourdough cookies you may like
- Chewy Brown Butter Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Sourdough Crinkle Cookies
- Chewy Sourdough Molasses Cookies
- Chewy Sourdough Discard Oatmeal Cookies
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Sourdough Chocolate Cookie Recipe
Hannah Dela Cruz
Soft and fudgy, these Sourdough Chocolate Cookies are made with three types of chocolate. Sourdough discard adds a delicious tang that perfectly balances the rich flavor of chocolate.
4.95 from 34 votes
Print Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes mins
Cook Time 10 minutes mins
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 15 large cookies
Calories 240 kcal
This section may contain affiliate links
Ingredients
- 113 grams unsalted butter
- 28 grams espresso or strong brewed coffee
- 50 grams dark chocolate chopped
- 150 grams brown sugar
- 50 grams white sugar
- 56 grams sourdough discard
- 1 egg
- 14 grams vanilla
- 180 grams all purpose flour
- 10 grams baking powder
- 6 grams salt
- 25 grams cocoa powder
- 172 grams chocolate chips
Click US Customary to view volume measurements
Instructions
Melt the butter and chocolate: Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Place chopped dark chocolate in a large mixing bowl. Pour hot butter and espresso (or strong brewed coffee) over the chocolate, stir using a spatula until completely melted. Set aside and let the mixture cool for 5 minutes.
Whisk in sugars: Whisk the brown sugar and granulated sugar into the cooled chocolate and butter until the sugars are dissolved and the mixture looks smooth and thickened.
Make the dough: Add the sourdough discard, egg, vanilla, all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa powder in that order into the mixing bowl. Stir until no traces of discard or egg and no dry bits of flour remain.
Stir in chocolate chips: Stir the chocolate chips in until they are evenly distributed throughout the dough. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate the dough for 15 minutes to allow the dough to firm up and become a little less sticky.
Prep: While your dough is chilling, preheat the oven to 375 F and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
Portion out cookie dough: Take the cookie dough out of the refrigerator and portion them out using a large cookie scoop (3 tablespoon or 50 gram portions). Roll the dough out into rounds and flatten the top lightly. Arrange the cookie dough on your prepared baking sheets at least 2 inches apart.
Bake: Bake the cookies for 8 to 10 minutes or until the cookies have flattened out, the tops look dry and the edges look set. Take the cookies out of the oven and let them cool completely on the baking sheets. Your cookies will not be completely set at this point, so do not move them.
Enjoy and store: These cookies are best enjoyed once they have completely cooled and set, they are even better the next day! Store any leftover cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 7 days.
Tips
These recipes were developed and tested using grams for precise measurements. To increase your chances of success, I recommend investing in a kitchen scale. I've included rough volume estimates (in tablespoons and cups), but they might not be totally accurate.
Remember all ovens are unique, these recipes were tested in my oven which runs cooler than others. You might need to lower the temperature if your bake appears to be browning too quickly. Monitor your bake closely and make adjustments if needed.
Notes
When in doubt use gram over volume measures
For the best results, invest in good quality chocolate!
Don't over bake these cookies or they will turn out chalky and will dull the taste of chocolate
Your cookies will not be completely set after baking, let the cookies cool completely on the baking sheet before moving them
Nutrition
Calories: 240kcal | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 27mg | Sodium: 235mg | Potassium: 118mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 21g | Vitamin A: 205IU | Vitamin C: 0.004mg | Calcium: 66mg | Iron: 1mg
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Reader Interactions
Comments
Paulene
These were so easy and delicious! I would probably put less salt in the batter next time. Would go so well with a scoop of vanilla ice cream to cut the richness of the chocolate! So yummy !Loading...
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Kourtney
All of your cookie recipes are the best I have ever found! I call these brownie cookies. lol. I frozen a couple and then baked them from frozen and they are just as good. Just a little bit longer cooking time.
I didn't have dark chocolate so I used semi sweet. I halved the salt as I use salted butter in all of my baking. For the chocolate chips, I used half semi sweet and half milk chocolate. Thank you for creating and sharing your talents with us. I am so grateful.Loading...
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Sig
Also, when you say vanilla. You mean vanilla extract? That’s what I used but it wasn’t clear in the instructions.
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Hannah Dela Cruz
Yes! I'll make that clarification. Thanks for your note!
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Sigourney Gruenther
So, when you say espresso, do you mean espresso liquid or can I use 1 or 2 teaspoons of espresso powder instead? That’s all I have. If I do add the powder, I probably still need to add the 28 grams of water as well? Thanks!
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Hannah Dela Cruz
I'm not sure how much espresso powder you'd need to use to make a strong shot of espresso. But it will probably work just fine. You can even use strong brewed coffee, black tea or just water in a pinch!
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Sarah
Can I emit the coffee and alternate with something else, like a vanilla powder or extract if I don’t like the espresso/coffee aspect? Thanks!
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Hannah Dela Cruz
Hi! Absolutely, I always give substitution suggestions in the "what you need" section of each blog post. You can sub black tea, Early Grey tea, Chai or just use water.
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Megan
Do you use unsweetened dark chocolate? Any examples?
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Hannah Dela Cruz
Hi! I don't normally use unsweetened dark chocolate for any of my recipes. If you're subbing it for the chocolate chips or melted chocolate in the dough, I don't think it would work as it would be too bitter.
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Lindsey
Can the baked cooked be frozen?
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Hannah Dela Cruz
I don't see why not. However, I've never tried so I can't confirm how they would freeze. If you do try this out please let me know!
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Monique
Easy recipe and good texture but it was too salty.Loading...
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Pamela
If you are using salted butter instead of the recommended unsalted then definitely reduce the amount of salt you add.
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