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Brown Butter Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies

Thick, bakery-style chocolate chip cookies made with nutty brown butter and sourdough discard. Make a batch, freeze the dough, and bake a few straight from the freezer whenever you want fresh, warm cookies.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 14 minutes
Resting Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 19 minutes
Servings: 30 cookies
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 340 g unsalted butter
  • 400 g brown sugar
  • 100 g granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 4 tsp vanilla extract
  • 120 g sourdough discard
  • 1 Tbsp milk
  • 360 g fresh-milled hard white wheat flour
  • 120 g all-purpose flour
  • 2 tsp cornstarch
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1½ tsp salt
  • 2 cups chocolate chips
  • Flaky sea salt optional

Method
 

  1. Brown the butter. Add the butter to a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until the butter foams and the milk solids turn golden brown and smell nutty. Remove from the heat and allow it to cool until lukewarm.
  2. In a large bowl, combine the browned butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar.
  3. Add the eggs, egg yolks, vanilla, sourdough discard, and milk. Mix until well combined.
  4. In a separate bowl, combine the fresh-milled hard white wheat flour, all-purpose flour, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
  5. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix just until combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.
  6. Let the dough rest for 30–45 minutes to give the fresh-milled flour time to fully hydrate.
  7. Scoop the dough and shape it into thick, tall portions rather than flattening it into balls. This helps create a thick, bakery-style cookie.
  8. Place the shaped cookie dough on a parchment-lined baking sheet or tray and freeze for 1–2 hours, or until firm.
  9. Preheat the oven to 365–370°F.
  10. Bake the cookies straight from frozen for 14–16 minutes, until the edges are set but the centers still look slightly soft.
  11. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for several minutes. They will continue to set as they cool. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt if desired.

Notes

Flour: You can replace the fresh-milled hard white wheat flour with all-purpose flour if you don't use fresh-milled flour. Use all-purpose flour for the full flour amount.
Fresh-milled flour: Don't skip the resting time when using fresh-milled flour. Giving the dough 30–45 minutes to sit allows the flour to hydrate before the cookies are shaped and frozen.
Freezer cookies: These are GREAT to keep in the freezer for whenever you want just a few freshly baked cookies. Once the individual portions are frozen solid, transfer them to a freezer-safe bag or container. Pull out however many you want and bake them straight from frozen... no need to thaw.
For thick cookies: Keep the scoops tall and chunky instead of pressing them down before freezing. Pull the cookies from the oven while the centers still look a little underdone. They'll finish setting on the hot baking sheet.
The ultimate hack: For perfect circle, bakery style cookies, I use these cookie rings. I just butter them up and then place the frozen cookie mound in the middle and get perfectly round cookies every time!
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