If you want a soft, chewy sourdough oatmeal cookie, this recipe delivers. These cookies are meant to be baked immediately after mixing and are loaded with chocolate chips for extra indulgence.
This sourdough discard cookie is one of my favorite ways to use starter discard instead of wasting it. It pairs nicely with other discard recipes like sourdough brownies and freeze well for quick snacks later.
I often make banana sourdough muffins or discard banana bread, and these cookies are just as easy to prepare ahead and freeze for later.
⭐️ What To Expect
- Taste: Soft, chewy centers with a slight crunch on the oats at the edges.
- Ease: Beginner-friendly; an electric or stand mixer helps cream the butter and sugars.
- Time: About 10 minutes to mix and roughly 10 minutes per batch to bake.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The best cookies ever! I have to fight my kids off of them so they aren’t all eaten in one sitting! Thank you for sharing the goodness!!
-Tara
🛒 Key Ingredients
- Unfed sourdough discard – Cold unfed discard from the fridge works well; active fed starter at room temperature is also fine.
- Butter – Salted, softened butter gives great flavor. Soften to room temperature before creaming.
- Old-fashioned oats – Use rolled oats for texture; quick oats absorb more liquid and can make the dough too stiff.
- Baking soda – Helps the cookies spread and gives a slight lift.
- Salt – Enhances flavor and balances sweetness.
- Eggs – Act as a binder and keep the cookies soft and chewy.
✏️ Substitutions & Variations
- Chocolate chips – Swap for white chocolate, butterscotch, cinnamon chips, peanut butter chips, or dried fruit like raisins or cranberries.
- Nuts – Add about 1 cup chopped walnuts, pecans, macadamia nuts, or peanuts for crunch.
- Cinnamon raisin – Add 1 tsp cinnamon and 1.5 cups raisins to make cinnamon-raisin sourdough cookies.
🧑🍳 Instructions
These sourdough oatmeal chocolate chip cookies come together quickly. Preheat oven to 350°F before you start mixing.
TOP TIP: Weigh ingredients for consistent results. A kitchen scale makes this recipe foolproof.
Step 1. In a mixing bowl, beat softened butter with brown and granulated sugar using an electric mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle. Mix on medium-high until creamy and pale, about 3 minutes.
Step 2. Add vanilla and the egg, then mix for another 1–2 minutes until well combined.
Step 3. Mix in the sourdough discard, salt, and baking soda until combined. The discard should be pourable like pancake batter; if your discard is thick, add 1–2 tablespoons of water to thin it so the dough will spread while baking.
Step 4. Add the flour (start with the lower amount listed) and mix on low until just combined. Add more flour only if needed to achieve a scoopable dough.
Step 5. Fold in oats and chocolate chips on low/medium speed until evenly distributed.
Step 6. Scoop the dough into rounds onto a prepared baking sheet, spacing about 1.5 inches apart (12–13 per sheet). Bake 10–11 minutes at 350°F until the cookies are puffy and slightly flattened. Let cool at least 10 minutes before serving.
📌 Top Tips & Hacks
- Weigh ingredients for consistent dough texture and reliable results.
- Don’t overbake. Pull cookies when they look slightly underbaked; they finish setting while cooling and stay soft.
- Use silicone baking mats for even baking and easier cleanup.
- Arrange scoops in rows of 3 and 2 to fit 13 cookies per standard sheet when needed.
❓Frequently Asked Questions
If the dough is stiff, add 1–2 tablespoons of water. Stiff dough can result from discard made with absorbent flours or from measuring too much flour or oats. Measuring by weight helps avoid this issue.
Either works. Cold unfed discard from the fridge or room-temperature active starter can be used; just weigh it because active starter contains more bubbles and may require adjustment.
Old-fashioned rolled oats are recommended. Quick oats absorb more liquid and can make the dough too dense.
Yes. Scoop dough onto a lined baking sheet, freeze until solid (about 4 hours or overnight), then transfer to a freezer bag. To bake from frozen, bake at 350°F for 12–14 minutes, checking after 12 minutes until edges are lightly golden.
You can refrigerate the dough up to 2 days. Bring it to room temperature before scooping so cookies spread properly during baking.
Store at room temperature up to 3–4 days. Once cooled, baked cookies can be frozen for up to 3 months in an airtight container.
🍪 More Delicious Cookie Recipes
- Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies
- White Chocolate Biscoff Cookies
- M&M Oatmeal Pudding Cookies
- Pistachio Pudding Cookies
Did You Try This Recipe? Leave a star rating and a comment — feedback helps other bakers and I love hearing from you. Share it with family and friends if you enjoyed the cookies!
📝 Printable Recipe
Sourdough Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup salted butter, softened (226g)
- 3/4 cup brown sugar (172g)
- 3/4 cup white granulated sugar (185g)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup unfed or active discard (130g)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt (10g)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda (7g)
- 2 3/4 – 3 cups all-purpose flour (375–400g)
- 2 cups old-fashioned oats (200g)
- 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
Instructions
- Beat softened butter with brown and white sugar until creamy and pale, about 3 minutes on medium-high.
- Add vanilla and egg; mix 1–2 minutes until combined.
- Mix in sourdough discard, salt, and baking soda until just combined. If discard is thick, add 1–2 tablespoons water to thin it.
- Add flour (start with 2.5 cups) and mix on low until just combined.
- Fold in oats and chocolate chips on low/medium until evenly distributed.
- Scoop dough onto prepared baking sheets about 1.5 inches apart. Bake at 350°F for 10–11 minutes until puffed and slightly flattened. Cool at least 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
If your cookies don’t spread: Measure ingredients by weight and add 1–2 tablespoons of water if the dough is too stiff. Discards made with whole-grain or absorbent flours can require extra hydration.
Store baked cookies at room temperature for up to 3–4 days, or freeze cooled cookies for up to 3 months.
Makes about 40 cookies.
Freezing dough: Scoop dough onto a lined sheet, freeze until solid (4 hours or overnight), then transfer to a freezer bag. To bake from frozen, add a couple minutes to the bake time (about 12–14 minutes at 350°F).
Nutrition
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