Sourdough Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Is there a more perfect dessert than a chocolate chip cookie? I love my chocolate chip cookies with oatmeal and peanut butter in them, almost like a monster cookie. Since they are one of my absolute favorite treats, I wanted to find a way to make them using sourdough discard. Sourdough discard requires a little extra testing for baking due to its properties, but I always love finding ways to use it so I’m not throwing it away! I make muffins, scones, granola, banana bread, pancakes, and more with it! If you’re not a sourdough baker but want to make a similar recipe to this, check out my monster cookie recipe.

What is Sourdough Discard?

If you’re a sourdough baker, you have sourdough starter in your kitchen. Some people keep their jar of sourdough starter in the refrigerator and take out what they need a few days prior to baking, feeding it to “wake up” the starter. Some people (like me!), keep their starter on the counter and feed it daily. If the next day is a baking day, I make sure I feed my starter enough to give me the right amount of active starter for my recipe, and a little extra to feed and keep for the next time I bake. If it’s not a baking day the next day, I only take out a little bit of starter to feed and “discard” the rest. Now, you can throw the discard away, but with so many great sourdough discard recipes I always keep it in my refrigerator. How many people you have in your family and feed on a daily basis will probably dictate your schedule! But with seven hungry people in our household, whether I’m baking with active starter or discard, nothing goes to waste here.

How to Make Sourdough Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

• These cookies are basically sourdough monster cookies since they have peanut butter in them too, and you can easily add some chopped nuts or M&Ms as well. They are simply perfect! Like most cookies, you’re going to start with creaming together butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar.
• Add in an egg and beat well, followed by vanilla extract, peanut butter, and sourdough discard. We are using up half a cup of sourdough discard in this recipe! For this recipe it’s important to use a peanut butter like Skippy or Jif, not a natural peanut butter. You need the oils in a more processed peanut butter to prevent the cookies from being too crumbly and dry.
• Add in your dry ingredients: flour, quick oats, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. We are using quick oats here instead of rolled or old-fashioned oats because they give a better texture.
• Finally, mix in your chocolate chips. You can also do half chocolate chips and half M&Ms or add in half a cup of chopped nuts. I would keep your mix-in amount to total about 1 1/2 cups. Adding more than that could make the cookies fall apart easily.
• Roll the dough into balls and bake! These cookies require no chill time, so just pop them in the oven and enjoy!

These sourdough oatmeal chocolate chip cookies will keep in an airtight container for several days, but I have found that as the days go on, they take on more of a cakey texture. That doesn’t bother me at all! But it is something to keep in mind if you want your cookies to be crispier. Sometimes when I bake them, I leave them out overnight before storing! I bet they won’t last long in your house, and I highly encourage you to eat one warm from the pan.