Sourdough discard sugar cookies are a delicious way to celebrate holidays, birthdays, or a cozy day at home. These perfectly soft cut-out cookies are tasty enough to eat plain, or top with icing and sprinkles for a sweeter version.
I am so excited to share these sourdough sugar cookies with you because, as a fellow sourdough fan, I know how fun it always is to gather all sorts of sourdough recipes. I hope you’ll enjoy adding this one to your collection.
These are not chewy cookies like these Spiced Sourdough Snickerdoodle Cookies but rather soft cookies that are firm enough to hold their cut-out shape. Do you enjoy your sugar cookies soft or crisp? I am definitely on team “soft”, but that’s pretty much how I like all types of cookies.
If you’re new to sourdough, make sure to check out my tips onHow to make Sourdough Starter More Active.
Tips for Sourdough Discard Sugar Cookies:
- You can make this recipe with either active starter or sourdough starter discard. Either will work because this recipe doesn’t rely on the starter to help the cookies rise.These Sourdough Pop Tarts are another of my favorite sourdough discard recipes.
- This sourdough sugar cookie recipe uses simple ingredients that you probably already have on hand. No cream of tartar here!
- These are the best sugar cookies to eat plain, which I prefer, or decorate them for your upcoming celebration.
- You can ferment the sourdough cookie dough if you need to due to gluten sensitivity, or if you would like the health benefits. Scroll down for the long-ferment instructions.
- When rolling out the dough, try not to add any extra flour to the rolling pin. The more flour you add, the more tough and dry your dough will become.
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. Read my full disclosure here.
Ingredients:
Wet Ingredients:
Softened butter
Granulated sugar
Brown sugar
Unfed sourdough starter (discard)
Egg
Vanilla extract
Dry Ingredients:
All purpose flour
Baking powder
Sea salt
Icing (optional)
Sprinkles (optional)
Food coloring (optional)
Tools You May Need:
Stand mixer with paddle attachment
Non-stick ceramic rimmed baking sheet
Cookie cutters (any shape you can think of!)
How to Make Sourdough Discard Sugar Cookies:
In the bowl of a stand mixer, or in a large bowl if using a hand mixer, cream the butter and both sugars until fluffy. To the butter mixture, add the sourdough discard, egg, and vanilla. Mix again at a low speed until the mixture is smooth. Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl as you mix.
In a separate bowl, add the dry ingredients and mix together with a wooden spoon or whisk. Slowly add the flour mixture to the ingredients in the mixing bowl. For best results, mix at medium speed just until the dry ingredients are incorporated.
Divide the dough in half, shape into discs, and cover with plastic wrap. Chill the dough in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours until it is easy to handle.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
On a lightly floured surface, roll half of the dough at a time to ¼ inch thickness. Use cookie cutters or a biscuit cutter to cut into shapes. Place cookies on prepared baking sheet.
Bake cookies at 375 for 8-10 minutes on the middle oven rack just until the edges of the cookies are set. Remove from the oven and transfer cookies immediately to a wire rack to cool. If desired, frost with icing and decorate.
Storage:
Store sourdough discard cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature. If you can’t eat your cookies fast enough, you can freeze the leftover cookies in ziploc bags.
You can also freeze the dough for a great way to make sourdough cookies later. To do this, shape the dough into two discs, wrap each disc in plastic wrap, place the discs into a ziploc bag, and freeze until ready to use. When ready to bake, thaw dough in the refrigerator and then proceed with rolling out the dough and cutting the cookies as mentioned in the instructions above.
Long-Fermented Sourdough Discard Sugar Cookies:
If you would like to long ferment these simple sourdough sugar cookies for the health benefits, simply follow the steps above up to the point where you have added all of the ingredients to the stand mixer bowl and have mixed the dough just until everything is incorporated. Transfer the dough from the bowl into an airtight container and allow the dough to ferment for up to 3 days. The longer you allow the dough to ferment, the tangier your cookies will taste. Once you have fermented your dough, remove from the refrigerator and divide in half. You do not need to place the dough in the refrigerator to chill again. Instead, move on to rolling the dough out and continue the rest of the steps as outlined above.
A Few of My Favorite Cookie Cutters:
You can find everything you need to make professional sugar cookies and icing in the Ann Clark Cookie Cutters Amazon Store. These are a few of the lovely cookie cutter sets available:
FAQ:
Why are my sugar cookies so hard when they cool?
If your sugar cookies turn out hard, there are a few different possible causes. First, you may have mixed the dough too much when incorporating the dry ingredients. Second, you may have worked the dough too much when rolling it out, cutting, and rolling again. Lastly, It is possible that you overcooked the cookies.
Should you chill sugar cookie dough?
Sugar cookie dough should be chilled so the butter has a chance to solidify. This will make the dough less sticky and easier to roll and cut out. It will also help prevent the cookies from spreading and becoming flat during baking.
More Sourdough Cookie Recipes:
- Glazed Sourdough Gingerbread Cookies
- Sourdough Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Spiced Sourdough Snickerdoodle Cookies
If you make this recipe and love it, I would love if you gave it 5 stars!
Perfect Sourdough Discard Sugar Cookies
Yield: 30
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Additional Time: 3 hours
Total Time: 3 hours 40 minutes
Sourdough discard sugar cookies are a delicious way to celebrate holidays, birthdays, or a cozy day at home. These perfectly soft cut-out cookies are tasty enough to eat plain, or top with icing and sprinkles for a sweeter version.
Ingredients
- 1 ⅓ cup butter
- 1 ¼ cup sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup sourdough discard
- 1 egg
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 3/4 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- Icing (optional)
- Sprinkles (optional)
- Food coloring (optional)
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, or in a large bowl if using a hand mixer, cream the butter and both sugars until fluffy. To the butter mixture, add the sourdough discard, egg, and vanilla. Mix again at a low speed until the mixture is smooth. Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl as you mix.
- In a separate bowl, add the dry ingredients and mix together with a wooden spoon or whisk. Slowly add the flour mixture to the ingredients in the mixing bowl. For best results, mix at medium speed just until the dry ingredients are incorporated.
- Divide the dough in half, shape into discs, and cover with plastic wrap. Chill the dough in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours until it is easy to handle.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll half of the dough at a time to ¼ inch thickness. Use cookie cutters, canning ring, or a biscuit cutter to cut into shapes. Place cookies on prepared baking sheet.
- Bake cookies at 375 for 8-10 minutes on the middle oven rack just until the edges of the cookies are set. Remove from the oven and transfer cookies immediately to a wire rack to cool. If desired, frost with icing and decorate.
Notes
- You can make this recipe with either active starter or sourdough starter discard. Either will work because this recipe doesn’t rely on the starter to help the cookies rise
- You can ferment the sourdough cookie dough if you need to due to gluten sensitivity, or if you would like the health benefits. Scroll down for the long-ferment instructions.
- When rolling out the dough, try not to add any extra flour to the rolling pin. The more flour you add, the more tough and dry your dough will become.
