Sourdough Discard Brownie Cookies With Cherries
These sourdough discard brownie cookies are super rich and decadent. They are thick and fluffy with a moist and slightly chewy crumb. Each bite is packed with sweet and juicy cherries for that perfect chocolate and cherry flavor combination.
Putting your sourdough discard to good use has never been easier. Not only adding extra flavor to your chocolate cookies but also creating a super tender and fluffy cookie dough.
These sourdough discard brownie cookies are such a delicious treat for your family that you will want to make them regularly. And by using frozen cherries instead of fresh ones, you can make these chocolate cookies in any season.
If you don’t have frozen cherries on hand or you prefer not to use them, you can replace them with chocolate chip cookies for an extra indulgent chocolate flavor. Make sure to reduce the flour content for the perfect texture.
Ingredients needed for the sourdough discard brownie cookies with cherries:
- Flour: all-purpose flour is perfect for this recipe.
- Sourdough discard: straight from the fridge is perfectly fine. It can be discard from your sourdough starter or active and fed sourdough starter (if you don’t keep discard).
- Cherries: I used frozen cherries for this recipe for its convenience and all-year-round availability. But you can use fresh cherries if you prefer. Just make sure you reduce the amount of flour you use in the recipe as fresh cherries have a lower water content than frozen cherries.
- An egg: straight from the fridge is fine. It doesn’t need to be at room temperature.
- Butter: you will need to melt the butter and let it cool before using it in the recipe.
- Granulated sugar: I used unrefined sugar as it is my preferred sugar, but you can use regular sugar if you wish.
- Light brown sugar: this will not only bring flavor to the recipe but moisture as well. Don’t replace this with granulated sugar as it will change the texture of the cookies.
- Cacao powder: for that rich chocolatey goodness and depth of flavor.
- Baking soda and baking powder: these are used as leavening agents and interact with the sourdough discard for an extra boost. These leavening agents are high PH and the sourdough discard is low PH, creating a chemical reaction that helps boost the leavening power and giving the cookie dough a tender melt-in-the-mouth texture.
- Vanilla extract: for extra flavor.
- A pinch of salt: to bring out the sweetness of the cookies and complement the chocolate flavor.
How to make the sourdough discard brownie cookies:
- Melt the butter and leave it to cool down.
- In a large bowl mix the melted butter and sugar together.
- Add the eggs and vanilla extract. Cream everything really well. It should thicken and lighten in color.
- Mix in the sourdough discard.
- Add the cacao powder and mix well.
- Add in the baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- Gradually add in the flour. Use a spatula to fold it in. Make sure the flour is well incorporated into the dough.
- Put the cookie dough in the fridge for about 30 minutes or until your oven is preheated.
- Preheat the oven to 18°C (356°F).
- Chop the frozen cherries into small pieces (each cherry cut into 4 or 6 depending on the size).
- Take the dough out of the fridge and mix about half of the cherries in the dough.
- Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Scoop out 6 large cookies per cookie sheet.
- Top the cookies with the leftover cherries.
- Bake the cookies for about 18 minutes if you like them more fluffy and less chewy. Reduce the baking time to 16 minutes if you like a chewy cookie.
- Leave the cookies to cool off for a few minutes and harden before transferring to a wire rack.
- Serve them on their own or next to a scoop of delicious homemade vanilla ice cream.
- I also like to drizzle some chocolate sauce (melting some chocolate and heavy cream together in a saucepan) on top when serving these cookies.
How to store the cookies:
Store them in an air-tight container for about a week. You can also freeze them and store them in a zip-lock bag in the freezer for up to a month.
More sourdough discard recipes to try:
New to sourdough and want to make a sourdough starter from scratch? This easy sourdough starter recipe is the best step-by-step guide for a beginner sourdough baker.
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Sourdough Discard Brownie Cookies With Cherries
Ingredients
- 180 g all-purpose flour approx. 1 and 1/2 cups
- 1 egg
- 120 g melted butter approx. 1/2 cup
- 50 g sourdough starter (straight from the fridge) approx. 1/4 cup
- 100 g granulated sugar (I used unrefined) approx. 1/2 cup
- 80 g light brown sugar approx 1/2 cup
- 40 g cacao powder approx. 1/3 cup
- 100 g frozen cherries (if you use fresh cherries, reduce the flour amount by about 20g)-divided approx. 1 cup
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- pinch of salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Melt the butter and leave it to cool down.
- In a large bowl mix the melted butter and sugar together.
- Add the eggs and vanilla extract. Cream everything really well. It should thicken and lighten in color.
- Mix in the sourdough discard.
- Add the cacao powder and mix well.
- Add in the baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- Gradually add in the flour. Use a spatula to fold it in. Make sure the flour is well incorporated into the dough.
- Put the cookie dough in the fridge for about 30 minutes or until your oven is preheated.
- Preheat the oven to 18°C (356°F).
- Chop the frozen cherries into small pieces (each cherry cut into 4 or 6 depending on the size).
- Take the dough out of the fridge and mix about half of the cherries in the dough.
- Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Scoop out 6 large cookies per cookie sheet.
- Top the cookies with the leftover cherries.
- Bake the cookies for about 18 minutes if you like them more fluffy and less chewy. Reduce the baking time to 16 minutes if you like a chewy cookie.
- Leave the cookies to cool off for a few minutes and harden before transferring to a wire rack.
- Serve them on their own or next to a scoop of delicious homemade vanilla ice cream.
- I also like to drizzle some chocolate sauce (simply melt some chocolate and heavy cream in a sauce pan) on top when serving these cookies.