These soft-baked cookies offer the perfect balance of sweet, salty, chocolatey, and tangy thanks to the use of sourdough starter. When developing a sourdough starter, a big portion must be thrown away during each daily feeding and this recipe helps to repurpose some of that flavorful, nutrient-dense starter in another way. Chopped hazelnuts, flaky sea salt, and coarse sugar provide crunch to these fluffy, cake-like cookies.
Recipe
200g AP flour
155g whole wheat flour
60g whole wheat rye flour
1g baking powder
1g baking soda
218g salted butter, softened
185g sugar
160g light brown sugar
238g sourdough starter
4g vanilla
1 large egg
285g semisweet chocolate chunks
50g toasted hazelnuts, chopped
flaky sea salt and coarse sugar for sprinkling
Method
Preheat oven to 475F degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Cream together the softened butter and both sugars with a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides if necessary.
Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together all of the flour, the baking powder, the baking soda, and the salt.
Add the sourdough starter to the creamed butter and slowly incorporate using the "stir" setting until well combined, then add the in the egg and vanilla and beat on low speed until smooth.
Add in the flour mixture and, using the stir setting again, slowly incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Add in the chocolate chunks and chopped hazelnuts and stir until just combined.
Using a 1.5oz cookie scoop, scoop the dough onto prepared cookie sheets about 1 1/2" apart. Sprinkle with a little flaky salt and a big pinch of coarse sugar. Bake cookies for about 14-16 minutes on the middle rack until just golden on the bottom.
