Sourdough Cowboy Cookies
Cowboy cookies made with sourdough discard are an easy and delicious treat. Soft chewy cookies stuffed with toasted coconut, pecans, and chocolate chips. Make a double batch, these disappear quickly!
Making cookies with sourdough is one of my favorite ways to use discard – I mean, I have about a dozen sourdough cookie recipes, and I just can’t stop making them. Whether you make classic cookies like a sourdough peanut butter cookies or a fun new twist like sourdough snickerdoodle, adding discard to your cookie recipes is a delicious idea.
Adding sourdough starter to your cookies is such a great use of discard! Not only does it help improve the texture of the cookies – making them lighter and softer, but it also adds a little something extra to the flavor, helping to deepen the flavors of the cookie.
These cookies are so delicious, they will disappear so fast from your house! I tested these 3 times before I claimed they were perfect, and each time my family ate them faster and faster.
The combination of toasted coconut, pecans and chocolate chips is fabulous. And adding in just a hint of sourdough really deepens the flavor and adds just a little something special. Plus the yeast helps make the cookies soft and tender.
You might just want to make a double batch because they will go fast, I promise!
This just a brief overview of the directions for your information. For the full recipe, please scroll down to the recipe card below.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and evenly spread the pecans and coconut out. Bake for 6-8 minutes, until toasted. Allow to cool.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, cornstarch, salt, baking powder, cinnamon and baking soda.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy.
- Add in the starter, egg and egg yolk, and vanilla. Combine until mixed well. It will be lumpy and wet. Add in the flour mixture and mix until just combined, and then stir in the toasted pecans, coconut and, chocolate chips.
- Chill the dough for 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 350 and prepare baking sheets.
- Scoop into 2 Tablespoon sized balls and place on the baking sheets. Wet the bottom of a glass and gently flatten each cookie.
- Bake for 10-13 minutes, or until starting to turn golden brown around the edges.
- Cool on the pan 5 minutes and then move to a wire rack to cool completely.
Do I need to chill the dough? You do not need to chill this before baking, but I recommend it. It will help reduce the cake like quality of the cookies and the yeast activity, and will also make scooping the dough easier.
Storage information:
These cookies will keep well for 3-5 days when stored in an air tight container at room temperature.
They also freeze well for up to 6 months.
How does sourdough affect this recipe?
For this recipe, your starter discard does not need to be fed and active, but the more active it is, it will change the texture of your cookies
- If your starter has been sitting in the fridge for a week and has a lot of hooch (the liquid that the sourdough yeast produces as it consumes) on top, the cookies will be slightly flatter and crisper and will have a more pronounced tang to them.
- If your starter has been sitting on the counter and was fed yesterday, your cookies will be softer, more cake-like and rise more and have a less noticeable sourdough flavor.
Recipe tips
When baking these cookies, the following tips will ensure that your cookies turn out perfect every time:
- Make sure your butter and eggs are truly room temperature. This will help to create soft and chewy cookies with the perfect texture.
- Do not overmix the dough, as this can lead to tough cookies. Make sure to mix until just barely combined.
- Don’t over bake the cookies. When you take them out of the oven they might appear under-baked, but don’t worry – the cookies will continue to finish baking while they sit on the baking sheet. Allow them to cool on the sheet for a full 10-15 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack.
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Sourdough Cowboy Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
- ½ cup shredded coconut
- ¾ cup pecans chopped
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup old fashioned oats
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup brown sugar packed
- ½ cup unsalted butter room temperature
- ½ cup sourdough starter discard
- 1 egg + 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and evenly spread the pecans and coconut out. Bake for 6-8 minutes, until toasted.1/2 cup shredded coconut, 3/4 cup pecans
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, cornstarch, salt, baking powder, cinnamon and baking soda.1 cup all purpose flour, 1 cup old fashioned oats, 1 Tablespoon cornstarch, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy, 3-5 minutes.1 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- Add in the starter, egg and egg yolk, and vanilla extract. Combine until mixed well. It will be lumpy and wet.1/2 cup sourdough starter discard, 1 egg + 1 egg yolk, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Add in the flour mixture and mix until just combined.
- Stir in the toasted pecans, coconut and, chocolate chips.3/4 cup chocolate chips
- Chill the dough for 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 350 and prepare baking sheets.
- Scoop into 2 Tablespoon sized balls and place on the baking sheets.
- Wet the bottom of a glass and gently flatten each cookie.
- Bake for 10-13 minutes, or until starting to turn golden brown around the edges.
- Cool on the pan 5 minutes and then move to a wire rack to cool completely.
