Sourdough sugar cookies is a great way to use your sourdough starter! These sugar cookies are simple to make, perfect for cut outs and decorating, and don’t need to be chilled before baking. A fantastic recipe to use your sourdough starter discard!
In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the sugar and butter together until soft and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
Add in the eggs and mix until just combined.
Mix in the sourdough starter and vanilla extract until combined.
Add in half of the flour (2 ¼ cups worth), the salt and the baking soda. Mix to combine.
Add in the rest of the flour and mix to combine.
Chill the dough in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
Working with ⅓ of the dough at a time on a floured counter, roll the dough out to a ¼” thickness. This dough is soft, so lightly sprinkle the top of the dough and the rolling pin with flour to prevent sticking.
Use cookie cutters to cut out desired shapes.
Transfer the cut outs to a cookie sheet lined with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Because this dough is soft, I recommend using a silicone coated spatula to transfer the unbaked cookies to the prepared baking sheet.
Optional: Chill the cut out cookies in the fridge before baking.
Bake the cookies in a preheated 350 F oven for 8-12 minutes. Thinner cookies take less time, and thicker cookies bake for closer to 12 minutes. Bake until the cookies are set and feel firm, and are just starting to turn golden brown on the edges. Do not over bake or your cookies will be crispy.
Allow to cool on the pan for a minute before transferring the cookies to a wire rack.
When cool, decorate as desired.
Notes
You do not have to chill the dough before baking, but it does help the dough to hold its intricate designs better. This is a yeasted dough, so it will puff up a little during baking!The thicker tou roll the dough, the more it will puff during bakign and the longer it will take to bake.