Basic Sourdough Cookies

Not sure about yours, but my sourdough is really going rather well in the warmer temperatures.  One day this past week I had plenty of bread already and was looking for something different to make with sourdough, and tried these cookies.  They were a success, so much so that I made another, slightly varied batch the next day.

 

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (or 1 stick) butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup sourdough starter
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 – 2 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 cup salt

These are the basic ingredients, and the cookies are very tasty just like this.  For variations, add any of the following or experiment with what you like best:

• chocolate chips
• raisins
• walnuts
• coconut flakes
• pecans

Directions

Cream sugar with butter, sourdough starter, egg and vanilla extract, in that order.  In a separate bowl, sift together the dry ingredients (minimum amount of flour, baking powder and baking soda, salt).

Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, then adjust the amount of flour necessary depending on how liquid your sourdough starter is, and how absorbent your flour, making a somewhat spongy dough.

Preheat oven to 350ºF and grease two baking sheets.

Drop dough by the teaspoon on the greased baking sheets, leaving a bit of space so the cookies can rise.  Bake for about 10 minutes.  Remove from baking sheet onto a rack and let cool.

Basic Sourdough Cookies with Chocolate Chips

Milk-and-Cookie Cups

Cookies and milk are great together, so why not combine them into mini chocolate chip cookie cups coated with chocolate, and then filled with cold milk?

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of flour
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) of butter, softened
• 1/2 cup of firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup of granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
• 1 (12 ounce) bag of mini (we actually used normal size) semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 1/2 cups of cold milk, for serving

Directions

• Grease a 24-cup mini muffin pan.
• Whisk together the flour and salt in a bowl.
• Beat the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugars, until well blended.
• Add the egg and vanilla and beat again till well combined.
• Scrape the bowl and add half the flour-and-salt mixture and mix till just blended.
• Add the rest of the flour mixture and mix again till well blended.
• Add 3/4 cup of the chocolate chips, and stir into the dough till evenly mixed.
• Spoon one tablespoon of dough into each muffin cup, and push the dough into the bottom and up the sides of each cup so that the dough rises slightly above the rim.
• Use a 1/2-teaspoon measuring spoon to smooth the center well.
• Put the pan, uncovered, into the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
• Cover the bowl containing any remaining dough with plastic wrap and put it int eh fridge as well.
• Preheat the oven to 350 F.
• Bake until the edges begin to brown, about 20 minutes.
• Remove the pan from the oven and set it on a wire rack.
• Immediately use the half-teaspoon measuring spoon to smooth the centers again.
• Let cool for 15 minutes, then carefully remove the cookie cups, using a small icing spatula to help loosen them.
• Let the pan cool completely, then bake the second batch with the remaining dough.
• Melt the remaining chocolate chips until smooth.  Don’t let them get too hot!  The recipe asks for way more melted chocolate than we needed, though.
• Spoon a 1/2 teaspoon (use the half-teaspoon measuring spoon) of the melted chocolate into each cookie cup, using a small spoon to coat the sides of the cup with chocolate.
• Let the chocolate set for 20 minutes or as needed until the chocolate is firm.
• Fill with milk and DEVOUR!

Makes 36 cookie cups.

Source:
American Girl Cookies, San Francisco, CA 2018, p. 93/94