To think, I almost didn't make these cookies because I have so many double chocolate cookie recipes. But (alas!) these Sourdough Double Chocolate Cherry Cookies are going straight onto the favorites list. They're chocolatey, soft and chewy, and an excellent way to use sourdough discard. The light sourness from the discard pairs well with dried cherries and actually enhances the chewy texture.
To make the double chocolate sourdough dough, I used my Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe as a starting point, but cut back the flour, added cocoa powder, stirred in dried cherries, and finished the dough with a small amount of almond extract. I also made the dough balls quite large. Below you can see them on a 9×13-inch baking sheet (yes, I know - mine is old). It's seen some things.
Even though the dough felt fairly firm, the cookies spread more than I expected and baked up thinner than anticipated, but in a good way. They stayed soft, chewy, and rich, with crisp edges and fudgy centers. Here's one of the cookies made with un-chilled dough, straight out of the oven.
I had some of the chocolate chip cookie dough leftover, so the next day I also made a batch of half chocolate chip, half double chocolate sourdough.
Sourdough Double Chocolate Cherry Cookie Tips
- Don't over-cream the butter and sugar. You're not trying to whip air into the dough -- just beat until creamy and cohesive. Medium speed on a mixer or even mixing by hand works fine.
- Cocoa choice matters. I've only tested these cookies with Dutch-process cocoa. Natural cocoa will likely work, but it may produce slightly different results in spread or thickness. I'll update once I test it, but I loved the flavor Dutch-process gave here.
- Choose your chocolate based on sweetness preference. I recommend a bittersweet chocolate like Ghirardelli or Guittard to go with the sour cherries and the (very subtle) sourness from the discard. If you prefer a sweeter cookie, feel free to use semisweet.
- Cherries are perfect here, but at one point I ran out of dried cherries and tried dehydrated marshmallows instead. They were also good, and very chewy, but the cherry + sourdough combination was my favorite.
Recipe
Sourdough Discard Double Chocolate Cherry Cookies
Ingredients
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened (170 grams)
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar (130 grams)
- ⅔ cup light brown sugar (130 grams)
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (6 grams)
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- 100 grams sourdough discard
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour (or just weigh) (150 grams)
- ½ cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon salt, Morton kosher
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- 10 oz bag Ghirardelli Bittersweet or Guittard Super Chips
- ¾ cup dried cherries or use up to ¾ cup if desired
Instructions
- Beat the softened butter and both sugars by hand or with an electric mixer just until creamy (not fluffy), scraping side of the bowl as needed. Add the egg yolks, vanilla and almond extract and beat just until mixed.
- Stir in 100 grams of sourdough discard.
- Mix together the flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda. Add flour mixture to the mixing bowl, and stir to make a soft dough. Stir in the chocolate and cherrries.
- Using a large (about 2 oz) cookie scoop, scoop out 20 balls of dough and arrange on plastic wrapped lined plates. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 2 hours or until very firm and cold. If you want to skip the chill time, that's fine too, but the cookies made with chilled dough were a little thicker.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Arrange cold dough balls about 3 ½ inches apart on parchment lined baking sheets.
- Bake one sheet at a time for 11-13 minutes or until the edges are set and the centers still look soft and slightly underbaked..
- When cookies are baked, slide the parchment onto the counter and let cool on the parchment. Transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling or if you want you can do what I do and throw them in the freezer. This seals in the moisture, solidifies the chocolate and cools down the cookies quickly.
Anna says
Thanks Emily!
Emily says
These look excellent! I love the half and halfs.