This sourdough sugar cookie recipe is perfect for holiday baking. These cut out cookies can easily be decorated and are soft, buttery, and sweet.
I’m in full on Christmas mood. We had Thanksgiving early with my family and then I went straight into decorating mode. It felt so nice to deep clean the house and then pull out al the beautiful decor.
There is something about all the greenery, pops of red everywhere mixed with the dark cozy nights with the fire going, candles and lamps that gets me ready for winter season.
And what is Christmas without sugar cookies? And this sourdough version is so yummy. It can be long fermented for more health benefits and easier digestion or whip them up to bake the same day. It is a great way to use up sourdough discard.
Soft and thick with crisp edges make these cut out sourdough discard sugar cookies perfect for any occasion.
Why You Will Love This Recipe:
Delicious: Everything you love in a typical sugar cookie: thick, soft, with crispy edges, but with a sourdough twist. The amount of tanginess will depend on when your sourdough starter was fed last, and how long you allow the dough to ferment in the fridge.
Easy: This is a basic and super simple sugar cookie recipe. No complicated steps.
Option to long ferment: These can be whipped up and baked in one day or if you have a hard time digesting unfermented grains, do not fret! These cookies can also be long fermented. Plus, the long fermentation adds a more tangy flavor to them. Sweet plus tangy is seriously delicious.
Great way to use discard: Don’t just toss out that sourdough discard! There are so many delicious ways to use it.
Tips For Making Sourdough Discard Sugar Cookies:
- Don’t over mix the dough. Add in the flour mixture and stir until just combined.
- Refrigerate dough to help keep the cookie shape during baking.
- This recipe can be made the same day, or long ferment in the fridge for 3 days. Make it according to the directions below and then just keep it in the fridge for 3 days (up to 4 days) before rolling out and baking.
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Ingredients:
Unsalted butter – Cookies are just not cookies without butter, and for baking it is best to choose unsalted butter so you can control the amount of salt added to recipes.
Granulated sugar
Eggs
Sourdough discard – This is unfed sourdough starter or starter that has passed its peak. Honestly, active sourdough starter will also work, but if you need a recipe for all that sourdough discard you have, this is a fantastic one.
Vanilla extract – Homemade or store-bought.
All purpose flour
Baking soda
Salt
Tools you may need:
Plastic wrap
Cookie cutters (optional)
How To Make Sourdough Sugar Cookies
Preheat oven to 350 F.
In a stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream butter and granulated sugar together for a few minutes until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs in one at a time and mix until well incorporated.
Add vanilla and sourdough discard and mix until just combined. Scrape down the sides a few times.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients about 1/3 at a time, and mix until just incorporated.
Divide the dough into two discs, and wrap with plastic wrap. Place the dough in the refrigerator for at least an hour or for 3 days for long fermentation.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out to 1/4” inch thickness between two pieces of parchment paper.
Use cookie cutters to cut out shapes and place on parchment lined baking sheet..
Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the edges start to golden.
Allow to cool completely before icing.
How To Make Royal Icing:
In a stand mixer or large bowl add the ingredients. Using a whisk attachment, (or a hand held mixer) whip together until peaks form.
If the icing is too thick, add 1 teaspoon of water at a time until the right consistency is reached. If it is too thin, add powdered sugar a tablespoon or two at a time until the desired consistency is reached.
Add to a a piping bag with a tip (or just a ziplock bag with a small corner cut) and decorate the cookies.
Storage:
Store in an air-tight container for 3-4 days at room temperature. Freeze in a ziplock bag for up to 3 months.
FAQ:
What makes sugar cookies soft or hard?
Over mixing and over baking are the two biggest culprits to hard cookies. Make sure to just add in the flour until just combined, avoiding over mixing. Properly rolling out the cookies to 1/4″ thick and baking until just turning golden around the edges will also ensure a soft cookie.
How thick should dough be for sugar cookies?
They should be 1/4″ thick. This is the perfect thickness to get soft cookies that are easy to transfer without being puffy.
What type of sourdough starter should I use for this recipe?
Sourdough starter that hasn’t been fed (aka sourdough discard) will offer the most flavor and tanginess to this recipe. Active sourdough starter can also be used, but it will not give you as much of a depth of flavor.
Why do you chill sugar cookie dough before cutting out?
This helps keep the shape of the sugar cookies.
What is sourdough discard?
It is sourdough starter that hasn’t been fed in 12 hours. It is the portion that would normally be removed and thrown out before the sourdough starter is fed again.
Can you long ferment this recipe?
Yes. After creating the dough, shape into discs and cover with plastic wrap. Allow the dough to refrigerate for 3 days. This gives the optimal time for the break down of the grains. It takes this long because refrigerations slows down the fermentation process. You can get away with a shorter time, but a friend of mine tried this and 3 days was the shortest amount of time for someone in her family that has gluten sensitivity.
Find More Cookie Recipes:
- Sourdough Oatmeal Cookies
- Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Einkorn Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Cranberry Orange Cookies
- The Best Lactation Cookies
If you try this recipe and love it, I would love if you could come back and give it 5 stars!
Sourdough Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup sourdough discard
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
Royal icing
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 6 tablespoons room temp water
- 3 tablespoons meringue powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F (unless long fermenting.)
- In a stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream butter and granulated sugar together for a few minutes until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs in one at a time and mix until well incorporated.
- Add vanilla and sourdough discard and mix until just combined. Scrape down the sides a few times.
- In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients about 1/3 at a time, and mix until just incorporated.
- Divide the dough into two discs, and wrap with plastic wrap. Place the dough in the refrigerator for at least an hour or for 3 days for long fermentation.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out to 1/4” inch thickness between two pieces of parchment paper.
- Use cookie cutters to cut out shapes.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the edges start to golden.
- Allow to cool completely before icing.
How To Make Royal Icing:
- In a stand mixer or large bowl add the ingredients. Using a whisk attachment (or a hand held mixer) whip together until peaks form.
- If the icing is too thick, add 1 teaspoon of water at a time until the right consistency is reached. If it is too thin, add powdered sugar a tablespoon or two at a time until the desired consistency is reached.
- Add to a a piping bag with a tip (or just a ziplock bag with a small corner cut) and decorate the cookies.
Notes
- Don’t over mix the dough. Add in the flour mixture and stir until just combined.
- Refrigerate dough to help keep the cookie shape during baking.
- This recipe can be made the same day, or long ferment in the fridge for 3 days. Make it according to the directions below and then just keep it in the fridge for 3 days (up to 4 days) before rolling out and baking.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
The dough came out of fridge after three days fermentation but it’s super super hard. I’m not sure how much rolling pin will get these to flatten out. Any advice?
Have you tried these (and your other sourdough cookie recipes) with coconut oil instead of butter for dairy free?
Could the eggs be substituted for a flax or chia egg? We can’t do eggs but heard this recipe is delicious. 🙂
I have never tried to substitute eggs in cookies before.
Can I leave it on the counter to long ferment faster and cut down the time??
Yes, you can!
Is there a reason the long ferment is 3 days? What it is about these specific ingredients that take it so long? I guess my hope was to long ferment overnight but are you saying that won’t be long enough and why not? Thanks so much!
The long ferment is just for added health benefits.
Because there are eggs and butter, the dough should be kept in the fridge and not left at room temp overnight. Because it is in the fridge, the fermentation will take longer than at room temp.
I use a sourdough that does not produce discard. Would it be okay to use active sourdough or should I use some before I give my started it’s daily feed?
Either will work. Active starter may give more fluffy cookies. I rarely discard my starter anymore and just use unfed starter.
If long fermenting do you mix the baking powder in at the same time of the rest of the ingredients? I can’t imagine trying to incorporate baking powder to cold cookie dough but just want to be sure.
It’s fine to mix it in before hand if you’re long fermenting in the fridge.
Hey there! I’m just wondering why “up to four days” is in parentheses? I am going to make these to decorate with my little sister, and I plan to long ferment them. If I just mix them up today it would be four days in advance but the fourth day wouldn’t be a full 24 hours. Just want to make sure there’s not a chance the dough will be bad if I mix it a little earlier! Otherwise I will just mix it tomorrow. Thanks!
That should be totally fine.
Have you added cinnamon or another warm spice to this recipe before and did the sourdough affect the flavor? I’d like to avoid using icing and have plans for a chai spiced sugar cookie with sprinkles.
I’ve made sourdough snickerdoodles with cinnamon and they are delicious.
Hi,
How would you do it if you don’t have meringue powder? Would you just whip an egg white together adding the sugar slowly, then add water?
Here is a helpful article on substitutes for meringue powder: https://www.thepioneerwoman.com/food-cooking/recipes/a83319/how-to-make-royal-icing-without-meringue-powder/ hope that helps!
Thank you so much.