Sourdough Breakfast Cookies

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Quick and easy to make, these hearty sourdough breakfast cookies make the perfect breakfast or snack on the go. Make weekdays easier by prepping a jar of these on Sunday, ready for the weekday morning chaos!

Filled with the goodness of sourdough starter, nuts and seeds and sweetened with brown sugar, honey and dried fruit, these sourdough breakfast cookies will become your new favorite breakfast to grab as you run out the door!

A stack of sourdough breakfast cookies sitting on a piece of parchment paper in front of a white tiled wall.

If you love using your sourdough starter at breakfast, why not try these sourdough breakfast oatmeal cups, sourdough morning glory muffins, no wait sourdough waffles or these fluffy sourdough discard pancakes. And for something special, try this sourdough seedy breakfast loaf.

Why You'll Love These Sourdough Breakfast Cookies

Full of All The Good Things - these sourdough breakfast cookies are full of sourdough starter, nuts, seeds, honey, dried fruit and rolled oats. All the good things to nourish your body and get you off to a great start for the day.

Convenient to Prep Ahead - while they do contain a lot of ingredients, you can literally throw it all in the bowl and make these breakfast cookies very quickly. This makes them convenient to prepare on the weekend ready for a busy week ahead.

Use What You Have - I've used chia seeds, flax seeds and a variety of nuts, but the beauty of these cookies is that you can use what you have on hand in your pantry. They're great for using up bits and pieces!

What is Sourdough Starter Discard?

Sourdough discard is the portion of unfed starter that you remove from your sourdough starter before you feed it. You can use sourdough discard in many sourdough discard recipes, so long as your sourdough starter is at least 7 days old. 

The practice of discarding sourdough is essential to create a thriving sourdough starter, with a happy colony of wild yeast.

The good news is that you can make these sourdough breakfast cookies using either sourdough discard or active sourdough starter - it won't make a difference to the sourdough cookies because they use baking powder and baking soda as their leavening agents.

Jar of sourdough starter discard with a blue lid.

Fermentation of Sourdough Breakfast Cookies

You can choose to ferment these sourdough breakfast cookies for up to 2 days in the fridge.

They are perfectly fine to mix and bake straight away, however if you wish to enjoy some of the benefits of fermented sourdough baking, you can store the cookie batter in the fridge for up to 2 days before portioning it out and baking.

How To Make Sourdough Breakfast Cookies

You're going to love just how easy these sourdough breakfast cookies are to pull together. You can make them with your eyes closed!

Flat lay of ingredients necessary to make sourdough breakfast cookies.

Preheat your oven to 190C (375F). Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper.

In a mixing bowl, cream the butter, sugar and honey together. I have just done this with a fork for this recipe (because I want these to be a quick easy recipe), however if you'd prefer to do it with an electric hand mixer or stand mixer you can.

Now add the sourdough starter and whisk well to combine with the butter, sugar and honey.

Now add the egg and vanilla and beat to combine. Again, I'm just using a fork to bring this recipe together.

On top of the wet mixture, add all of the dry ingredients - all purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, rolled oats, desiccated coconut, chia seeds, flax seeds, dried fruit and chopped nuts.

Mix together using a spatula until it's just combined - try not to over mix it. You just want the wet ingredients to moisten the dry ingredients.

Using your hands, form the mixture into 8 large balls of cookie dough. Place the balls onto the lined cookie sheet you prepared earlier. Gently press them down with the back of a spoon.I've made them 100g each but you can really make them any size you like. The smaller you make them, the more cookies you'll get but I like the jumbo sized for a grab and go breakfast.

Bake in the oven at 190C (375F) for around 30 minutes (if you are making smaller cookies you'll need to reduce the cooking time).

Remove from the oven when the cookies are just golden brown. They will still be soft but they will crisp up as they cool. Allow to cool on the cookie tray for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool fully.

5 sourdough breakfast cookies sitting on a wire cooling rack.

How To Store + Freeze

These sourdough breakfast cookies will last in a tin or glass jar for around a week. I found they store best in tin or glass rather than a plastic container, which causes them to go soft.

If I'm going to use them as a breakfast or snack on the go, I wrap them in parchment paper so I can just grab one with my coffee on the way out the door.

You can freeze the cookie dough in 100g portions if you want to bake them fresh from the freezer.

SOURDOUGH BREAKFAST COOKIES - PINTEREST IMAGE
SOURDOUGH BREAKFAST COOKIES - RECIPE FEATURE IMAGE

Sourdough Breakfast Cookies

Giant sized sourdough breakfast cookies filled with the goodness of seeds, nuts and dried fruits. They are perfect for a grab and go breakfast on those busy mornings. These cookies use 100g of sourdough discard.
3.98 from 42 votes
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings 8 cookies
Calories 419 kcal

Ingredients  

  • 110 g Butter (softened at room temperature)
  • 65 g Brown Sugar
  • 30 g Honey (or maple syrup)
  • 100 g Sourdough Starter (active or discard)
  • 5 g Vanilla Extract (approx. 1 tsp)
  • 1 Egg
  • 150 g All Purpose Flour
  • 5 g Baking Soda
  • 5 g Baking Powder
  • 2 g Salt (just a pinch)
  • 85 g Rolled Oats
  • 20 g Desiccated Coconut
  • 15 g Chia Seeds (or seeds of your choice)
  • 15 g Flax Seeds (or seeds of your choice)
  • 100 g Dried Fruit (raisins, apricots, cranberries, cherries)
  • 100 g Chopped Nuts (pecans, walnuts, almonds, macadamia)

Instructions 

  • Preheat your oven to 190C (375F). Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper.
  • In a mixing bowl, cream the butter, sugar and honey together. I have just done this with a fork for this recipe (because I want these to be a quick easy recipe), however if you'd prefer to do it with an electric hand mixer or stand mixer you can.
  • Now add the sourdough starter and whisk well to combine with the butter, sugar and honey.
  • Now add the egg and vanilla and beat to combine. Again, I'm just using a fork to bring this recipe together.
  • On top of the wet mixture, add all of the dry ingredients - all purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, rolled oats, desiccated coconut, chia seeds, flax seeds, dried fruit and chopped nuts.
  • Mix together using a spatula until it's just combined - try not to over mix it. You just want the wet ingredients to moisten the dry ingredients.
  • Using your hands, form the mixture into 8 large balls of cookie dough. Place the balls onto the lined cookie sheet you prepared earlier. Gently press them down with the back of a spoon.
    I've made them 100g each but you can really make them any size you like. The smaller you make them, the more cookies you'll get but I like the jumbo sized for a grab and go breakfast.
  • Bake in the oven at 190C (375F) for around 30 minutes (if you are making smaller cookies you'll need to reduce the cooking time).
  • Remove from the oven when the cookies are just golden brown. They will still be soft but they will crisp up as they cool. Allow to cool on the cookie tray for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool fully.

Notes

Ingredient Notes
Use What You Have - I've used chia seeds, flax seeds and a variety of nuts, but the beauty of these cookies is that you can use what you have on hand in your pantry. They're great for using up bits and pieces! So you can use whatever nuts, seeds and dried fruits  you like - just stick with the weights given in the recipe.
Fermentation of Cookies
You can choose to ferment these sourdough breakfast cookies for up to 2 days in the fridge. Just cover the bowl with plastic wrap to stop it drying out.
They are perfectly fine to mix and bake straight away, however if you wish to enjoy some of the benefits of fermented sourdough baking, you can store the cookie batter in the fridge for up to 2 days before portioning it out and baking.

Nutrition

Calories: 419kcal Carbohydrates: 47g Protein: 8g Fat: 24g Saturated Fat: 10g Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g Monounsaturated Fat: 5g Trans Fat: 0.5g Cholesterol: 50mg Sodium: 437mg Potassium: 260mg Fiber: 5g Sugar: 18g Vitamin A: 378IU Vitamin C: 0.4mg Calcium: 108mg Iron: 3mg
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3.98 from 42 votes (35 ratings without comment)

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8 Comments

  1. We liked these. Very yummy plus easy to make. I didn’t have any eggs, so I made a chia egg instead and that worked well and held together nicely. I cooked half and the rest is slow fermenting in the fridge. Will update how that affects the cookie.

  2. 5 stars
    These are so awesome! I change up the fruits and nuts each time and have veganized them so all my loved ones can enjoy them. Most of my starter discard is used for these little rounds of deliciousness.

  3. 5 stars
    Hello from Indiana in the United States! These breakfast cookies are now a staple for me and my husband and a great way for me to use my discard. What a fantastic recipe! It’s also very versatile. I increased the coconut and just use dried sweetened cranberries, and they are fantastic. I’m really enjoying your all your sourdough recipes and knowledge you share. Appreciate you! Thank you!

  4. 5 stars
    These breakfast cookies were easy and delicious. I had all ingredients so no substitutions, I only added cinnamon. I did 12 smaller cookies and the only thing I noticed, and could be my oven, is I thought they browned faster on bottom so I flipped them. They came out great and everyone loved them. Definite keeper!

  5. 5 stars
    Love these cookies! Love all the different combinations you can add to them and how quick & easy they are to make.

  6. 3 stars
    I was really excited for these and the batter tasted like they would be delicious! Unfortunately I smelled them burning at the 20 minute mark 🙁 . If you bake these, watch your time and check early.

  7. 4 stars
    Recipe is very forgiving. For example, I didn't have all of the oats the recipe calls for and it turned out fine. I also used only about half the honey called for.

    And this is, indeed, a good way to use up bits and pieces. I had a lot of starter discard to use up, so I had to multiply the recipe by 3.5. Consequently, I cleared out all of my butter, oats, almonds, pistachios, macadamia nuts, pumpkin seeds, and coconut for this recipe, so I was really hoping they turned out well, and they did.

    However, knowing I like a soft cookie, I pulled the first batch out after just 15 minutes and the second batch out after just 10. They were okay at 15, but even better at 10. Because I didn't have any dried fruit to put into them, I experimented with making a thick raspberry sauce with some raspberry jam and a little macadamia nut oil. The combination of the cookie with the jam reminded me a little bit of eating a scone from the local fair. Delicious!