Chewy, gooey, and full of peanut butter flavor, these Sourdough Discard Peanut Butter Cookies are a peanut butter lover's dream come true. The easy, no-fuss dough comes together in minutes with either discard or active starter and with no mixer! Bake these right away or stash in the refrigerator or freezer to bake whenever those cookie cravings strike!
This easy sourdough discard cookie recipe was a real passion project for me. It took a lot of testing to get it just the way I wanted. I was going for chewy and gooey, that gorgeous crackled top, a little bit crisp just around the edges. What I was not going for was cakey, greasy, or crumbly like I find many peanut butter cookies to be. Well my family muscled through the tests with me and about a million cookies later, we landed on the perfect Sourdough Discard Peanut Butter Cookie. I hope you love it!
I've been on a mission to develop more sourdough discard cookie recipes so keep your eyes peeled and sign up for my Friday morning newsletter so you'll be the first to know when new recipes are published. In the meantime, check out my Sourdough Discard Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe!
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Ingredients
Some simple but strategic ingredients and ratios come together to create these delicious cookies.
- melted butter: use salted or unsalted. I like the extra salt in these cookies. Melting the butter creates the perfect texture. I actually started out my tests using brown butter but I found it to be an unnecessary step - and that's coming from a brown butter lover.
- white granulated sugar: a bit of a higher ratio gives these cookies a nice spread and chew.
- dark brown sugar: for flavor and softness. I like to flavor and color the dark brown sugar gives but you can use light brown sugar as well.
- natural, creamy peanut butter: the only ingredient should be peanuts and maybe some salt. I love Santa Cruz dark roasted peanut butter for maximum peanut butter flavor.
- sourdough starter: this is meant to be a discard recipe, but you can use bubbly starter just be sure to stir it down really well before measuring.
- egg
- vanilla bean paste or extract: paste is my favorite but extract works great too.
- all purpose flour
- baking soda and baking powder
- salt: I like a generous amount in these cookies to balance the sweetness and bring out the peanut butter flavor. I always use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt in my recipes.
See recipe card for quantities and full recipe instructions.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Here are the easy step-by-step instructions for this recipe. You can find the full, detailed, printable instructions in the recipe card.
Combine all wet ingredients in a bowl.
Whisk very well to combine all wet ingredients.
Add dry ingredients to the wet mixture.
Mix with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula until a thick dough forms.
Scoop dough into two tablespoon sized balls.
Roll dough balls in granulated sugar.
Place dough balls onto parchment lined tray.
Bake in preheated oven until set on the outside but very gooey inside. Allow to cool on trays.
Top Tips and Recipe Notes
- This recipe was tested with a natural, creamy peanut butter with only peanuts and salt as ingredients NOT a peanut butter spread. If you use something like JIF or Skippy, you will not get the same results.
- This is a soft dough. You don't have to, but if you prefer to chill it for 30 minutes before rolling dough balls you can.
- Do not overbake! These cookies will look underdone inside after 12-13 minutes. This is what gives them the perfect texture once cooled. They will also continue cooking a bit on the hot trays as they cool.
- For the best texture, cookies must cool on cookie sheets.
- If you like more of a crunch, roll the dough balls in coarse or demerara sugar.
- If you want to make this dough a day or two ahead, you can. Simply cover the dough very well and place in the refrigerator for up to two days.
- To freeze dough, you can scoop, roll in sugar, and freeze on a parchment lined tray until solid. Then transfer to freezer bags for up to three months before baking.
More Sourdough Discard Recipes
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
- Sourdough Discard Waffles
- Sourdough Discard Blondies
- Sourdough Discard Chocolate Muffins
- Sourdough Discard Blueberry Muffins
Sourdough Discard Peanut Butter Cookies Recipe
Chewy, gooey, and full of peanut butter flavor, these Sourdough Discard Peanut Butter Cookies are a peanut butter lover's dream come true. The easy, no-fuss dough comes together in minutes without a mixer and can be baked right away or it can be refrigerated or frozen to bake whenever those cookie cravings strike!
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 24 cookies
Ingredients
8 tablespoons or 113 grams salted or unsalted butter, melted
1 cup or 200 grams white granulated sugar
½ cup or 110 grams dark brown sugar
½ cup or 135 grams natural, creamy peanut butter
⅓ cup or 100 grams sourdough starter, stirred down well before measuring
1 medium egg
2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste or extract
1 and ½ cups or 210 grams all purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste or extract
2 teaspoons or 7 grams kosher salt*
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line a few cookie sheets with parchment.
Add melted butter, sugars, peanut butter, sourdough starter, egg, and vanilla to a mixing bowl and whisk very well until you have a smooth, creamy mixture.
Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula until a thick cookie dough forms and all ingredients are well combined.
Scoop dough with a #40 cookie scoop or two tablespoons of dough per ball. Roll in your hands and then roll in granulated sugar. Place balls two inches apart on parchment lined sheet.
Bake in preheated oven for 12-13 minutes until the outsides are crackled but the insides are still very soft. Remove from oven and allow cookies to cool on trays.
Notes
- This recipe was tested with a natural, creamy peanut butter with only peanuts and salt as ingredients NOT a peanut butter spread. If you use something like JIF or Skippy which have oils and sugars added, you will not get the same results.
- This is a soft dough. You don't have to, but if you prefer to chill it for 30 minutes before rolling dough balls you can.
- Do not overbake! These cookies will look underdone inside after 12-13 minutes. This is what gives them the perfect texture once cooled. They will also continue cooking a bit on the hot trays as they cool.
- For the best texture, cookies must cool on cookie sheets.
- If you like more of a crunch, roll the dough balls in coarse or demerara sugar.
- If you want to make this dough a day or two ahead, you can. Simply cover the dough very well and place in the refrigerator for up to two days, scoop, roll, and bake when you're ready. Or you can scoop the balls, roll in sugar, and place on a tray covered very well in the fridge and bake when ready.
- To freeze dough, you can scoop, roll in sugar, and freeze on a parchment lined tray until solid. Then transfer to freezer bags for up to three months before baking.
- A cup of flour consistently measures about 140 grams in my kitchen when scooped from the flour bag or flour jar. I know you'll see 120 grams as the agreed upon weight of a cup of flour but I disagree.
- I use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt in my recipes. If you are using a different brand or variety of salt you may want to adjust the amount. Here is an article on salt conversions.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 12-13 minutes per tray
- Category: desserts, cookies, sourdough discard cookies, sourdough discard recipes
- Method: baking, sourdough
- Cuisine: American
Jamie says
hello, what Peanut butter do you use?
anita | wild thistle kitchen says
Hi Jamie. I use a natural, creamy peanut butter (only ingredients are peanuts and salt) not a creamy peanut butter spread like JIF or Skippy. My favorite is Santa Cruz Dark Roasted Peanut Butter, but any natural peanut butter will work. I explain this a few times in the blog post as well as in the recipe notes. Let me know if you have any other questions. Thanks! - Anita
Mollie Mason says
Can you make these cookies with sourdough discard or starter? In the title of the recipe it says discard, but in the instructions it says sourdough starter. I just want to make sure I'm doing the correct one.
anita | wild thistle kitchen says
Hi Mollie. You can use either discard or active starter, which I explain in the first paragraph as well as under the Ingredients heading in the blog post but I'll add more detail to the recipe card making that more clear. This is the reason I instruct you to stir it down before measuring, as discard will often be flat and not very bubbly and active starter will be very bubbly, so if you are measuring by volume rather than weight, you'll want to stir it down to get a more accurate measurement. In a recipe like this where you're not using the starter as a leavening agent, it makes no difference if you use active or discard. Let me know if you have any other questions! Thanks - Anita
Missie says
This is my new GO-TO recipe for peanut butter cookies!! I typically don't like how dry, grainy, and crisp peanut butter cookies are and only tried this because I had some sourdough discard to use. Now, I love peanut butter cookies and my kids beg me to make these every week! They are pure chewy delight!
Emilee W says
Great recipe! I was wondering, could I make the dough ahead of time and freeze it? If so, what would be the baking process?
anita | wild thistle kitchen says
Hi Emilee! Thank you! I'm so glad you like the recipe. Yes, I give freezing instructions in the notes section: To freeze dough, you can scoop, roll in sugar, and freeze on a parchment lined tray until solid. Then transfer to freezer bags for up to three months before baking. You can either let the dough balls thaw in the fridge overnight before baking or bake straight from frozen, in which case you'll just want to add a couple minutes to the baking time. Let me know if you have any other questions. Thanks again! - Anita
Marylynne says
So yummy! And easy! I did 1/2tsp less than called for (just my personal preference).
anita | wild thistle kitchen says
Hi Marylynne! I'm so happy you enjoyed this recipe and modified it to suit your preference. I assume you mean salt? Thanks for your kind feedback! - Anita
Patty says
This recipe worked out great! For anyone curious, I used my Aldi's brand peanut butter with no issues
Raquael says
These cookies were delicious! Perfect texture, gooey, and not Too sweet. My family absolutely loved them and they were super easy to make. My 5 4 and 2 year-old made them together with some help from mom.
Kim says
These cookies are absolutely amazing! Chefs kiss! This recipe will certainly be in regular rotation for our household. Can’t wait to bring these to gatherings and special events.
Rose says
Such an easy but delicious recipe!! I subbed the peanut butter for tahini (allergic) and they turned out great! Will be making again 🙂
Crystal says
These taste amazing! So soft too! I’m curious if these could be done with less “added” sugar and subbed with some natural sugar such as apple sauce, honey/maple syrup, or monk fruit.