A delicious way to use your sourdough discard, these Sourdough Oatmeal Raisin Cookies are sweet, chewy, and so easy to make! If you have some extra sourdough starter in your fridge, make cookies!
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Sourdough discard cookies have become a new favorite of mine. The sourdough discard adds a bit of tang and tartness to the cookies that balances the sweetness beautifully! It also creates a chewier cookie than a dense, crispy cookies.
Baking with sourdough discard is one of my favorite things to do! You can make baked sourdough donuts, sourdough scones, sourdough discard banana bread, sourdough discard pancakes, sourdough discard waffles, sourdough chocolate chip muffins, and even sourdough crackers with herbs and olive oil crackers!
Jump to:
- Why You'll Love This Recipe
- What Is Sourdough Discard?
- Ingredients for Sourdough Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
- Do These Cookies Taste Sour?
- Equipment To Gather
- How To Make Sourdough Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
- Tips and Tricks
- How To Make Sourdough Oatmeal Raisin Cookies Ahead of Time
- Variations
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Other Recipes To Try!
- 📖 Recipe
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- It's a great use for sourdough starter! If you have a mason jar full of inactive sourdough starter like me, then you are always looking for new and delicious recipes to add it to!
- These cookies are chewy and delicious! If you love plain oatmeal raisin cookies, then you will love these!
- You don't have to refrigerate the dough! These cookies come together in less than 30 minutes. You can't beat that!
What Is Sourdough Discard?
Sourdough discard is the portion of your sourdough starter that you are not feeding. When you are "feeding" your starter to make bread with, you add equal parts flour, water, and starter to a mason jar and let it rise.
You can't feed your entire starter, as it doubles and sometimes triples in size, and that's a lot of starter to have on hand! If you are new to sourdough, be sure to check out this post all about how to keep your sourdough starter happy.
Ingredients for Sourdough Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
- All Purpose Flour
- Oats. Old fashioned rolled oats should be used.
- Baking soda. This adds rise to the cookies.
- Cinnamon. For a little extra warmth.
- Butter. Room temperature so it is easy to cream.
- Sugar. Both granulated and brown sugar.
- Eggs. Room temperature.
- Vanilla Extract. A classic ingredient in cookies.
- Sourdough discard. Inactive, meaning it has not been fed and is not bubbly.
- Raisins. For sweetness and chew.
Do These Cookies Taste Sour?
No! The sourdough discard adds a bit of a tang to the cookies, but they do not taste sour. The sourdough discard adds a bit of rise to the cookies and is a great balance for the sweetness of the sugar and raisins.
If you want to up the sour flavor, chill the cookie dough in the refrigerator for a few hours, or overnight. That will enhance the sour flavor of these cookies.
Equipment To Gather
- Stand Mixer
- Measuring Cups
- Measuring Spoons
- Ice Cream Scoop
- Silicone Mat or Parchment Paper
- Baking Sheet
- Wire Cooling Rack
How To Make Sourdough Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, and cinnamon. Set that aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl, add the butter, sugar, and brown sugar. Set the mixer on medium speed and cream together for one minute.
Add the sourdough discard, vanilla extract, and eggs to the bowl. Mix again until fully combined.
Fold in the oats and the raisins into the dough using a wooden spoon or a rubber spatula.
Scoop the cookie dough into dough balls and place them on a parchment lined baking sheet.
Bake the cookies for 12 minutes and then take them off the baking sheet and cool on a wire rack.
Tips and Tricks
- An ice cream scoop ensures that all the cookies are the same size and cook evenly.
- Parchment paper ensures that the cookies do not stick to the baking sheet.
- It's best to fold the oats and raisins into the cookie dough when you are using a hand mixer. If you are using a stand mixer, they can be mixed in with the mixer.
How To Make Sourdough Oatmeal Raisin Cookies Ahead of Time
To make the dough ahead of time, put the dough together completely and then cover it with plastic wrap. Place it in the refrigerator overnight, if necessary. Bake the dough when you are ready.
These cookies will last in a Ziploc bag up to 4 days. You can also keep them in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Variations
- Use craisins! Oatmeal craisin cookies are some of my favorites! Switch out the raisins for dried cranberries to add a little more tang!
- Add chocolate chips! Everything is better with some chocolate chips! Add 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips to this recipe for some chocolatey goodness!
- Make them into ice cream sandwiches! Make the cookies just a little bigger and once cooled, add your favorite type of ice cream to the cookie and sandwich with another cookie!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! You will get a little bit more of a rise with active starter than you will with inactive starter.
Yes! You can freeze the dough or the cookies. To freeze the cookie dough, make the dough completely and then shape them into a log. Wrap the log in plastic wrap and freeze for up to 3 months. To freeze the baked cookies, place the cooled cookies in a Ziploc bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
In this recipe, we really need to use old-fashioned oats. Quick oats tend to disintegrate quickly and won't give you the chewy that you want in an oatmeal raisin cookie.
Other Recipes To Try!
Did you love this Sourdough Oatmeal Raisin Cookies Recipe? If you did, don't forget to tag me on social media on Instagram or Facebook and share this recipe on Pinterest! Thanks for sharing this journey with me and enjoy these delicious recipes!
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📖 Recipe
Classic Sourdough Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup All Purpose Flour
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
- 1 cup Butter Room Temperature
- ¾ cup Brown Sugar
- ¾ cup Granulated Sugar
- 2 Eggs Room Temperature
- 1 cup Sourdough Discard Inactive
- 2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 ½ cups Raisins
- 2 ½ cups Oats Old Fashioned
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl, mix together the flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon. Set that aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl, add the butter, sugar, and brown sugar. Set the mixer on medium speed and cream together for one minute.
- Add the sourdough discard, vanilla extract, and eggs to the bowl. Mix again until fully combined. Add the flour mixture to the bowl and mix well.
- Fold in the oats and the raisins into the dough using a wooden spoon or a rubber spatula.
- Scoop the cookie dough into dough balls and place them on a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Bake the cookies for 12 minutes and then take them off the baking sheet and cool on a wire rack.
Notes
- An ice cream scoop ensures that all the cookies are the same size and cook evenly.
- Parchment paper ensures that the cookies do not stick to the baking sheet.
- It's best to fold the oats and raisins into the cookie dough when you are using a hand mixer. If you are using a stand mixer, they can be mixed in with the mixer.
Wendy Olmstead
I love this recipe!
I had all ingredients on hand so made first batch today and added walnuts as well.
Instructions were simple and easy to follow.
The cookies came out perfect and i shared them with my neighbors!
They were a hit!
Thanks so much!!!
lynnswayoflife
That sounds fantastic! Thanks for making my recipe!
Louise
We loved the tartness that the sourdough starter gave!
A delicious cookie and perfect with a cup of English tea.
Glenda
My husband loves these cookies! They're absolutely delicious!
Alisa Infanti
Some how you did it and managed to level up my favourite cookie... Delish!
Jenn
I love that these cookies use sourdough discard - and it gave them such amazing flavor!