Peanut Butter Cookies Sourdough Recipe
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These Peanut Butter Cookies using Sourdough discard are a delicious twist on one of America’s favorite cookies. It is easy to make and provides a great way to use up sourdough discard which gives a delicious depth of flavor that livens up the soft cookies, and balances out the sweet peanut butter.
These scratch made peanut butter cookies use high quality ingredients that yield fluffy, perfectly baked cookies every time. This recipe is one of our favorites and it’s become a staple treat in our home. We know you will love it too!
Sourdough discard dessert recipes are very popular as sourdough adds an intensity of flavor and a touch of tanginess that benefits sweet recipes.
Why put Sourdough Discard in cookies?
Using sourdough starter discard to bake may seem like an unnecessary addition, but it’s actually a very beneficial way to use up your extra sourdough discard. Sourdough discard will help bring more rise and life to your baked goods because of the presence of live yeast that it contain. Many recipes, like pancake, will be fluffier and fuller.
A sourdough discard also brings a scrumptious depth of flavor and slight tanginess that balances out sweet baked goods.
Should the starter be fed or unfed for discard cookies?
When baking with sourdough discard, the recipe you are using will determine if you need the starter to be fed or unfed. Some recipes require a more active discard that isn’t lively enough to bake bread with, but freshly fed and lively enough to give the recipe some structure.
These Peanut Butter Cookies have the advantage of using starter fed or unfed, so you can choose when you want to use the starter discard. The final result may lead to a stronger flavor or a more mild flavor depending where your discard is.
Are Sourdough Cookies better for you?
Sourdough can be digested easier than plain white wheat flour. Sourdough is nutrient rich and can ease digestion and absorption of certain nutrients. The Lactic Acid that is present in sourdough helps aid in the breakdown of bacteria. Here is a great article on health pros and cons of sourdough.
So while sourdough itself is easier to digest, lower in gluten and contains important probiotics; cookies themselves can hardly be considered healthy. Using a sourdough discard can help lower the amount of white flour needed in a recipe, though it won’t usually replace all of it.
Is Levain the same as Sourdough?
Levain is a subset of sourdough. Levain is a French term meaning leaven or yeast. It refers to the active culture of yeasts used in baking, such as bread dough, sourdough starter, and beers. Yeast cultures are made up of live organisms that start fermenting dough, causing it to rise. A leavened loaf of bread contains yeast cells; they help make bread rise.
What can I do with Discarded Sourdough Starter?
Sourdough discard is the leftover starter that remains after feeding the starter. Discard is inevitable when it comes to sourdough baking. Here are a few of our favorite options to use up sourdough discard rather than discarding it. If you want our complete inventory of delicious sourdough recipes, visit our sourdough section here.
- Sourdough Waffles
- Sourdough Pancakes
- Sourdough Banana Bread
- Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls
- Sourdough Molasses Cookies
- Sourdough Pretzels
- Sourdough Bagels
- Sourdough English Muffins
- Sourdough Pie Crust
- Sourdough Muffins
Can you Freeze Sourdough Cookie dough?
Sourdough cookie dough can be frozen. Sourdough freezes really well and can be baked from from a frozen state. Freezing sourdough cookie dough can be accomplished in a few simple steps.
- Portion out dough
- Roll dough into cookie sized balls
- Place dough on parchment paper on a cookie sheet
- Place in freezer and flash freeze for 1-2 hours until frozen solid
- Remove dough balls from the freezer
- Place dough balls in airtight freezer container or bag
- Ensure all air is out of the container
- Label date on container
- Place in freezer and freeze up to 3 months.
- Bake according to baking instructions straight from the freezer
Looking for more sourdough recipe inspiration? Check out all of our Sourdough Breads and Sourdough Discard Recipes here.
Sourdough White Chocolate Cookies are decadent and sure to be a favorite. Our Soft Sourdough Molasses cookies are a flavorful sourdough discard cookie recipe that bring traditional molasses cookies into a new generation. Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies with Sourdough Discard have a heartier, satisfying texture with that same delicious, deep flavor.
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies With Sourdough Recipe
You can use sourdough starter in almost any stage, but keep in mind if your starter is very weak it may affect the flavor of these cookies. They will still be scrumptious, just maybe not as vibrant and strong.
NOTES:
- Fully active starter will puff the cookies up more. If your using starter that’s been unfed in your fridge several weeks don’t expect much puffing up. But you will certainly have a strong tangy flavor in your cookies. So if you want more flavor use an older unfed starter.
- If you want to incorporate chocolate chips, they pair well with a tangy starter.
- Creamy peanut butter will give you a smooth, pleasant texture. You can use chunky peanut butter if you prefer, but be sure it’s a peanut butter with some added sweetener. An all natural peanut butter will likely yield bland cookies that will need extra sugar.
- Use granulated sugar for the dipping of the dough balls and criss cross pattern to give them that iconic peanut butter cookie look.
Tips for evenly baked cookies:
Cookie dough bakes best when it is evenly sized and placed evenly apart on your baking sheet. I recommend these steps to control the size and separation of your cookies.
- Line the baking sheets with parchment paper, or use silicone matts. We really like the ones with the cookie spacing marked on them. Cookies bake evenly and they are snap to use.
- Use the correct sized cookie scoop. Please use a cookie dough scoop to ensure uniform amounts of dough for every cookie every time.
What can I add to my Peanut Butter Cookies?
Add your favorite baking chips to give these cookies even more. We love white chocolate chips, traditional chocolate chips, even butterscotch chips. Peanut butter cookies can definitely hold their own, but they are also a great cookie to build on.
Please let us know how you make this recipe. Comment in the comment section and rate this recipe. How did it go for you? What did you do with it?
Yield: This cookie recipe makes about 50 cookies unless you add baking chips. If you do, add another dozen cookies to the count. If you don’t need that many you can divide the recipe in half.
Stored in an airtight jar these cookies will stay fresh several days to up to a week.
Can I freeze Peanut Butter Cookies?
Cookies usually freeze and store very well when properly packaged. They make great treats that can be enjoyed shortly after bringing them out of the freezer and allowing them to thaw for a short while. Here’s how to freeze your Peanut Butter Cookies
- Allow you cookies to fully cool and gently place them into a heavy duty freezer ziplock bag.
- Remove all of the air from the bag.
- Label the bag with the recipe name and date.
- Freeze for up to two months.
Your Printable Recipe:
Peanut Butter cookies With Sourdough Starter
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies are a delicious twist on an old American Favorite cookie. Including sourdough starter adds a deeper flavor with a bit of tang. Bursts of sweet chocolate in these flavorful peanut butter cookies make a good cookie great.
Ingredients
- 1 cup sourdough starter -240 grams
- 1 cup peanut butter - 255 grams
- 1/2 cup organic coconut oil (or butter)-softened - 112 grams
- 1 cup brown sugar (firmly packed)- 175 grams
- 2 eggs - 103 grams
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract - 4 grams
- 2 cups flour 256 grams
- 1 tsp. baking powder - 5 grams
- 1 tsp. baking soda- 6 grams
- 1/2 tsp. salt -3 grams
OPTIONAL:
- 1 cup (165 grams)to 2 cups (315 grams) flavored baking chips (optional-choose any kind you like)
Instructions
Preheat Oven to 350 Degrees F.
In a large mixing bowl: Mix together the brown sugar, peanut butter, vanilla and softened coconut oil.
Add in the sourdough starter, and eggs. Mix Gently until combined.
In a smaller mixing bowl Sift together the dry ingredients (except the chips).
Add the dry ingredients into the wet in thirds, mixing after each addition.
Finally add the baking chips (if using) and mix by hand until dispersed into the dough.
Roll the dough into one inch balls.
OPTIONAL: For more sweet roll the cookie balls in sugar now.
Place each ball 2 to three inches apart on your lined baking sheet. They will expand and need room on the sheet.
Using a fork dipped in sugar gently press the fork into the dough balls and criss cross the dough balls as shown.
Bake 9 to 10 minutes until the cookies are LIGHTLY browned. Notice the increase in cookie size when baked. 
Remove from oven and let sit 5 minutes.
Remove to cooling racks. Serve.
Notes
The stage of your starter Matters:
- A fully fed and active starter with a mild fruity smell will offer a less intensely flavored cookie that puff more.
- An unfed or tangy starter will enhance the flavor of these cookies but the cookies will not be as cake like.
The AMOUNT of your starter matters too.
I've made this recipe with only half the starter amount called for and the cookies turned out great. They DO have less puff and a bit more peanut butter flavor if that is what your after.
I have yet to make these (and I make them all the time) and turn out what WE think is a bad cookie.
That's why you see so many notes. Sourdough personalizes this and other recipes. Your starter is different than mine. Do what works for you.
For flatter cookies:
Eliminate the baking powder and baking soda. The starter will still give some leavening.
For puffy cookies that are sweeter:
- Use a freshly fed or recently fed starter
- Add 1/4 to 1/2 Cup granulated sugar to taste
- Use a sweetened peanut butter
The chocolate chips are optional.
They may be omitted or replaced with other baking chips you may prefer. Some good choices are white chocolate chips and peanut butter chips.
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Nutrition Information
Yield
50Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 106Total Fat 6gSaturated Fat 2gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 3gCholesterol 7mgSodium 99mgCarbohydrates 12gFiber 1gSugar 4gProtein 2g
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Recent Posts:
I love this recipe so much. I have found that my coconut oil stayed a little chunky last time so I melted it this time. The cookies are absolutely delicious and so moist. These and popovers are quickly becoming my favorite use of sourdough discard. I use a starter that has been fed daily or every other day and my cookies have been fluffy both times. Thanks for sharing!
Hi Jayne, I’m really happy to hear you love these cookies as much as we do. Thank you for your wonderful review and kind words. Happy Baking!
Baked these today, should have read through the comments first. I absolutely LOVE the texture, but as others said, we hardly taste the peanut butter which was disappointing. I used butter, and rolled them in raw sugar, otherwise I think they’d have had hardly any flavor. Going to add choc chips for the next round of baking, and if I make another full batch will definitely be adding more peanut butter and less butter as my dough ended up quite greasy as well.
I just made these cookies and I find they are very dry and not flavorful. I don’t know if this is because of the sourdough starter being added or the use of coconut oil… I am surprised with how these cookies turned out because the recipe really isn’t very different from say Betty Crocker other than the sourdough starter and type of fat used.
Hi B, I have people comment with ALL kinds of results for this particular recipe. Mostly people love this recipe. But some people struggle. I’m narrowing down the issues. My last commenter said they were on the oily side. My first guess is the its peanut butter. I use creamy Jiff most of the time.
If you are using a natural peanut butter or another drier variety that will impact the texture. Add a bit more oil? Also your starter may be drier than the one I’m using. If you like keeping your starter dry try adding a Tablespoon of water of so to this recipe with the starter. As for the fat. Avocado oil works well for this recipe as does softened butter. I hope you try again. These are really one of most loved sourdough discard recipes. Thanks you for sharing your experience with us. It is a big help to other bakers.
I made these cookies and thought they were delicious but next time I will swap out the coconut oil for butter (found out my girls are not big fan of the coconut taste) I added white choc chip to half and and milk choc chip to the other. I’m not sure how these were crumbly for some, mine were super moist and probably a bit too oily. I would love for the measurements to all be in grams so I can just add straight to the bowl and less washing of cup measurements. I enjoy your recipes so much, they’re definitely helping me become a baker while in lockdown.
Hi Sam, Yep butter works great as a fat for this recipe. One other oil you may try is avocado oil. It is flavorless and works great in baked goods. And feel free to adjust the amount of oil in the recipe as it suits you.
There are two ingredients that affect the results in this recipe greatly. One it the type of peanut butter you use. The brands are so different. Some are more oily and less sweet. And the other game changer is the starter. An older starter will impact the depth of flavor more than a freshly fed starter. And the starters lifecycle will impact the puffiness of the cookie as well.
This is a fun recipe to play with. Do it as you like. I’m so happy to hear you are learning more about baking with our recipes. Sourdough baking is fun and challenging to learn. It’s great to know you are enjoying the process. Have a great day! P.S. I will do a revision of the recipe with the conversion for you. Thanks for asking!
I made these cookies today, before baking I split the batch in half and added different chips to each. The cookies were very crumbly. I added oatmeal to the other half and cooked them until they were fairly brown around the edges, but still too crumbly for us.
These cookies are my favorite use of discard starter! They’re light, flavorful and super satisfying to eat! The peanut butter flavor is present and adding chocolate chips just ups the flavor even more.
I baked this cookies yesterday. I made the dough a week ago, I didn’t want to bake them until I had something else to bake as well. I was eating the raw dough all week long. The cookies are good. I switched the coconut oil for butter. They are in the cakey end, crispy outside. Also, I have so much discarded sourdough starter that it was fine to using some of it. I’m not big fan of peanut butter as spread, so also it was a good use for a jar that was forgotten in my pantry.
These tasted like bread one once baked. Do not recommend.
Well, I used butter in place of the oil. Hubby loves them. They are too cakey for me. But I am not the one who will be eating them.
These were too greasy with coconut oil or butter.
So I made a second batch using only peanut butter for the fat, for a total of 1.5 cups peanut butter and no oil or butter. This made the flavor of peanut butter a little stronger as well.
The kids ate them up, and I didn’t waste anything. The kids will eat anything called a cookie, even my zucchini chocolate chip cookies, but these were great for using up the sour dough discard.
I just made these today and I want to say thanks for sharing this recipe. I hate to throw my sourdough discard out but many times I just don’t know what to do with it. This recipe worked beautifully. The peanut butter flavour is fairly subtle but I like that you can taste the sourdough, My boyfriend made a sandwich cookie with some raspberry jam in between…which I thought was such a great idea.
Hi Erin, I’m so happy to hear this discard recipe worked for you. I also hate throwing away expensive flour and good starter. Lol. The PB and J cookie sounds like a very creative and yummy way to use these cookies. I’ll try that with the kids. Have a great day and thanks for commenting for us.
Made this today! We but used Earth Balance (soy free) in place of coconut oil because, being locked up during a pandemic means limited ingredients at hand!
Added 1 cup choc chips. Made tiny ones, normal ones and large sized cookies. All turned out delicious. Thanks for sharing this unique and awesome type of cookie!
Hi Robin, I’m so happy you made this recipe work for you in these times of shortage. Thanks for taking the time to let us know you loved them. It’s one of my favorite ways to use up sourdough discard.
I made these today. While I loved the texture of the cookie. We found that the peanut flavor was very mild which suited the hubs( he doesn’t care for peanut butter cookies). Also they weren’t very sweet. Was I supposed to roll them in sugar in addition to dipping the fork in sugar. I fond them more like a tea cookie. My mother will love them. I might use butter instead of coconut oil next time.
Hi Dot, You can make them sweeter as you like. Rolling them in sugar will do that for you. We like them just like this. Butter works great as a replacement for coconut oil. Great thing about homemade cookies. They are pretty easy to adjust to your personal preference. Thanks for offering your experience with this recipe. Have a great day!
These are wonderful! So soft, and the sourdough complements the peanut butter beautifully.
Hi Lauren, I made two batches of these cookies this week. We really love them. I’m so happy to know you do too. Thank you for your wonderful comment. Have a great day!
Made these today without adding chocolate chips. Tasted good to me. I used chunky peanut butter and an active rye/all purpose four starter. I liked the softer texture and I could get the peanut butter taste just fine. Will make this again with chocolate chips.
Hi Benita, That’s great to hear. Lol. I’ve made these with chips and just yesterday without chips. I’m so glad you enjoy them as much as we do. Really Appreciate your comment. Have a great day!
I really wanted to love these cookies as I always have sourdough discard to use…I was excited to try this recipe.. the final result is that the cookie is dry and bland tasting… not much peanut butter flavor for using a whole cup of peanut butter. Used half the dough as regular peanut butter cookies and the other half with mini chocolate chips. The peanut flavor wasn’t strong enough to carry the chocolate, even mini chips. I will not use this recipe again, it would have been cheaper to toss the sourdough discard. ??
Hi Terry,
I’m sorry this recipe didn’t work out for you. You might try playing around with it. Using starter is always going to give a unique result in discard recipes. You may want to add more sweetener or less starter to achieve the flavors you’re looking for. Add an extra egg or 1/4 cup water if you reduce the starter. I’d love to know if you do try again. I’ve been tagged several times on instagram by readers that have made and enjoyed these cookies. Part of that is personal taste but also your starter discard itself will play a part in the flavor. Hope this helps! Have a great day.
Hi! Thanks for sharing. I’m alway experimenting with my discard. First, I made just half a recipe per your recipe except with butter instead of coconut oil and I used 1/4 c whole wheat flour, 1/4 c oat flour and 1/2 c brown rice flour. The cookies have the texture of cake and they are a bit bland. I think I overdid the substitutions. ? Anyway, I will try again without the trades. They are still pretty good considering the messing around. ?
Hi Jody, You might be right. That’s a really different blend of ingredients. If you want to do your substitutions try upping the spices a bit to compensate. Thanks for sharing your experience with this recipe. Happy Baking!
Diane, I have found that employing an overnight ferment for sourdough eliminates the digestive issues my wife experiences when baking when using flours containing gluten. I’d like to use your peanut butter cookie recipe but there is no extended ferment time offered for those who have this kind of issue. Would you be able suggest the recipe changes necessary to enable using a longer ferment? Thanks much for your assistance.
Hi Dave, I have two suggestions:
First:To get a more digestible cookie try using a fully active sourdough starter that passes the float test. This will make a lighter puffier cookie with lots of ferments in the starter.
Second: You can also extend the ferment time on this recipe by making the dough 8 to 12 hours (up to 24) ahead of baking.
If you do try this please let us know how it works for you. I have no idea where you might find a peanut butter cookie recipe with the extended ferment times in the recipe. However with a little experimentation I’m sure you can make a delicious sourdough peanut butter cookie your wife can enjoy and easily digest.
Best of luck and have a great weekend. We’d love to know how it goes for you.
Can I use a a different type of oil instead of the coconut oil?
Yes you can
Can I use “old” starter that hasn’t been fed in months and has been sitting in my fridge?
Hi Leah, Fully active starter will certainly puff the cookies up more. If your using starter that’s been unfed in your fridge several weeks don’t expect much puffing up. But you WILL have a lot of strong tangy sourdough flavor in your cookies. Happy Baking!