Fall-Spiced Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies with Spelt & Oats
These cozy sourdough discard cookies are made with fresh-milled spelt flour, rolled oats, and dark chocolate chips, warmly spiced with a homemade pumpkin spice blend. Perfect for fall baking, they’re chewy in the center, crisp on the edges, and naturally full of whole grain flavor. Ferment the dough anywhere from 2 to 72 hours to customize the sourdough tang, sweetness, and texture. A delicious way to use up sourdough starter discard — with an easy dairy-free option included!
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Equipment
- hand mixer - (Optional. Use only to stir on the lowest speed.)
- wire whisk and silicone spatula - (These cookies can be made by hand, no appliances needed.)
- Cookie Scoop - (Optional.)
- cooling rack
- kitchen scales
- mixing bowl with a lid
Ingredients
dry ingredients
- 260 g freshly milled spelt flour - (from 1⅓ cups whole spelt berries)
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground mace
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp ground all-spice
- ½ tsp ground cloves
wet ingredients
- 225 g butter, melted - (1 cup/2 sticks) Use vegan block butter for dairy-free cookies.
- 150 g sugar - (¾ cup) I use raw cane sugar
- 100 g brown sugar
- 120 g sourdough discard - or active starter
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
add-ins
- 135 g old-fashioned rolled oats - (1½ cups)
- 150 g chocolate chip cookies - (1 cup)
Instructions
Prep and Combine Dry Ingredients
- Weigh out whole spelt berries and grind them on the finest setting of your grain mill. Add baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt, and stir until well combined.
Whisk Together Wet Ingredients
- In a medium large bowl, whisk together melted butter, sugar and brown sugar until well mixed. Add the sourdough discard and vanilla extract, and mix until combined. Add the egg and whisk just until fully incorporated.
Mix in Dry Ingredients and Add Chocolate Chips
- Add the dry ingredients into the wet and stir until there are just a few streaks of flour left. Fold in oats until mostly incorporated, followed by the chocolate chips. Mix gently by hand until everything is just combined.
Cover and Ferment
- Cover the bowl tightly and refrigerate for at least 2 and up to 72 hours, depending on how sweet or tangy you like your cookies.
Scoop and Bake
- Preheat the oven to 175°C (350°F). Use a cookie scoop to portion out even balls of cookie dough. Roll the dough into smooth balls between your palms and place them on a lined baking sheet.
- Bake for 13-15 minutes, until the edges just turn golden brown. Let the cookies cool for one minutes on the baking sheet, before sliding the parchment paper onto a cooling rack, to cool completely.
Notes
- Chill the dough in a bowl with a tight-fitting lid or wrap it really well to prevent the cookie dough from absorbing any unwanted fridge odors or flavors.
- Ferment for 24 hours if you’re just getting into sourdough. They’ll taste like a regular chocolate chip cookie with a little something extra. For anyone well used to sourdough flavors, 48 hours ist the sweet spot.
- If you can't go through a whole batch within a week, you can only bake as many as you need and freeze the rest of the scooped and rolled cookie dough balls for another day. Find instructions for freezing cookie dough here.
- For a crispy on the outside, chewy in the middle chocolate chip cookie, just stir in the egg and dry ingredients. If you prefer cakier cookies, use softened butter and cream it with the sugars until pale and fluffy.
- Note the date and time on a sticky note on the bowl or the wrapped dough. Sometimes you can get lost counting the days in the chaos of everyday life.
- Store cookies in a cookie tin (or other airtight container) at room temperature for up to 1 week (sometimes longer). Make sure they’re fully cooled before storing.
Servings: 35 small cookies
Calories: 115kcal