Use your sourdough discard to make fun cut out sugar cookies! They're soft, thick, not overly sweet, with just a hint of sour flavor from the discard.
When contemplating working sourdough discard into my favorite cut out sugar cookie recipe, I described it as being "so crazy it just might work". And it did. It really did.
Maybe my favorite thing about these is that they're not overly sweet. The cookies themselves have just a hint of sourdough flavor that comes out once baked. It balances just right with a heavy spread of frosting!
Frosting that's as thick as the cookie, thank you very much.
The Dough
This is a really simple cookie dough recipe that comes together in no time. You'll follow the usual procedure of creaming butter + sugar, adding liquids, then mixing in dry ingredients. I like to use my stand mixer for this, but definitely a hand mixer will work, too!
All butter cookies vs. a combination of shortening + butter
I've made these cookies using only butter, and using half butter + half shortening. It works really well both ways, so do whichever you prefer! I will say I find the dough bakes into a more precise shape when half shortening is used, but I like the flavor of the all butter version more.
To chill the dough or not to chill the dough
I have written in the recipe card to chill this dough before rolling and cutting it. This is pretty standard for cut out sugar cookies. Giving the dough a 2-24 hour rest in the fridge will allow the butter to re-solidify, making the dough easier to roll out and cut, and making the cookies hold their shape better when baking.
If you're going to the trouble of making cut-outs, don't skip a step that will make them look really good!
Rolling + cutting
Once your dough is chilled, pull it out of the fridge and let it warm up for a few minutes. Then, lightly flour your work surface (it is easy to do this on parchment paper), the top of the dough, and your rolling pin. Roll to ¼-inch thickness, then cut with cookie cutters.
Once you've run out of dough, you can squish scraps together and re-roll and cut. Continue to roll and cut until all the dough has been used. Eventually, I bake the scraps as samples for quality control purposes 🙂
Be careful to not add too much flour in the process of rolling the dough out. Since you will probably need a bit each time you roll the dough, it's possible to add too much, which could make for tough cookies. Just use enough so the dough doesn't stick and you won't have to worry about it!
Baking
The most important thing about making cut out sugar cookies is - in my mind - do not overbake them! I love a really soft sugar cookie, so I pull them out as soon as they're puffed up on the top of the entire cookie. If there's a sunken area in the middle of the cookie, they're not quite done yet. They should not be browning at all.
If you like a bit of a crunch to your sugar cookie, you can bake them 1-2 minutes beyond this point until you begin to see some color around the edges.
Freezing
This dough freezes really well and is so great to have on hand when you need it.
One of my favorite holiday season shortcuts is to make a double batch of this dough, and freeze half of it. If we need more cookies (which is all but a guarantee), it feels like a huge time/effort-saver to have the dough already made.
Thaw frozen cookie dough in the fridge overnight, then roll as usual.
The Frosting
This is my favorite frosting recipe for cookies! The flavor is just right with a hint of vanilla + almond extract, and it's so easy to make. Plus, you can easily adjust it to your preferred level of thickness.
I like a pretty stiff frosting that hardens when chilled, so I usually add a smaller amount of milk. Just add more if you prefer a softer frosting.
Use gel food coloring to get vibrant colors without changing the consistency of your frosting!
Decorating Cut Outs
Second only to eating them, the most fun part of making cut out cookies is decorating them!
It's so fun to do with kids (as long as you don't care what they look like!), and you can make them work for any occasion.
Besides fun cookie cutters, some of my favorite tools for decorating sugar cookies are:
- piping tips (you can alternatively use a Ziplock bag with a corner snipped)
- fun colorful sprinkles - amazon has sprinkles for every holiday!
- turbinado sugar (for simple cookies like the ones photographed for this post)
- colorful coarse sugar
- alphabet cookie cutters for spelling out messages
Storage
You'll want to keep these at room temperature for about 12 hours for the frosting to fully harden, then you can stack them and store them in an airtight container in the fridge.
These are best within the first week after making them.
Using discard in sweet recipes
Like all discard recipes, you want to make sure your sourdough starter discard isn't too far gone to use! This is especially important in sweet recipes where the sour flavor could potentially be really out of place.
Since discard gets more sour the older it gets, I like to use fairly fresh discard for this recipe (like a day old if it's at room temperature, or no more than 3 days old if it's in the fridge).
As long as there's no mold on your discard, how old you're okay with it being is totally up to your preferences! Just know the older it is, the more of a sour flavor it will impart on your cookies.
Happy cookie baking + decorating!
Sourdough Discard Cut Out Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
For the Cookies
- ⅔ cup butter, softened (see note)
- ¾ cup sugar
- ⅓ cup sourdough starter discard
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 ¼ cup all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
For the Frosting
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 2 ¼ cup powdered sugar
- 2 - 4 tablespoons whole milk
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla
- ⅛ teaspoon almond extract (optional)
Directions
For the Cookies
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the discard, egg, and vanilla and mix until well combined. Don't worry if it looks lumpy at this point! Add the flour, baking powder, and salt and mix until there is no dry flour, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Divide the dough in half, shape into discs, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and chill for at least 2 hours, up to 24.Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured piece of parchment paper to ¼-inch thick. Use cookie cutter to cut into your desired shape. Arrange on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 5-7 minutes, until baked through and puffed up. DO NOT overbake these! Keep in mind they should not brown.Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for a couple of minutes, then transfer to a baking rack to cool completely. Continue cutting and baking cookies until all the dough is used up. You can smoosh together the scraps and re-roll as many times as needed - be careful not to add too much flour or it will dry out the dough on subsequent re-rolls. If your dough becomes too warm to work with easily, you can wrap it and pop it in the fridge again.Once cookies are cooled completely, you can frost and decorate!
For the Frosting
- Add all ingredients (starting with 2 tablespoons of milk) to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Mix on low speed until no dry bits of sugar remain, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Then, whip on medium-high speed for 2 minutes, until frosting is light and fluffy. If it looks too thick for your liking, add more milk a tablespoon at a time.
Notes
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