Sourdough oatmeal cookies with chocolate and walnuts

It might have been ANZAC Day being around the corner, but out of nowhere I was craving sourdough oatmeal cookies with chocolate and walnuts. These delicious little disks of yum are scrumptious but also gentle on your tummy. The perfect combination for every day snack time.

I love to snack. People have called me a “serial snacker” before and have promised me that I would be the first to get voted off an isolated island if ever stranded there. While I have my snacking habits somewhat under control, adding children to the mix is a whole different ball game. I remember the relief I felt when we finally stopped bottles, thinking I would have all this extra money available now. What I didn’t realise was that after bottle time came berry time. And let me tell you, berry time is insanely expensive!

Now, don’t get me wrong, I want my kids to eat good food at all times. But I needed something more cost effective, that filled them up to serve with all these berries. That’s how I came up with these sourdough oatmeal cookies with chocolate and walnuts. What better combination than tangy sourdough, filling oats and a touch of sweetness?

There’s something so satisfying about wholesome oatmeal. Sprinkled with walnuts and chocolate chips, it makes a perfect breakfast bowl. So let’s take some time and turn it into a cookie.

Ingredients

• All-purpose flour
• Coarse salt like Himalayan
• Baking soda
• Butter, unsalted – melted
• Cinnamon, ground
• Brown sugar
• Caster sugar
• Sunflower oil
• Sourdough discard
• Eggs
• Vanilla extract
• Oats
• Chocolate chips
• Walnuts, chopped

Tools you may need

Large mixing bowl

Kitchen scales

Small sauce pan, to melt butter

Baking sheets

Parchment paper

Wooden spoon

Stand mixer

Table spoons for shaping

Spatula to transfer cookies

Cooling racks

Cake tins

How to make Sourdough oatmeal cookies with chocolate and walnuts from scratch

Baking is all about the heat, so let‘s start by pre-heating our oven to 190 degrees Celsius (375 degrees Fahrenheit). This recipe makes about 4 trays of cookies, so lay out however many trays you have and line them with parchment paper. Make sure you have enough space to place the hot trays somewhere safe, transfer your cooking onto the cooling rack and loading your trays with fresh cookie dough.

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, salt and baking soda. If you only have smaller bowls available, make half the recipe in two batches. It‘s absolutely worth it to make lots of these. Whatever isn‘t eater within a day can be frozen and kept for a little longer.

While you are combining your flour mixture, place a small saucepan onto medium heat and melt the butter. If you like a caramelised flavour in cookies, feel free to heat the butter until it starts to brown. While I am very impartial to this, some like the added depth of flavours.

Add the melted butter, cinnamon, sugars, oil and sourdough discard to your flour mixture and combine well. You may want to use a stand mixer for this step, as the dough cane become a little hard to handle in large amounts. Once combined, add the eggs, egg yolk and vanilla.

Lastly, add the oats, chocolate chips and chopped walnuts. Keep mixing the dough until an even mixture of ingredients is visible. This is not the time to rush, as you will otherwise end up with some oat only cookies, while others are basically just a pile of melted chocolate.

Once evenly combined, place a heaped table spoon of cookie dough per cookie onto your prepared baking sheets. Leave some room between each cookie to ensure they have enough room to flatten and spread out while baking. As a guide, I place 3 rows of 4 to 5 cookies per baking tray.

If your oven permits, bake two trays at a time, for about 10 minutes. Rotate your trays half way through to ensure all cookies bake evenly. I like to not only swap my trays over, but also turn them by 180 degrees each. Bake your cookies until they start to brown on the edges.

Once your sourdough oatmeal cookies with chocolate and walnuts are out of the oven, let them cool on the baking tray for about 10 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. When the cookies come fresh out of the oven they are still quite soft. I have made the mistake of transferring a hot cookie too many times before. It never ends as anything but a crumbled mess.

If you are short on baking trays, ask your partner or a friend to help you transfer the full piece of parchment paper to your cooling rack. Holding all four corners usually gives enough stability to allow for a transfer of hot cookies without major accidents.

Once cooled, store your cookies in an air tight container for a few days. You can also freeze a bunch of cookies for a later snack hour.

Tips and Tricks

• Use an oversized mixing bowl to bring the dough together. If you are struggling for space, prepare half the recipe at a time.
• Rotate your cookie trays half way through the baking process to ensure all cookies to be baked evenly.
• I like to freeze at least a third of the recipe to enjoy another time. To re-heat, simply bake the cookies again until you can start to smell the chocolate.
• If you are not a fan of chocolate or allergic to walnuts, feel free to swap these bits for other ingredients of your liking. Hazelnuts, raisins and carob are all great substitutes.
• Allow your cookies to cool down before transferring them to a cooking rack. If in doubt, ask your partner or a friend to help you transfer the fully loaded parchment paper. Trust me, rushing this part will cause your cookies to crumble.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why are my oatmeal chocolate chip cookies so hard?

Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies can become hard and crunchy if they are baked for too long. This is especially true for sourdough cookies, where the dough might feel soft due to moisture from the wet ingredients, but firm up quickly as they cool. Given oats are individual flakes that don’t naturally stick together – especially old-fashioned oats or instant oats – your cookie might still appear soft when done baking. Resist the urge to leave them in for more than the recommended bake time (typically 10–12 minutes). That’s when you risk overbaking, which zaps that chewy texture we all crave in a perfect cookie.

To get that golden edge and chewy cookie center, keep an eye on the edges – they should turn just golden brown. Use a cookie scoop for evenly sized dough balls, and bake on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Once done, let them cool on a wire rack – not the cookie sheet, or you’ll risk the dreaded soggy bottom of the pan. Store cooled cookies in an air-tight container or ziploc bag for 3–4 days of chewy goodness.

What does discard mean in sourdough?

Sourdough discard refers to the portion of your sourdough starter that’s removed before feeding. After feeding your active sourdough starter, it becomes bubbly and active. But once it deflates and loses that activity, it’s considered sourdough discard. Don’t throw it away! This stuff is a great way to cut waste and make delicious things like sourdough discard oatmeal cookies, sourdough cookies, and even sourdough discard banana bread. The fermentation process gives these baked goods a lovely nutty flavor and added depth.

If you’re storing your excess sourdough discard starter for later use, keep it in a ziplock bag or air-tight container in the fridge. Just bring it to room temperature before baking with it. It’s a delicious way to use your discard in easy discard recipes full of wholesome ingredients.

What temperature do you cook cookies at?

Cookies are usually baked between 10–12 minutes at around 180°C (350°F). This temperature works well for small items like cookies because it gives the outside a chance to turn golden brown while leaving the inside soft and chewy. This applies whether you’re making traditional oatmeal cookie recipes or something unique like sourdough oatmeal raisin cookies.

To get consistent results, use a kitchen scale for your dry ingredients and a bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment to blend everything evenly. Be sure to scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, especially when adding sticky ingredients like maple syrup, brown butter, or dark brown sugar. Oh, and always preheat the oven – no shortcuts here!

What happens if too much butter is in cookies?

Using too much butter (especially without balancing the milk solids in brown butter) can make cookies spread too thin, turning them crisp instead of chewy. To prevent this, melt and cool your butter first and mix it into the wet ingredientswith care. This is especially important if you’re using whole wheat flour, which absorbs moisture differently.

Combine your dry ingredients in a separate bowl – a step many skip, but it’s key for getting a consistent texture. When mixed properly, your cookie dough should feel scoopable (not runny!) and ready to be portioned with a cookie scoop or rolled into dough balls for freezing (frozen dough bakes beautifully). A quick rest in the fridge, covered with plastic wrap, can help solidify the fat for a better bake.

Can I use instant oatmeal instead of rolled oats?

Absolutely! While old-fashioned oats add that hearty chew and rustic charm to cookies (especially in chewy sourdough oatmeal cookies), instant oats can work in a pinch. Just know they’ll slightly change the texture and may shorten your overall bake time.

Whether you’re making sourdough breakfast cookies or a classic oatmeal cookie recipe, the type of oats can be flexible. Just watch how the dough behaves – juicy raisins, egg whites, or even a hint of cinnamon can help bind and flavor the cookies regardless of your oat choice. And if you’re looking for more ideas, I’ve got loads of affiliate links to my favorite recipe tools on the recipe card – from cookie scoops to wire racks.

Have you tried my Sourdough Oatmeal Cookies with Chocolate and Walnuts? If not, this is your sign to bake them now. It’s one of my great recipes that blends sourdough discard with whole wheat flour, light brown sugar, chocolate chips, and walnuts for the perfect cookie. They’ve got the tang of active starter, the chew of old-fashioned oats, and the sweetness of white sugar and maple syrup. I promise, they’ll be your new sweet treatto stash in the cookie jar.

Got questions or want to share your tweaks? Drop a comment – I’d love to hear how your version turned out!