There are so many ways to make a great chocolate cookie, but for me, the best ones have a deep, rich chocolate flavor, a chewy gooey texture, and melty pools of chocolate that feel like sipping a warm cup of hot chocolate. That’s exactly what these sourdough chocolate marshmallow cookies deliver. They’re intensely chocolatey, soft and fudgy in the center, with pockets of melted chocolate and gooey marshmallow in every bite.
As much as I consider myself a chocolate chip cookie kind of gal, I’d choose these sourdough chocolate cookies any day. My top tip? Garnish the dough balls with a few marshmallows in addition to folding them into the dough and you’ll end up with toasted marshmallows on top of the cookies resembling floating marshmallows in your hot chocolate. So good!
Key ingredients
🍫 For the best sourdough chocolate cookies, start with Dutch-process cocoa powder and high quality bittersweet chocolate chips. I find that Dutch-process cocoa will give you a deeper, richer chocolate flavor and bittersweet chocolate chips add pockets of intense chocolate flavor without being too bitter or overly sweet.
Other key ingredients:
- Brown butter – browning the butter removes water in the butter to make room for the extra moisture you’ll add in the form of sourdough discard. This is not only necessary to minimize water in the cookie dough, it also adds a complex flavor profile that you didn’t know you needed, making all of my sourdough cookies extra special.
- Sourdough discard – or ripe sourdough starter will also work. This adds that subtle tang to your cookies, as well as moisture. My sourdough discard is always at 100% hydration.
- Egg yolk – I recommend only using egg yolk for these cookies to make them extra chewy. I tested this recipe with whole eggs as well, and they came out more cakey, still delicious but not quite the texture I was going for.
Make marshmallow sourdough chocolate cookies with me!
Follow along visually as we make this sourdough chocolate cookie recipe. Or you can skip ahead, detailed instructions are in the recipe card below.
1. Make brown butter
Make brown butter and let it cool in your stand mixer bowl ahead of time. It’s okay if it resolidifies.
2. Cream butter with sugar
Beat cooled brown butter with brown and granulated sugar for 2 minutes until light in color.
3. Add remaining wet ingredients
Beat egg yolks, sourdough discard and vanilla with the butter/sugar mixture for another 2 minutes until creamy and fluffy. Don’t be afraid to beat this for a long time to emulsify the mixture well.
4. Incorporate dry ingredients
Typically, you’d want to mix the dry ingredients together first and then add it to the wet mixture. But my lazy girl method is to sift flour, cocoa powder and baking soda directly into the bowl (save a dirty bowl), then sprinkle the kosher salt on top. I found this works just fine! You don’t need to mix the dough super thoroughly in this step, stir until just combined is good enough.
5. Stir in chocolate chips and marshmallows
This step will further mix the dough, that’s why it’s not necessary to mix super thoroughly in step 4. Also, you don’t want to over-mix cookie dough unless you like dry hard cookies.
6. Divide the dough and chill
I like using my 3-tablespoon cookie scoop to divide the dough right away while it is still soft and press 3 more marshmallows on top. Then pop the tray into the refrigerator to chill for at least 30 minutes. I usually aim for an hour to allow the butter to fully resolidify and let the cookie flavor to develop. Though you can bake these without chilling, I’ve done it during testing and they turn out just as delicious.
7. Bake, reshape and cool
Bake 6 cookies to a baking tray, these do spread depending on where the marshmallows are inside the dough. Don’t over bake, you’ll want the middle to still be gooey when you take them out. Use a large cookie cutter or a spatula to shape the cookies into perfect circles as soon as they come out of the oven. Cool on the baking sheet for 15 mins before moving them to a wire rack.
That’s it friends. Easy peasy right? I hope you enjoy these as much I did testing them 😉 They are by far one of my favorite cookies, for real.
Sourdough Chocolate Cookies with Marshmallows
Equipment
- Stand Mixer
- Baking Sheet
- Cookie Scoop
- Saucepan
Ingredients
- 227 grams (8 oz) unsalted butter brown
- 175 grams (⅞ cup) brown sugar
- 100 grams (½ cup) granulated sugar
- 2 large egg yolks
- 10 grams (2 teaspoon) pure vanilla extract
- 120 grams sourdough starter discard 100% hydration
- 200 grams (1 ½ cup) all-purpose flour
- 52 grams (½ cup) cocoa powder dutch-process
- 6 grams (1 teaspoon) baking soda
- 6 grams (1 teaspoon) kosher salt
- 180 grams (1 cup) bittersweet chocolate chip
- 80 grams (1 ½ cup) mini marshmallows
- (1 cup) Extra marshmallows for topping
Instructions
- Brown the butter – Heat unsalted butter in a light colored saucepan over medium heat. Once the butter melts, it will become foamy. When the foam subsides, you will see clear bubbles, start whisking continuously at this point to keep the milk solids from burning. When the butter is caramel in color and smells nutty – about 8 to 9 minutes – take it off the heat and immediately pour it into the stand mixer bowl and allow to cool.227 grams unsalted butter
- Beat in sugar – Once the butter has cooled down, add both granulated sugar and brown sugar to it. Beat with the paddle attachment for at least 2 minutes until light in color.175 grams brown sugar, 100 grams granulated sugar
- Incorporate sourdough starter – Add the egg yolks, vanilla extract, sourdough starter and continue beating for at least another 2 minutes until fluffy and creamy.2 large egg yolks, 10 grams pure vanilla extract, 120 grams sourdough starter discard
- Add dry ingredients – Sift flour, cocoa powder and baking soda directly into the wet ingredient mixture in the stand mixer bowl. Sprinkle kosher salt on top and stir until incorporated. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as necessary.200 grams all-purpose flour, 52 grams cocoa powder, 6 grams baking soda, 6 grams kosher salt
- Add mix-ins – Add the chocolate chips and mini marshmallows, stir to distribute evenly. Stop the mixer and use a spatula to scrape the side and bottom of the bowl to ensure good distribution of mix-ins throughout the cookie dough.180 grams bittersweet chocolate chip, 80 grams mini marshmallows
- Scoop and chill – Portion the cookie dough with a 3-tablespoon cookie scoop and place them on a lined baking sheet. Press 3 extra marshmallows on top of each dough ball. Cover and refrigerate for at least half an hour, and up to 3 days, before baking. While you can bake these right away, chilling the dough is essential to allow the butter to re-solidify, the flour to hydrate and the flavor to develop!Extra marshmallows for topping
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Bake – Place 6 dough balls on a baking sheet, and bake 1 batch at a time for about 13:30 to 14 minutes, until the marshmallows on top start to look toasty and the middle of the cookie is still slightly underbaked.
- Cool – Remove the baking sheet from the oven and immediately reshape them using a spatula or a large cookie cutter. Allow the cookies to sit on the baking sheet to finish baking from the residual heat for 10-15 minutes before removing them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Storing cookie dough: The cookie dough can be kept refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 6 months, once portioned.
- Baking frozen dough: You can bake frozen dough balls without thawing, simply increase baking time by 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- Storing baked cookies: Store leftover cookies in an airtight container for 3-5 days to keep them fresh. For longer storage, you can freeze them for up to 6 months. Thaw completely before serving, and if you let them sit in a warm spot, they will end up tasting like freshly baked!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
