Sourdough Gingerbread Cookies

This recipe is a great way to use up discard sourdough starter. 

For more sourdough discard recipes, check out these overnight sourdough pancakes, sourdough banana bread with chocolate chips and sourdough cheese scones.

The sourdough starter in this sourdough gingerbread recipe can be is best with unfed sourdough starter, though you can also use a bubbly active starter.

The dough will undergo a long chill period time during which the bacteria in the starter begin breaking down the carbohydrates and starches in the flour.

Ingredients

Equipment

This is a cut-out gingerbread cookie recipe so you will need some cookie cutters. You could make gingerbread men, Christmas trees, stars, or whatever shapes you like. Alternatively, you can simply use a glass to cut circles of dough.

An electric mixer is helpful for creaming the butter and making the royal icing.

Method

In a small combine flour, salt, baking soda and spices.

In a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer, (or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment) cream butter, brown sugar and molasses until it’s thick and fluffy. Beat in the egg and the sourdough starter until it is combined.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and use a rubber spatula to combine it into a thick and sticky dough.

Shape the dough into a mound and cut it into 2 pieces. Wrap the pieces in plastic wrap and chill them in the fridge for at least 3 hours, or all the way up to 36 hours. The dough discs can also be frozen for future use.

Rolling

Unwrap one of the pieces of cold dough and place it on a floured workspace. Roll it out until it’s 1/4 inch thick, dusting the top of the dough to stop it from sticking to the rolling pin.

The initial rolling will be harder and the dough will crack. It will get easier to roll each time as the butter in the dough will soften.

Use as much flour as you need to roll it out without it sticking. 

Use cookie cutters to cut out dough shapes and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, spaced around an inch apart. If you’re cutting different-sized cookies, bake the same-sized cookies on the tray together so they bake evenly.

Gather up all the scraps of dough and re-roll it and continue with the cutting.

Bake cookies

Bake the cookies for around 8-10 minutes, depending on their size. For crispier cookies, you can bake them a few minutes longer.

Once baked, remove the cookies from the tray and place cookies on a wire rack to cool.

Icing

The cookies can be iced when they have cooled down completely.

To make the icing, add an egg white to a medium bowl and use a hand mixer to beat it on medium speed until frothy. Add in the powdered sugar and beat it in on low speed until combined. Turn the mixer onto medium-high speed and beat for 3-4 minutes until thick and glossy.

Add the icing to a piping bag and decorate the cookies as desired.

Storing 

Leftover cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 7 days.

Unbaked cookie dough can be wrapped up tight and frozen for up to three months. Baked cookies can be frozen too, without the glaze.

More recipes

• Small-batch peanut butter cookies
• Peppermint chocolate cookies
• Raspberry & white chocolate cookies
• Espresso brown butter cookies