Sourdough Discard Sugar Cookies

Iced cookies in a variety of colors on a platter.

5 from 1 vote

Sourdough Discard Sugar Cookies

A delicious and easy cut-out sugar cookie with a dipped icing. Cut these cookies into any shape, and customize your icing color and sprinkles for any celebration!

Prep Time25

Cook Time15

Chill Time2

Total Time2 40

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: cookies

Calories: 155kcal

Author: Jessica Vogl

Equipment

Ingredients

For the Cookies

2 ⅔ cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon baking powder
14 Tablespoons unsalted butter softened at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
200 grams (about ¾ cup) sourdough discard unfed, at room temperature
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the Icing

4 cups powdered sugar
6-8 Tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Food coloring optional
Sprinkles optional

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.
In a large bowl using a hand-held mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add the sourdough discard, egg, and vanilla extract and mix until combined.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until combined and a smooth dough forms. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and press it into a disk. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours (or up to 2 days).
Preheat the oven to 375℉ and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Remove the dough from the plastic wrap and divide into two pieces. On a lightly floured surface, use a rolling pin to roll the dough to ¼ inch thickness. Press your cookie cutters into the dough to cut your desired shapes, then transfer the cut cookies to the prepared baking sheet.
Gather any dough scraps together, re-roll the dough, and cut out additional shapes until all dough has been used. Repeat with the remaining half of the dough.
The dough will be best in the first roll, so get as many cookies out of it as you can! Subsequent rolls will give you slightly thicker cookies (more gluten is activated by gathering and re-rolling the dough).
Bake for 12-14 minutes, until the cookies are firmed and the bottoms are just starting to brown. Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack to cool fully.
Once the cookies have cooled, whisk together the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract. Start with less milk - you can always add more if it seems too thick! Whisk until smooth and combined; add food coloring if desired. The icing should be thin enough to be dippable, but not so thin that it will run off the edges of the cookie.
Dip the cookies upside-down into the icing, swirling to cover the surface. Then twist and bring the cookie right-side-up. Place on a cooling rack to let any excess icing drip off. Add sprinkles, if desired. Let the icing harden for about an hour before serving.

Video

Notes

1 cookie = 1 serving

While it's not needed for leavening purposes, you can make these cookies with active sourdough starter. To do so, replace the sourdough discard with active starter (200g). Be prepared that your cookies may rise more than the version made with discard.

Nutrition