Sourdough cookies (yes cookies!)

So it was my sourdough starter's 3rd birthday earlier this week. 18th May to be precise. I know it's really sad to be able to remember your sourdough's birthday more easily than your kids birthdays!!! 

Anyhow we felt it was worthy of celebrating so I asked the kids what should we make as we'd made Sourdough Scones recently, and then Sourdough Chelsea buns and then iced buns using the same recipe as the Chelsea buns. D responded straight away with "sourdough cookies" - Sourdough cookies - erm, was that even possible??? I turned to the internet to find out and came across a recipe from Edd Kimber. 

I thought that was rather apt that the first recipe that popped up was by Edd Kimber as when D was really into baking, he was a big fan of Edd Kimber and even got the chance to bake with him once back in 2015. 

So using Edd's recipe as a guide but changing some of the ingredients, quantities and ratios we ended up with a hybrid cookie-cake. The texture and taste of a cookie on the outside but with a slightly cakey middle! If you want it more cookie like then I suspect more sugar in relation to flour would make it so. 

Ingredients:
55g salted butter
100g plain flour
50g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
100g caster sugar
1 egg
60g sourdough starter
vanilla extract
50g dark chocolate chopped

This makes 13 cookies

This cookie dough needs a long rest time in the fridge - so bear that in mind before you start!

Method:
1. Melt the butter in a pan on a medium heat whilst it bubbles off some water content. Edd Kimber's post explains the science of why this is necessary. Take care not to burn the butter. Take off the heat and leave to cool.
2.  Mix together the sugar, egg, vanilla, and sourdough starter. Then add the melted butter once it is cool.
3. Then add the flours and baking powder and mix until well combined.
4. Finally add the chopped chocolate pieces and mix until just mixed in.
5. Wrap the dough in cling film and refrigerate overnight.

The next morning, pre-heat the oven to 180C, roll into balls and place onto baking paper on a baking tray and bake for around 15 minutes until browned.

Remove from the oven, place on a wire rack and leave to cool.

We also made them a second time with a few more tweaks (50g plain flour and 100g self-raising, 65g sourdough starter and adding some chocolate extract too) but they tasted more or less the same as the first batch!