Lemon Crinkle Cookies With Sourdough Discard
These lemon crinkle cookies with sourdough discard are soft, tender, and full of bright, fresh lemon flavor. Rolled in powdered sugar, they bake up with those classic crinkled tops and a soft, slightly chewy center.
Servings: 24 cookies
Ingredients
- 113 grams unsalted butter softened, about 1/2 cup
- 200 grams granulated sugar about 1 cup
- 100 grams sourdough discard scant 1/2 cup
- 1 egg yolk about 20 grams
- 20 grams lemon juice juice from about 1/2 a lemon, about 4 teaspoons
- 4 grams vanilla extract about 1 teaspoon
- 6 grams lemon zest zest from about 2 large lemons
- 220 grams all-purpose flour about 1 3/4 cups
- 20 grams cornstarch about 2 Tablespoons
- 3 grams baking soda about 1/2 teaspoon
- 3 grams salt about 1/2 teaspoon
- 120 grams powdered sugar about 1 cup, reserved for rolling cookie dough in before baking
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375ºF convection and prepare two baking sheets with parchment paper. See recipe notes for non-convection.
- To a large bowl add the softened butter. Use a hand mixer (or a stand mixer) to beat the softened butter until light and fluffy for about a minute. Add granulated sugar. Cream the butter and sugar together until combined. Add the sourdough discard and egg yolk to the bowl. Whip together with the beaters until light and fluffy. Add the lemon juice, vanilla extract and lemon zest. Mix again with the mixer until smooth and combined.
- To a small bowl, add the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. Whisk together to combine. Add the flour to the butter mixture and mix until combined.
- Pour the reserved powdered sugar in a shallow bowl. Scoop the cookie dough into balls and drop into the powdered sugar. Coat completely in powdered sugar and place on the parchment lined baking sheet, about 12 cookies per baking sheet.
- Bake the cookies at 375ºF convection for 9–10 minutes, until they’re puffed and the edges are lightly crisp. If needed, use a round biscuit cutter to gently shape the cookies into perfect circles while they’re still warm. Let them cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes to set up. Then remove them to a cooling rack. Repeat with remaining cookie dough. Let cool completely and enjoy!Extra baked cookies can be store on the counter in an air-tight container for 24-48 hours or frozen to preserve freshness.
Notes
Convection Baking Tips: I like a cookie with crispy edges and a soft middle. This is best achieved using convection bake on your oven. If you don’t have a convection setting, I've also baked these at 375ºF regular for 12 minutes.
Long Fermenting Cookie Dough: This cookie dough can be made, scooped into balls and then refrigerated for 24-48 hours to long ferment the dough if you want the fermentation benefits. Dunk in powdered sugar after they've been in the fridge and add a few extra minutes to baking if baking them chilled.
Sourdough Starter: You can substitute active sourdough starter, but you may want to decrease the flour by 10-20 grams if you do to account for the thicker starter compared to discard.
More Lemon Flavor: Do you want more lemon flavor? Add a teaspoon of lemon extract to the cookie dough.
Nutrition
Calories: 127kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 11mg | Sodium: 84mg | Potassium: 13mg | Fiber: 0.3g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 119IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 3mg | Iron: 0.4mg
