Earth-saving cookies

Chewy Kernza ginger cookies with sourdough discard

​As soon as I started baking with Kernza, I knew I really needed to put it into cookies. The perennial grain’s nutty, almost spicy scent evokes memories of freshly baked gingerbread cookies in my grandma’s Florida kitchen at Christmastime. Pairing it with ginger and molasses is a match made in heaven.

But rather than stop at swapping in some whole grain Kernza flour for all-purpose, I also wanted the recipe to recycle some of my ever-present sourdough discard, in the ecologically friendly spirit of Kernza. So I followed Edd Kimber’s genius method for incorporating sourdough discard—the excess sourdough starter removed when refreshing a mother starter—into cookies. By reducing the moisture content in the cookie dough but keeping the fat (through browning the butter and taking out the egg white), the sourdough discard is unnoticeable in both the taste or texture of the final cookies.

​I always have sourdough discard taking up space in the fridge, but if you don’t, you can leave some out on the counter overnight to over-ferment and make it easier to incorporate into the dough. I keep my starter at 100% hydration, meaning equal parts flour and water by weight. If your starter is drier or wetter, simply add the necessary amount of water or flour to your discard to get it near equal and mix it into a slurry before incorporating the called-for amount into the recipe. Happy waste-free baking!

Yield
About 22 cookies when using a medium-sized, 1.25-oz scoop (30-35g per cookie)

Ingredients
1 stick of butter (113g), to brown (reduced to 86g)
⅓ cup brown sugar (75g)
⅓ cup granulated sugar (75g) + additional ½ cup (110g) for coating cookies
1 large egg yolk (18g)
¼ cup molasses (80g)*
½ cup sourdough discard (125g)
1 tbsp fresh grated ginger, packed (10g)
1 tsp cinnamon (3g) + additional 1 tbsp (7g) for coating cookies
1 tsp ginger (3g) + additional ½ tsp (2g) for coating cookies
1 tsp baking soda (3g)
½ tsp nutmeg (2g)
½ tsp salt (2g)
¾ cup all-purpose flour (110g)
¾ cup whole Kernza flour (80g)

*If you aren’t a fan of the heavy flavor of molasses, you can swap in ¼ cup maple syrup (70g) instead. The cookies will spread a bit more from the extra moisture in the maple syrup and be a tad sweeter.

Tools
Stand mixer (or very strong arms)
Pan
Rubber spatula
Baking sheet
Parchment paper or silicone baking mat
Small grater, such as a Microplane grater
​
Instructions

1. Heat your pan over medium heat, then add the stick of butter. Stir it occasionally as it melts, bubbles, and sizzles, and then more frequently as the bubbles get smaller and peter out. The remaining milk solids will turn an amber brown and begin releasing a nutty, toasted aroma. Allow it to continue browning for about a minute and then remove it from heat and pour into a small bowl to cool.
2. Let the butter cool for at least 10 minutes while you assemble the rest of your ingredients. Grate enough ginger for 1 packed tbsp (10g).
3. Add the butter, ⅓ cup brown sugar (75g), and ⅓ cup granulated sugar (75g) to the mixing bowl and cream the mixture with the paddle attachment on medium speed until fluffy.
4. Change the mixer speed to low and mix in the egg yolk, ¼ cup molasses (80g) or maple syrup (70g), and ½ cup sourdough discard (125g). Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix until well incorporated.
5. Add the spices—1 tbsp freshly grated ginger (10g), 1 tsp cinnamon (3g), 1 tsp ginger (3g), 1 tsp baking soda (3g), ½ tsp nutmeg (2g), and ½ tsp salt (2g)—and mix until evenly distributed.
6. Add ¾ cup all-purpose flour (110g) and ¾ cup Kernza flour (80g) and mix until uniform, scraping down the sides and paddle attachment as needed.
7. Cover and refrigerate the dough for at least 30 minutes.
8. When ready to bake, heat the oven to 350 F.
9. Make a sugar-cinnamon-ginger mixture of roughly ½ cup cup granulated sugar (110g), 1 tbsp cinnamon (7g), and ½ tsp ginger (2g). Line the baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
10. Form the dough into balls, either using your hands or a medium-sized cookie scoop. Roll them in the sugar-cinnamon-ginger mixture and place them on the baking sheet.*
11. Bake for 10 minutes, rotating halfway through if your oven doesn’t heat uniformly.
12. Devour!

*You can also form the cookies and put them in the freezer for easy future baking. Simply add 2-4 minutes to the total baking time if baking from frozen.