The Ultimate Loaded Beer Trub Discard Cookies

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So, you’ve brewed some beer, saved the trub, fed it, and now it’s time to discard. You could throw it out, or you could make my ultimate, fully-loaded, beer trub cookies.

Much like a sourdough starter, your beer trub needs to be regularly fed and half of it discarded. And the same way you can bake treats with that sourdough discard, your beer trub discard is a gold mine for tasty recipes like these cookies.

But you probably have a couple questions. What are they going to taste like? Are they any good? What makes them fully loaded? I’ve got you covered.

The Flavor of Beer Trub in a Cookie

First things first, I imagine you may hesitate using trub in a sweet baked good. The most prominent flavor in that beer sediment is bitterness. For most of us, that’s not the first thing we want to taste in a cookie. So, how do you know these will even be good?

These cookies are all about balance. While the one ingredient may be bitter, it’s paired with other flavor profiles like sweetness, earthiness, and saltiness. A little of everything makes for a very interesting treat.

Beer Trub Cookie Mix-Ins

How we’re going to achieve those balancing flavors comes in the form of some mix-ins: white chocolate chips, pecans, and chopped dried apricots.

White chocolate is notoriously sweet. Generally, you want to be careful with its pairings because it really does strike hard with sugariness. However, it balances that bitterness I mentioned. Here, in this recipe, it is perfection!

Dried apricots are a little bit sweet, but they are also a little bit sour. Personally, I think the sour is a little more forward. In terms of balancing flavors, it has a home between the bitter and sweet flavors we already combined.

The other benefit of them is texture. They have a little chew and pop which is extremely pleasant within the context of a soft and cakey cookie like this.

What about the pecans though? They are nutty, earthy, and crunchy. Like the apricots, they are a surprising bite between the bits of apricot and the cookie itself.

What Else Goes in Them

The dough starts much like any other cookie dough with creaming butter and brown sugar. Brown sugar has more molasses than pure cane sugar. That plays well with the flavor of your hoppy trub.

To this, you add in the eggs, vanilla, and trub until it’s all smooth and incorporated. For the dry ingredients, we’re adding in flour and oats.

You can choose to use either quick or old fashioned oats. Quick oats will bake up softer, and old fashioned oats have a heartier, firmer texture even in the end.

Baking Your Cookies

This dough is rather sticky, and while it doesn’t need to be chilled, I prefer to do so. Chilling gives the oats a chance to hydrate a little, for one thing. It also helps firm up the dough a bit.

Then I use a scoop to portion my cookies out. You can spoon out 2-Tablespoon balls however you want, though. Place them on a lined cookie sheet with about 2 inches of space between them, and bake for 10 to 12 minutes.

Many times for cookies, I go in for a chewy, doughy cookie. However, for these, you really need them to cook through and become cakey. Plus, I find the discard flavor doesn’t mature properly unless it’s fully cooked.

If you’re looking for a cookie option that bakes up nearly underdone, I’d refer you to my sourdough discard chocolate chip cookies. Just instead of sourdough discard, you’ll be using your beer trub discard.

Storing Beer Trub Cookies

These are good at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Beyond that, they begin to smell like they’re fermenting. You can also freeze any extra cookies for up to a year. To eat them, then, you’ll defrost at room temperature until softened.

Tools You’ll Need

That’s about it for this recipe. If you’re interested in tools, here is what I use:

• Sheet pan and cooling rack
• Silicone baking mat
• Stand mixer with the paddle attachment
• #40 Cookie Scoop (2.8 Tbsp)

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