That jar of discard in the back of your fridge? It’s about to become Christmas morning.
December is the one month you bake for everyone at once: breakfast for a full house, rolls for the big dinner, and cookies for every guest who walks through the door.
These 12 sourdough recipes turn your discard into all of it. Nearly every one can be made ahead, so on the holiday itself you’re mostly just baking what’s already waiting in the fridge or freezer.
How Much Discard Each Recipe Uses
| Recipe | Discard | Makes | Make ahead |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sourdough Discard Cinnamon Rolls | 140 g | 12 rolls | Overnight in the fridge; freeze shaped or baked |
| Sourdough Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls | Active starter, or 100 g discard plus yeast | 12 rolls | Overnight in the fridge; freeze shaped or baked |
| Fluffy Sourdough Discard Pancakes | 240 g (1 cup) | Four to five 10-inch pancakes | Overnight batter; freeze up to 2 months |
| Sourdough Discard English Muffins | 140 g | 9 muffins | Dough rests overnight; freeze split |
| Sourdough Pop Tarts | 200 g | 8 pastries | Dough keeps 48 hours; freeze baked up to 3 months |
| Sourdough Discard Chocolate Chip Muffins | 125 g (1/2 cup) | About 16 muffins | Freeze baked |
| Sourdough Discard Blueberry Muffins | 125 g (1/2 cup) | 12 muffins | Batter keeps 48 hours; freeze up to 3 months |
| Sourdough Discard Banana Muffins | 125 g (1/2 cup) | 12 muffins | Freeze baked |
| Sourdough Pumpkin Muffins With Oat Crumble | 240 g (1 cup) | 24 muffins | Batter overnight; freeze up to 3 months |
| Soft Sourdough Discard Dinner Rolls | 225 g (1 cup) | 16 rolls | Overnight, frozen shaped, par-baked, or baked and frozen |
| Sourdough Pie Crust | 1/2 cup | One 9-inch crust | Dough keeps 3 to 4 days; freeze up to 3 months |
| Sourdough Discard Chocolate Chip Cookies | 189 g (3/4 cup) | About 24 cookies | Dough keeps 2 days; freeze dough balls up to 3 months |
A Simple Christmas Baking Plan
- Early December: freeze a batch of cookie dough balls, bake and freeze pop tarts (without icing), and freeze a muffin batch or two for houseguests. Pie crust disks and shaped dinner rolls can go in the freezer now too.
- A couple of days before: mix pie crust dough or blueberry muffin batter and keep them in the fridge.
- Christmas Eve: shape the cinnamon rolls, cover the pan, and refrigerate it overnight. Mix pancake batter or English muffin dough to rest overnight, too.
- Christmas morning: let the cinnamon rolls puff on the counter, then bake. Cook the pancakes or English muffins. If you didn’t freeze the dinner rolls, mix the dough now and refrigerate it (it keeps up to 12 hours).
- Christmas dinner: shape the chilled roll dough, let the rolls double, and bake them (or thaw and rise your frozen ones), and pull cookies straight from the freezer for dessert.
Christmas Morning Breakfasts
1. Sourdough Discard Cinnamon Rolls
Soft, gooey cinnamon rolls that use 140 g of discard for flavor and a little instant yeast for a reliable rise.
The secret is warm heavy cream poured over the rolls right before baking, which keeps the centers soft. The batch makes 12, finished with cream cheese frosting.
Make ahead: shape the rolls on Christmas Eve, refrigerate the pan overnight, and let them puff on the counter in the morning before baking. You can also freeze them shaped or baked (unfrosted).
2. Sourdough Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls (Soft, Fluffy & Overnight)
A true sourdough cinnamon roll made with a sweet starter and a cooked flour paste (tangzhong) that keeps them soft the next day.
Pumpkin goes in the dough and the filling, and the 12 rolls get a brown butter maple cream cheese frosting. Only have discard? It includes a swap: about 100 g of discard plus 1 teaspoon of instant yeast.
Make ahead: the overnight method is the recommended one. Proof the rolls about three-quarters of the way, refrigerate overnight, and bake from cold. They also freeze shaped or baked (unfrosted) for up to 3 months.
3. Fluffy Sourdough Discard Pancakes
A full cup of discard goes into these, and both baking soda and baking powder keep them tall and tender instead of flat and gummy. The recipe makes four to five 10-inch pancakes.
Make ahead: mix the batter the night before (hold back the leaveners and stir them in fresh in the morning for the fluffiest stack), or freeze cooked pancakes with parchment between them for up to 2 months.
4. Sourdough Discard English Muffins
Craggy, tangy English muffins with real nooks and crannies, made with 140 g of discard and about a teaspoon of yeast. They cook on a skillet, and the recipe makes 9.
Make ahead: the dough rests in the fridge overnight (8 to 24 hours), so mix it Christmas Eve and cook in the morning. They freeze very well; split them first so they go straight into the toaster.
5. Sourdough Pop Tarts (Brown Sugar Cinnamon)
Flaky homemade pop tarts with a sourdough pastry crust made from 200 g of cold discard, a brown sugar cinnamon filling, and cinnamon icing. The batch makes 8.
For a seasonal twist, the post has an apple butter filling variation that works with our homemade apple butter.
Make ahead: the dough keeps in the fridge up to 48 hours, and baked pastries freeze (without icing) for up to 3 months.
Muffins for Houseguests
6. Sourdough Discard Chocolate Chip Muffins
Tall bakery-style domes from a hot start in the oven (5 minutes at 425°F, then 350°F), with oil and sour cream to keep them soft for days. They use 1/2 cup of discard and make about 16.
Make ahead: cool, bag, and freeze. A few seconds in the microwave gets the chocolate melty again.
7. Sourdough Discard Blueberry Muffins With Crumb Topping
Tall blueberry muffins with a thick buttery crumb topping, made with 1/2 cup of discard. Fresh or frozen berries both work, which helps in December. Makes 12.
Make ahead: the batter keeps in the fridge up to 48 hours (keep the topping separate), and baked muffins freeze for up to 3 months.
8. Sourdough Discard Banana Muffins
Moist banana muffins built on 350 g of weighed ripe banana, sour cream, and 1/2 cup of discard. Make them banana nut, chocolate chip, or plain. Makes 12.
Make ahead: cool completely, bag, and freeze.
9. Sourdough Pumpkin Muffins With Oat Crumble
Uses a whole can of pumpkin and a full cup of discard, so it makes a real dent in the jar. One bowl, no mixer, and the spiced oat crumble on top makes them feel festive. Makes 24.
Make ahead: mix the batter the night before and bake straight from cold. Baked muffins freeze for up to 3 months (the crumble softens, so warm them in the oven to crisp it back up).
For Christmas Dinner
10. Soft Sourdough Discard Dinner Rolls
Soft, buttery pull-apart rolls made with a cup of discard and a little instant yeast. The recipe makes 16 and takes a little over 3 hours start to finish.
Make ahead: shape and refrigerate overnight, chill the dough up to 12 hours before shaping, freeze the shaped rolls, par-bake them, or bake and freeze for up to 3 months.
11. Sourdough Pie Crust
A flaky butter crust made with 1/2 cup of discard. It works for sweet and savory pies alike, from pumpkin and apple to a holiday pot pie. The recipe makes one 9-inch crust.
Make ahead: the dough keeps in the fridge 3 to 4 days, and dough disks freeze for up to 3 months.
For the Cookie Tray
12. Sourdough Discard Chocolate Chip Cookies (The Overnight Ones)
Thick, chewy chocolate chip cookies made with 3/4 cup of discard. An overnight chill gives them deeper flavor, browner edges, and a faint tang under the chocolate. Makes about 24.
Make ahead: freeze the scooped dough balls for up to 3 months and bake straight from frozen at 375°F, adding 1 to 3 minutes.
A double batch means fresh cookies for every guest from Thanksgiving through New Year’s.
Save your discard through December, pick a few of these, and let the make-ahead steps do the heavy lifting.
Christmas morning should be about warm cinnamon rolls, not a sink full of dishes.
Davin is a jack-of-all-trades but has professional training and experience in various home and garden subjects. He leans on other experts when needed and edits and fact-checks all articles. Also an aspiring cook we he researches and tries all kinds of different food recipes and shares what works best.