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Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookies
The BEST Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies. The Famous Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe that everyone goes crazy over!
I’ve got issues.
I am a cookie junkie of epic proportions.
There’s probably a support group somewhere for people like me.
When I was a teenager, I would go to the library and thumb through cookbooks to find every single chocolate chip cookie recipe and would beg my Mom to try out the recipe creations almost daily. Issues, I tell you.
I started off by following recipes and then I thought….let’s take a walk on the wild side and start experimenting by throwing stuff in and see what happens. What’s the worst that can happen? Well, that’s another story. Little tweaks here and there were the difference makers – browning the butter, raising or lowering the temperature of the oven, and trying out some interesting ingredients.
When I won a trip to NYC to film a perfect cookie segment for the Cooking Channel’s Perfect 3 Show in the Food Network studios, I went online to seek out the best bakeries in Manhattan. The highest rated cookie was awarded to Levain Bakery and I knew that it had to be mine. Pronto.
Oh, and it was legit. Legit and different. Unique in such a way that I had to figure out how in the world they did it. I became a mad scientist in the kitchen to figure out the how to make the Famous Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookies.
I developed a massive crush on a cookie.
I have never, ever worked on a recipe as much as this one. Another trip had to be made to NYC in the name of food science to do some more investigative research. A trip to the Truvia Baking Star competition in NYC meant multiple trips to buy my favorite cookie. We rode our bikes in the freezing cold just for that one bite. By the time we arrived, my feet were frozen, but sacrifices have to be made, right?
I came home and tweaked some more and then it happened…. that glorious batch was perfection and I finally had it.
I was taught in kindergarten that it’s nice to share so that’s what I am doing. Sharing my years of experimenting so we can all have Levain at home. It’s just the right thing to do.
Let’s start with the basics.
Use cold butter. Cut into small cubes. Since you are collecting it straight out of the fridge, you need to cut it into small pieces so the butter and sugar can become friends and make a creamy masterpiece. It takes about 4 minutes for them to warm up and become besties.
This is where it’s all over for me….cookie dough. It’s my kryptonite, unfortunately, and I blame my hips on this goodness. Who else loves this stuff?
Now, these aren’t some ordinary bite-size cookies. No these are a full-on meal. Well maybe for some people. Here’s the deal – you make them big. Really big. Like only four can fit on a cookie sheet, BIG. These are the BEST CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES EVER. Yep, I said it.
Usually, with thick cookies, they turn out like hockey pucks – cakey messes that hardly resemble a gooey cookie.
This is where these are different. We are going to crank up the heat in the oven to cook the outside quickly and leave that center nice, warm and gooey. As a cookie should be.
There are a few ingredients and techniques that set these cookies apart. First, you use cornstarch to add thickness without making the cookie dry. It does wonders in these cookies! Using cake flour also lends to a more tender cookie but you can also substitute all-purpose flour. Here’s one of my favorite cake flours — King Arthur Cake Flour
I am a huge fan of using nonstick silicone baking mats (Silpat) placed on top of the cookie sheets, which allows the cookies to be easily removed from the pan and to bake nicely. My cousin gave me a set as a gift years ago and I had no idea what I was missing out on! These are ones I have loved —Silicone Baking Sheets – 2 pack
You may want to eat these Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookies the second they come out of the oven, but patience is a virtue and you must exercise some with these cookies. They need to “set up” so give them at least 10-15 minutes before you devour them. The amazing part of these cookies is that they are the only cookies I have ever made that are still cookie perfection even after a few days.
If you LOVE these cookies, you will love these other Levain Bakery copycat recipes:
- Levain Bakery Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies
- Levain Bakery Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Levain Bakery Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
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Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Crush Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup Cold Butter cut into small cubes
- 1 cup Brown Sugar
- 1/2 cup Sugar
- 2 Eggs
- 1 1/2 cups Cake Flour*
- 1 1/2 cups Flour
- 1 teaspoon Cornstarch
- 3/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 3/4 teaspoon Salt
- 2 cups Chocolate Chips
- 2 cups Walnuts roughly chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 410 degrees.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together cold cubed butter, brown sugar, and sugar for 4 minutes or until creamy.
- Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each one.
- Stir in flours, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. Mix until just combined to avoid overmixing. Stir in chocolate chips and walnuts.
- Separate dough into large balls and place on lightly colored cookie sheet. They are bigger than you think! You will fit 4 cookies on one large cookie sheet. The dough makes 8 extra large cookies.
- Bake for 9-12 minutes or until golden brown on the top. Let them rest for at least 10 minutes to set.
Video
Notes
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Now go make some Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookies! You need one (or two or three….no judging here) of these warm, gooey cookies, a big glass of cold milk and a to-do list with nothing on it except catching up on Netflix or those cheesy Holiday Hallmark movies that somehow keep playing on my TV.
If you are a huge fan of Levain Bakery cookies or just eating the best chocolate chip cookies, you will love my other copycat recipes — Levain Bakery Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies and Levain Bakery Dark Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies.
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Happy Baking!
TRULY LIFE CHANGING
THANK YOU
SO GOOD. The texture is shockingly similar to Levains! Crunchy outside gooey inside. I made smaller cookies and was worried they wouldn’t turn out as good, but they are still perfect!
These were fantastic! As some others said the inside was a bit gooey for me (but I’ve never had the original and I gather this is the attraction for most). A bit smaller and an extra minute on batch two and they were HEAVENLY. Rolled in cane sugar before baking to up the outer crispness.
Great recipe 🙂
Came across this recipe and really wanted to try it because I loveeeee chocolate chip cookies! I followed the recipe to a T but somehow still managed to mess up the recipe and was wondering what I did wrong and how to fix it for next time. The dough was really thin and not doughy, but I still added them to the oven to see what would happen and they completely spread. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Just made a batch and OMG, so good!! I even purchased the cookie sheet/ silicone mat you suggested and everything worked perfectly.
Sister, this cookie recipe is the bomb! Thank you very much. I followed your recipe to the tee and they turned out fabulous. The family couldn’t stop eating them. I’ve always been a cookie monster since I was a kid and this is the best cookie recipe I’ve baked. My family loved them. I split the batch in half, one with walnuts and half without for my non-nut kid 🙂 they loved them. I made a second batch using a regular cookie scoop and used sea salt for the salt and added some chocolate chunks along with the chips (9 minutes at 410 degrees), those turned out good too. Thank you so much and I look forward to baking more of your recipes, you have a new fan.
I love the texture. I thought the recipe was too sweet and had way too many chocolate chips. I think good vanilla extract will enhance the flavor. Next time I make it I’ll reduce the sugar, add vanilla and less chocolate chips. Thanks for the recipe.
I have never posted comments on a recipe site before. I have to say that these are the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve made or tasted. I make them about twice a month, but I make about 12 cookies instead of 8. I find that it is easier to mix them if you either shred the butter or cut it into tiny pieces. I also use latex gloves and knead the chips in by hand to distribute them evenly. I recently took a trip to NYC and knew I had to go taste the original. Maybe we caught them on a bad day, but we all agreed that we liked this recipe better than the original!! We also liked the oatmeal raisin cookies from this site better than the Levain cookie. We thought the best of the Levain cookies was the chocolate chocolate chip, so I’m trying that recipe today.
These look AMAZING!!! We have a nut allergy in our home…do you think I could just delete the walnuts or would that not work? Any ideas to making these without nuts and still have them turn out? Thanks so much!!!
I’m going to try these cookies next weekend. I know that these cookies must be huge, but I would like to make smaller cookies to share with lots of people ! Do you think that the cooking time must be reduced ?
Greetings from France !