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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!
I tried this, but without the nuts, and boy this was the softest cookieve ever baked. My family wants more but I don’t have the time to do it everyday. Can I chill it or freezer it? Thank you
How can any of the cookies be fully cooked within 9-12 minutes??? I cut the cookies size in half (so made 16 cookies instead of 8 cookies) and cooking them for at least 18 minutes and they’re still undercooked in the middle. Is this recipe supposed to make cookies with raw dough in the middle???
These are amazing! We veganized the recipe by using flax eggs and vegan butter. WOW they were great! Thank you!!
Agreed, we were able to do vegan (for my egg/milk allergic son) and they came out beautifully, My only suggestions after experimenting several times with the recipe would be
1. reduce or omit salt if using egg replacers as many have salt.
2. You may need an extra 1-2 tbsp vegan butter if the batter is too crumbly and dry after folding everything together. It sbould be just wet enough to hold together when formed.
Hi! Can you take out the nuts all together or will that ruin anything?
I didn’t add any nuts and it turned out perfectly.
Can I substitute canola oil? I ran out of butter
No. Canola oil is liquid at room temperature. You need something that is solid at room temperature
These cookies are amazing; I won a small bake-off at work with these and it was the first time I’ve ever made them. I made the recipe AS IS (with a smidge more salt), formed 8 cookie balls the night before and baked them straight from the fridge the next morning. I double panned them and ended up baking for 18 to 20 minutes…12 minutes seemed way too short because they hadn’t even started to brown yet. I have a gas convection oven and usually it runs hot. So I just stuck a thermometer into the nearest cookie and took them out at an internal temp of 160. Someone at work guessed they were Levain cookies; I’ve never been to the bakery so it was nice to know the recipe was spot on.
Hi I don’t like nuts in my cookie should I put something else instead ? Like extra chocolate chips ?
These were yummy, but they were still a little raw in the center. I even baked them a little longer than the recipe calls for. They look about the same size as the photos. I didn’t want to bake them longer because they were already brown in the bottom.
I’d make them again since they are so delicious, but how can I avoid that raw center?
hi. I think it you put your tray lower in the oven it will cook more in the middle and you can cook it longer without the top of the cookie getting to brown and the middle not being cooked at all
Melissa, you and these cookies are truly gods gift to this now-hellish earth. These cookies are the only things that bring me joy tbh but I’m not complaining, just another reason to make them ????✌️
Do you use salted or unsalted butter?