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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 make these very often…but make them smaller…use a standard ice cream scoop to insure they are all similar in size….I’ve yet to have anyone complain they are not big enough….
I always have problem when it comes to making my cookies the same size. Do you know how much each cookie should weigh?
The weight was in here before, I’m not sure where it went. However, she mentioned they should be between 6-8oz each. 🙂
I make mine smaller as I bake them up for my daughter’s workplace. I weigh each at 65 grams, so the standard recipe yields 20 cookies. They are much smaller than the standard recipe, but nobody complains since it’s such a rich cookie. I bake at 410 for 10 minutes.
Hi! What are the adjustments if omitting walnuts (I’m allergic)? Thanks in advance!
I just left them out and followed the rest of the recipe exactly as instructed!
Did they still come out thick without the nuts?
I just made this recipe for the first time. Best cookie I have ever made! And yes, they are still thick without the nuts.
these are the best cookies! be careful not to over mix them (i use the stand mixer to mix the butter and sugar only then the rest is by hand) or they come out flat. i either add a little vanilla extract or some maple syrup to the butter/sugar mix while adding the eggs. so easy and quick. i mix up the chocolate chip options (milk, dark, chunks). i use parchment paper or silpat sheets, both work great.
Kathleen, your comments are interesting and helpful. I discovered Modern Honey’s Levain cookie recipe a couple of years ago and have never turned back. I’ve made it over 20 times, and am continuously experimenting with different add-ins. One of my most successful what white chocolate chips and Craisins. But I’ve noticed recently that while my cookies used to stay high and thick, they now tend to flatten more and I can’t figure it out since I never change up the base recipe ingredients. However, after I cream the butter and sugars, I add one egg at a time and beat 4 minutes after each egg. So, based on what you commented, I’m thinking that might be the culprit and that I need to drastically cut down on the beat time for the eggs. Your thoughts?
I think you’re definitely over mixing with your eggs. Try mixing until just incorporated with each egg, because I don’t know any cookie recipe that calls for blending that long. The only 4 minute increment you should have is blending butter and sugars together.
How are these different from your Crumbl copycat? Besides the addition of vanilla extract and 2 more tablespoons more of sugar in your Crumbl one
It looks like the basic same cookie base (delicious!) but the Crumbl version doesn’t have nuts and uses milk chocolate chips.
I left out cornstarch…what should I expect…oh no…
Amazing cookie consistency! Yummy moistness and not too gooey! I made mine a lot smaller. I used a rounded ice cream scoop size and baked them about 15 minutes at 400 degrees. My oven only allows 25 degree increments. They were not ball shaped but did not totally flatten out like others said. More like a really thick cookie.
I followed the ingredients exactly. My suggestion is ADD SOME VANILLA! Although the consistency was great, the actual cookie was kind of bland. Mad that I didn’t follow my instinct to do it. I’m not sure I’ll make them again. I’ll see what others in the household think. Maybe I ate too much dough and my tastebuds are too saturated.
You are exactly right! Having tried the actual Levain cookies, vanilla is the ingredient that is missing in theirs as well. Definitely try the recipe again with vanilla! You wont be disappointed????
How Much vanilla would you recommend added to a recipe this size?
Levain Bakery has stated they don’t use vanilla extract in their cookies. If you would like to add vanilla extract, I would suggest adding 1 teaspoon when adding the eggs to the batter.
My oven is the same, the dial is in increments of 25. Like you I did 15 min at 400. Mine came out a little too overdone, so I will try 12 or 13 minutes next time. Like you, I used a standard round ice cream scoop. Also I added 1 teaspoon of Vanilla, and I would even do 1.5 next time. Overall I love the recipe. Thanks for your tips.
This recipe is definitely interesting. I’ve never been to Levain and we were going to go this summer but it’s hard for me to want to pay four dollars for a cookies when I can make them myself so I tried this recipe out. I believe these cookies should be called cookie dough pockets. They were great if you like consuming raw dough. We Watched all the YouTube videos lately where they describe Levains cookies as crunchy on the outside and gooey on the inside and this recipe it was exactly that. It’s a crispy pocket of raw cookie dough. It reminded me of this one time on Friends:
Monica: I used to love to play restaurant.
Ross: Yeah, not as much as you loved to play “uncooked batter eater.”
Before making this recipe, I was wondering if I should I chill the dough 30 min before baking the cookies?
Hi, any tip on how to omit the nuts and still so delicious(adjusting the quantities, increasing chocolate chips, etc..)?