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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 all the time!!
I never leave a reply but I just had to… your recipe is pure magic!! Specially using cold butter (I always forget to get it out of the fridge)…I did add the vanilla but aside from that it’s perfect 🙂 thank you for sharing it!!
Recipe was a bust. 410° is way too hot especially if the dough isn’t chilled. They melted into pools of dough and kinda turned into cookies
This recipe is amazing, I can’t believe how delicious this cookie was. I made 4 and froze the cookie dough. Would anyone know how long the cookie dough will last frozen? I did have to bake the cookie for 15 min instead of the 9-12. I set a timer for 9 min and when it expired kept adding 1 min increments until it reached the right shade of golden brown. Thanks so much for perfecting this recipe and sharing. ????
I’ve made these LOADS of times and if your butter is cold (preferably frozen when you cube it up to cream with the sugar) and follow the directions exactly, 410 degrees is perfect for nice fat cookies that are crisp on the outside and gooey on the inside. I’ve even made them in a variety of sizes from huge to small (which made 4 dozen) and I followed her recipe exactly and baked at 410 degrees and they were AWESOME each time. My family doesn’t want any other type of chocolate cookie now at all. Make sure ur butter is cold!!!
I haven’t tried these yet, but can i brown the butter and refrigerate it, then use it cold? Will this alter the texture or the final product? Also, I don’t have that much of a sweet tooth and wanted to know what happens if I reduce the sugar by 2/3.
Is it salted or unsalted butter? And milk chocolate or semi sweet?
I used unsalted butter and mix of milk and semi sweet chips since that’s what i had. It came out a little sweet. I think in baking, it’s always assumed to be unsalted butter.
Do you know if I can make this recipe into a cookie pizza? For how long will I have to bake it, and at what temperature? Also what size of pan should I use?
Can oatmeal be added to the recipe? If so, how much?
Great recipe with one change. I freeze my cookies for 90 minutes before cooking. This way they stay nice and fat and don’t flatten out. I think that’s the only thing missing from this recipe. Oh and I do add the vanilla 🙂
You might have over mixed your dough which makes the cookies spread during baking
I always freeze cookie dough. Most pastry chefs call for it. It does make a-big difference in flavor and spread of cookies. Even if u mix by hand some cookies spread much. I also use Bak. Powder instead of soda.
Hi Tanya,
Just curious about baking powder vs soda – how do the end result cookies differ? Taste? Texture? Thanks!
Do you adjust baking time when you freeze the dough? Pop out of the freezer and straight into the over at 410 degrees?
i also freeze the dough. in addition i put the butter in the freezer in the metal mixing bowl for 10 minutes. soon as everything is almost incorporated, i stop mixing and finish by had with a rubber spatual. i don’t add vanilla but i do think this recipe is great. i happen to have a levain in the house and i compared it. the levain is just a little more cake like and less glossy than mine. however, in a day they were all eaten. that says it all
Hello,
Can these cookies be made without brown sugar by being replaced with normal sugar? Or is there another substitute?
Thanks,
Katie
Most cho. Chip cookies can be made with all gran. Sugar.up won’t get the same intense caramel flavor but will be good.
This may be the most perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe. Crispy on the outside. Chewy and buttery on the inside with the right amount of chocolate chips. Thank you!
I made these for a friend and they turned out amazing and they were beautiful on the outside and inside. I got lots of compliments for this recipe 🙂
I do would like the answer to Marissa from November 16. I kept looking at the recipe and wondering do I add all that flour – 1 1/2 all purpose AND 1 1/2 cups cake flour.
Hi there! So it is 3 cups of flour total. 🙂 You can use 3 cups of all-purpose flour or 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose plus 1 1/2 cups of cake flour. 🙂