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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 have made these several times and have now tried the actual levain cookies. This recipe is better than levain!!
I agree! I’ve made the recipe about 20 times and always get great reviews. My daughter generously had both the chocolate chip and the oatmeal raisin shipped to me from Levain for Xmas. I definitely prefer Modern Honey’s version of the chocolate chip. But I must say the actual Levain oatmeal raisin were crazy good.
I made both these and the chocolate chocolate chip cookies for Christmas. I got rave reviews for both. I made these first and then the chocolate chocolate ones and with the second set of cookies I lowered the temperature to 390 and baked them to the full 12 minutes and they came out a bit fluffier than the first batch at 410. I don’t know if it has to do with the fact that I’m at 5,000 ft above sea level in Denver. Either way, both were amazing and were very, very close copy cats of the Levain cookies.
The recipe was wonderful. I added 3 types of chocolate chips (semi-sweet, dark chocolate baking chunks & Toll house dark chocolate morsels) plus added the vanilla. I put the cookies in the freezer for about 10 minutes before baking and rotated them from top rack to bottom and spun the tray half way between baking. They came out terrific and never flattened.
100% the best recipe for chocolate chip cookies EVER!! I have struggled with flat cookies that end up in the trash more times than I like to say. All of the suggestions are spot on and my cookies are finally bakery worthy!!! The only thing I added was a half a box of instant vanilla pudding mix to make sure they were thick and puffy and it worked and tasted amazing. Thank you so much for saving the baker in me as I was truly ready to give up!
Amazing cookies! Im allergic to nuts so I used 3 cups of chocolate chips and they turned out great! I refrigerated for 10 minutes before baking and they were nice and puffy
hi! can you freeze this dough for a week before cooking?
Yep! my friend does this all the time. she’ll bake 3 or 4 at a time and refridge/freeze the rest
Hi! I was just wondering the same. I baked only a few and frooze the rest of the cookie dough.
Does your friend use the same temp and time to cook the frozen cookies? You can tell by my question that I am NOT a baker 🙂
I’ve made this recipe countless times and it’s always a huge success with my tasters. For a kick-off to Holiday Confection Week at my daughter’s work, I changed them up slightly. Instead of chocolate chips and nuts, I substituted 2 cups of white chocolate chips, 1 cup of Craisins and increased the flour by 1/4 cup. The majority of people said this was their favorite confection of the week.
These truly taste like the Levain cookie. My friends, family, neighbors and coworkers all rave about them! I even freeze some and ship them to my family in a different state.
My hubby has been craving chocolate chip cookies so imagine his surprise when he saw these babies on the counter! Chocolate chip cookies are my favorite cookie and these are off-the-chart delicious! Thank you for a great recipe!
My family loved them! The only thing I did different was make them smaller and doubled the batch. It made 40 cookies
I was gonna ask if smaller cookies will work. Plan on doing this!
I was planning to do this. Did you adjust the temperature since cookies were smaller? Thanks!! 🙂
I make a smaller version of the cookies all the time for work functions. I actually make them in 60 gram sizes. I keep the oven temp the same at 410 and bake for 11 minutes exactly. They come out perfect. It makes about 20 cookies using the standard recipe.
Pure perfection!! Absolutely our favorite chocolate chip cookie EVER! Love that I can easily add nuts to a portion of these cookies as my kids don’t like nuts. I change NOTHING!! I am by far a chef, but I have no trouble with this recipe. I am not sure why folks are having difficulty – Altitude perhaps?? I do use a convection oven as well. I have tried refrigerated my dough before baking and without. Both ways turn out great! I recommend if your batter is too soft, sticky, try putting it in the fridge for a bit. The cookies may come out raw looking in the middle. If you are fearful, you can bake them a bit longer, but it will take away from the ooey, gooey goodness of these cookies!! Thank you for sharing this most incredible recipe. I receive requests for these cookies all the time!!!