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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!
These are absolutely the BEST cookies I have ever had! They stay fresh and moist for days. I am so happy I found this recipe. I can’t wait to try the other two Levain cookies. I am sure they will be just as moist and delicious. THANK YOU!!
Does anyone know if I can make two giant cookies? Would I adjust temperature or anything? I want to make a big ice cream cookie sandwich for my daughters 3rd birthday (since she doesn’t like cake)
I made two big cookies and they turned out so good. I might suggest lowering the temperature a bit as the bottoms got dark before middles were done but they still were soft and tasty. They stayed really puffy so it made it a bit thick for an ice cream sandwich but worked great. Will for sure make again – yum!
I forgot to add … I only have a hand mixer so I used a pastry blender first to work the butter and then mixed. Followed directions exactly beside having to cook a bit longer since cookies were so big.
This has been my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe for a while now. It’s beyond amazing. I use semi-sweet chocolate chips and because my oven bakes hot I take the temp down to 385-400. Thanks so much for posting this delicious recipe for the masses!
Wowzers! I live in New York and know how the original Levain cookies taste. They are heavenly. As you mentioned, the wait lines are ridiculous and I’ve no patience. Your recipe was right on point. I made some modifications, however, after realizing that I had no walnuts. I used the Wonderful pistachios I found in my pantry and roughly chopped them in blender. I also beat the eggs together and slowly mixed them in to the creamed butter and sugar mix. These were a total hit. Thank you so much for the time spent in duplicating Levain’s cookies. My family’s tastebuds are grateful.
These are my favorite cookies to bake! I can’t wait to go to NYC Levain Bakery to try the original recipe.
one question- does it make a big difference using a hand held mixer vs a mixer with paddle attachment? For some reason I feel mine spread a little extra.
Do you know the ingredients in metric units (grams) so I can make these in the UK? Thank you!
SOLID recipe!! I don’ change anything at all but I have found that the sheet pan that I use makes a HUGE difference. My Nordicware pans produce the BEST results – perfect spread, perfect texture. However my USA sheet pans don’t conduct heat the same way so the cookies spread A LOT and then don’t cook as well in the center – for these pans, I’d need to freeze the dough before baking.
Thank you so much for this recipe. LOVE these cookies for gifting.
These are delicious!
A few personal preferences: I always toast any nuts I cook with, I added 1/2 tsp vanilla and a variety of chocolate chips (semi sweet, dark chocolate, milk chocolate) and refrigerated the dough for 30 minutes before baking. This made 8 whopping cookies that weighed in around 1/2lb each!
I’ve never tried Levain cookies but yours look heavenly! I am a cookie snob and have to ask, do you toast the walnuts first? Cannot wait to get started on these! Thank you ????
So with two types of flour in the listed ingredients, does that mean use both? I could have sworn i read to use cake flour but seeing both confuses me now…
Yes, use both cake flour and the regular flour. I follow the recipe exactly and it works every time. Oh and I have never purchased cake flour so I just follow her note about making it.