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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!
Delicious cookies! Would these still be good if I made the dough ahead of time and froze it? 🙂
Hi Joanna! I apologize for the delay in replying to your question. I am a huge fan of chilling the cookie dough. It’s a great idea to make your dough a few days ahead of time, wrap it tightly, and let it chill for 48 hours. If you want to freeze it, place it in a freezer bag and when you are ready to use it, let it sit at room temperature until it’s ready. The dough will be slightly drier but it will bake up nicely. I hope that helps! – Melissa
Hello Melissa,
I have never left a comment before, but feel I would be doing an injustice not too. I Live In NY and have Levain cookies in the city and in the Hamptons. Always amazing. I have made virtually every variation of Copy Cat recipe, but never yours. I Just stumbled onto yours today when a friend asked me for my favorite version.
Made yours instantly. Noticed the no vanilla and high temperature and cornstarch as opposed to Baking powder… and that you can immediately bake them without pre-cooling the dough.
OMG! Total perfection first time out! Your right, you don’t miss the vanilla even a second!
Thank you!
By the way, I hope I am not the only guy on your comment thread!
Aaron
Awww thanks so much, Aaron! You literally made my day so thank you for taking the time to write such a nice comment. You are definitely not the only guy on my comment thread! Haha! I actually have a lot of guys who make my food so you aren’t alone. I have 5 brothers and one of them makes every single recipe. He’s always sending me texts telling me which one are his favorites.
I am so glad that you love these cookies! I worked for months and months tweaking my recipe until I felt that I really had it. I love when I hear that others can duplicate them as well because it saves a ton of money to make them at home plus people are always so impressed with them.
Thanks again and have a great week! – Melissa 🙂
Hello
Made these yesterday and they came out great! Chilled the dough for a couple hours then let sit out for 20 minutes before baking. I used a large ice-cream scoop and got about six cookies per pan. My oven is screwy temperature-wise so I had to babysit them (bottoms of first pan came out a little well-done) but they are delicious nonetheless. One thing I noticed was missing from your typical CCC recipe—vanilla. I will definitely add a teaspoon or so the next time I make these. Back in June you said you were going to try a batch with it. Did you ever make them with vanilla and if so, how were they? Was there any taste difference?
Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Hi Eddie! Thanks for your feedback! I appreciate it! Ovens vary so much so it’s smart that you watched them well. Next time you make them, you can lower the temperature by 5-10 degrees if you think your oven runs hot.
You are right about the vanilla! Levain doesn’t put into their cookies but try adding it. I have tried both methods and haven’t noticed a huge difference but it can’t hurt. Vanilla is amazing! Thanks so much for your comment. 🙂 – Melissa
These cookies are truly the best. My sister and I tried to make them recently and we were so surprised at how big they were. I was super excited to make them again and we tried again only to have flat cookies that browned too quickly. This happened on our second attempt and third attempt. We had the oven set to 410 and followed the recipe except we omitted the walnuts. I made sure the butter was cold and followed the other instructions. Do you think the problem could potentially be the baking soda? We bought new baking soda and we are planning to try again in the next few days. This will be our fourth attempt at making them (first was great but the second and third were not so much) and we are hoping they come out again like the first time. The only other thing I can think to ask is if you think it is alright to mix the dry ingredients together? I think we went ahead and mixed the flours, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt together in a bowl. We then added the mixture in two batches not to cause the dough to fly everywhere. (The hand mixer struggle…)
Thanks for the recipe though. It is truly the best. I hope to actually taste Levain Cookies one day in person but until then I know where to find the closest thing.
Oh I love a good mystery….especially when it revolves around food. When I was in college I had to spend an entire semester on a class revolving around studies and basically learned that it is all about narrowing down the variables. So the key is to figure out what changed?
These are such large cookies and are definitely far from flat so I tend to think there was an issue with the leavening agents. They definitely should have a rise to them. Try them again and see if it makes a difference. Chill the dough and even the cookie sheet so they don’t spread too quickly.
I hope that helps! Please keep me posted on how it goes. I am happy to help! Thanks so much for the comment. – Melissa 🙂
These were honestly the BEST cookies I’ve ever made! I have always had a special place in my heart for Levain’s Chocolate Chip Cookies, but never thought they were replicable. Thank you for sharing your pure cookie genius!
Oh this makes me so happy to hear! Thank you so much, Ilisa! They took months and months to figure it out so I am so glad to hear about success in the kitchen. This is why I do what I do. Thank you for taking the time to comment. I really appreciate it! – Melissa 🙂
I’ve never had Levain Bakery cookies but when I view the photos on Instagram, these cookies are what I imagine they must taste like. Great recipe!
Thanks so much, Loulia! Oh they are absolutely heavenly. Give the recipe a try and let me know how they turn out. Have a great Saturday!
Thank you for sharing the recipe! I tried Levain cookies for the first time a few days ago and was blown away. How are their outsides so crispy and their insides so moist and gooey?! So I was really curious what was the difference. It’s amazing how corn starch, a higher oven temperature, and cold butter are the secret! Who would have known?! Thank you for experimenting and finding out this secret and sharing it with the rest of us cookie lovers. Will definitely be making these soon.
I had one small question- does it matter if you use eggs straight from the fridge?
Hello Sarah! Aren’t they so amazing? I love how unique the cookies are and it comes from changing up a few things to set them apart from the rest. You can use eggs either way and it’s all good. A little trick though….if a recipe calls for room temperature eggs and you don’t have time, run the eggs under warm water or place them in a bowl with warm water. Hope that helps! Let me know how they turn out. 🙂 – Melissa
I made these today and I have to tell you that this really is the best chocolate chip cookie recipe! So incredibly delicious. My whole family LOVES it ????
Oh Kim you just made my day! I always LOVE to hear that and it makes me happy to hear about your success in the kitchen. Thanks for taking the time to write a comment! 🙂
anxious to make your cookies……… would you say you use 1/2 to 3/4 cup dough per cookie? It was mentioned that they are 6 ounces. I like them to be very similar in size to one another. Also………if I plan to let the dough sit overnight —- is it ok to use softened butter????? …….. Someone was asking about making these into chocolate cookies …..I always like to add some espresso powder to a portion of my chocolate chip cookies. Takes them to a whole different flavor profile. ………… thanks so much….
Hi Sue! Great question! Levain Bakery cookies are 6 ounces each so you are right. You can use softened butter, only if you let it chill overnight to let it set back up. Adding espresso powder is a great idea for depth of flavor. Let me know how they turn out after adding it! 🙂 I would love to know.
I made these today and I am curious if your dough was very sticky? My butter was cold and I followed directions to a tee (omitting nuts), even used the cake flour but the dough was very sticky. Mine definitely thickened up and resemble a hockey puck, but they are more smooth and not rugged looking at all like other chunky cookies I’ve made. I wonder if I need to put in more chips because I didn’t do nuts? Also, after 12 minutes they were brown on top so I pulled them out and let them rest for 15 minutes. I cut one open but the inside was completely raw and runny. The crispy top slid off of the cookie when I cut it open. Thoughts? They were still quite delicious, just not quite as pretty as those in your photo lol.
I put them back in the oven for another few minutes to try and get them cooked through and it worked to some degree.
Thank you for a great blog. I am trying the sweet potato curry next 🙂
Hi Cass! Thank you for being so thorough on your description so I can help you figure it out. First off, you used 3 cups of flour total, correct? I have had some people use only cake flour and forget about the rest of the flour. I think omitting the nuts will definitely change the structure of the cookie. The nuts are going to give it some volume. They still should set up though in the middle. I have played with this recipe so much and when I was working with the cooking time, even a minute or two made a difference in the center. If you go to Levain, their cookie tops are quite brown. I think they could have been cooked for at least 2 minutes longer.
For some reason, after you take cookies out the oven and put them back in, they don’t cook the same. I would suggest adding more time to ensure that they are cooked all the way through.
I hope that helps, Cass! Have a great day!
Would you still bake at 410 if making much smaller cookies or bring it down to 350?
Great question, Robin! I would suggest keeping the temperature the same but since they are smaller, reduce the time by several minutes. Watch the cookies closer as they won’t need as much time to cook through. Hope that helps! 🙂