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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 love this recipe. Unfortunately since moving to the UK I’ve been unable to replicate it. Difference in ingredients, range, etc. And these never come out for me how they’re supposed to anymore. If you have any advice for how to translate this to Scotland that would be so coool
Hey there! You can order cake flour from Shipton Mill!
That’s interesting because I made these plenty of times in Scotland. The issue may be that some products have different names? Cornstarch in the US is cornflour in the UK and baking soda is bicarbonate of soda.
Hi,
Recipe looks delicious and I can’t wait to try it but I have a severe nut allergy. Wondering if you would suggest any changes in the other ingredients without the nuts or if you’d just leave them out?
Thanks,
TB
These cookies were amazing! I followed the recipe exactly. I baked them 11 minutes and let them cool for 14 and they were still slightly warm but a heavenly texture. Definitely my new favorite cookie!
These ARE delicious! It’s become my go-to cookie recipe. I’ve made with nuts and without, because I have some friends with but allergies. I don’t change anything when I leave the nuts out, just omit. They turn out great still!
I use pecans and 2 tsp of vanilla. It’s replaced my NY Times recipe the last few batches. I bake them smaller and at 380 degrees center rack for 9 minutes
Melissa
All of your baking recipes are five (5) stars –
NO EXCEPTIONS
I am looking for your recipe for thin & chewy chocolate chip cookies
Could I get you to share this with me?
Thank you
BTW When will you be putting out your baking and cook book?
Kim I love hearing that these are your go-to cookies. That’s the biggest compliment! Thank you so much for trying my recipe, and for taking the time to leave your kind comment. I really appreciate it!
I have made these atleast a dozen times now. The problem I’m running into is, the cookies are burning slightly before cooking all the way through. I’m sure its the brown sugar. How can I avoid this? Also, this last time I tried parchment paper on the cookie sheet. That didn’t work either. Oddly though, the cookies came out dryer than usual.
Hi! Thank you so much for making them. Here are a few things I would suggest…since oven temperatures vary, you can always reduce the oven temperature to 400 degrees. I would also suggest placing the cookies on a higher rack in the oven and only bake on a light colored baking sheet. I hope this helps!
Try using two pans stacked so that the bottoms don’t burn. That sometimes works.
I don’t know why my cookies didn’t look like the picture. Mine came out flat like normal chocolate chip cookies not extra thick like photo. Only change made was adding 1 tsp vanilla. Did you freeze your balls of dough prior to baking? Any thoughts?
You should’ve stuck your cookies into the fridge/freezer before baking to avoid getting them flat. I usually do 2 hours or overnight in the freezer, which works for me.
Absolutely amazing. Spot on recipe!
What can you put in instead of the walnuts!?
I will make this comment before I bake them tomorrow morning. Let it hereby be known that I, Shanna fought in 3 wars from 1991-2009 and died at home eating chocolate chip cookies, leaving behind #Davisserves🇺🇸 a service doodle, five children, 9 chickens, 5 grand dogs, my mom and dad, hubby Bart and lots of friends and family and beloved Kaldis coffee. It was totally worth the diabetic coma. I swear it.
I love this recipe, but I’ve noticed that my cookies tend to be raw in the center. I follow the recipe and baking times exactly, and each cookie weighs approximately .5 oz. Do you have any suggestions? I was thinking of trying to bake them at 410°F for 9 minutes, and then lowering the temperature to 359°F for 20 minutes. After that, I would let them rest for another 20 minutes.
Have you tried making them smaller? I use a standard 3 Tbls cookie scoop and bake for about 8-9 minutes . Can also fit six cookies per sheet this way
This is the same problem I had. I did 12 minutes at the 410 and they were still raw in the center. I reduced the temperature to 375 and cooked it for 6 more minutes and that did the job. I also think my problem might have been that I had the rack in the oven in the middle, I probably should have raised it a couple of notches.
I will make this comment before I bake them tomorrow morning. Let it hereby be known that I, Shanna fought in 3 wars from 1991-2009 and died at home eating chocolate chip cookies, leaving behind #Davisserves🇺🇸, five children, 9 chickens, 5 grand dogs, my mom and dad, hubby Bart and lots of friends and family and her beloved Kaldis coffee. It was totally worth the diabetic coma. I swear it.
Excellent recipe! Thanks for sharing!
I keep having the problem of the middle not cooking through. Any suggestions? I have been placing the pre made dough balls in the freezer.
I made this recipe EXACTLY how you were supposed to and for some reason my dough was very liquid-ey. I put my cookies in the oven and one of my trays is basically a cookie cake. The other cookies spread more thin. Idk what i did wrong😫. They’re delicious they just don’t look like they’re supposed to.
Ive tried a different recipe then this one but the key is cold butter and DO not OVERMIX! Very little mixing, but the MOST IMPORTANT key she is leaving out is you MUST FREEZE THE DOUGH for at least 90 minutes before baking! Also preheat the cookie sheet before adding the frozen cookie dough balls on them. Hope this helps yall
it helps to put the cookies before cooking to put them in the fridge to harden for 20-30 mins!
I make the recipe exactly as written and they come out perfect every time. People tell me they’re the best cookies they’ve ever eaten and I always credit Modern Honey. Melissa is the genius behind these cookies! There’s no need to freeze or refrigerate the dough. My one suggestion is to use a food scale if you aren’t already. Baking is like a chemistry experiment and you’re more likely to have success if your measurements are accurate.
Make sure you are using the right amount of flour. Are you using 3 cups in total?
The cookies are delicious! I’ve used this recipe twice. I am having an issue with the cookies spreading and being undercooked in the center.
I am using the center rack. I also tried to refrigerate the 2nd batch of 4 to help prevent spreading. I placed the cookies back in the oven to bake the centers more thoroughly. They had a nice edge and were still moist inside.
Are you using the center rack also?
Any suggestions would greatly be appreciated. Great tasting cookie! Just trying to get the technique down. Thanks so much for the recipe and your time. Take care.