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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. It’s always so tasty, but my cookies never hold their form. They always spread out when they bake. Any suggestions?
Hi Miranda! A few tips…I would make sure that you are using 3 cups of flour total (some people miss the 1 1/2 cups of cake flour). You could chill the dough for at least 30 minutes. I love to roll the dough into large balls, cover well, and chill for several hours (24-48 hours is best). Also, I suggest making them into very large 6-ounce balls. Since they are so large, they usually keep their shape. Are you adding the walnuts? They do add volume to the cookies and I found that if people omit them, they may be slightly flatter. To accomodate for that, you may be add 2 Tablespoons of flour. Another suggestion is to ensure that the baking sheets are light colored and not hot. The cookie dough will spread of warm pans. I hope those suggestions help! Let me know if you have any more questions and thank you for trying my recipe!
What rack do you put it on? Can I cook multiple trays on diff racks at once?
Is it still 410 degrees w/convection mode?
Hi Christine! I like to put the cookies on the middle rack and depending on your oven, closer to the top than the bottom. I prefer to do one rack at a time just because it is a high baking temperature and I wouldn’t want the cookie bottoms to get too brown. Another tip would be to double up the cookie sheets so you use two cookie sheets which helps to keep the bottoms from becoming too brown. Yes, when baking cookies in convection mode, you typically need to lower the baking temperature. Convection ovens use a fan to circulate hot air, which helps cookies bake more evenly and quickly. I would suggest reducing the baking temperature to 390 to 400 degrees max. I hope this helps!
Made tonight for my son to take to a party. These are sooooo good! Thank you. Made it exactly as written. Crispy on outside and soft inside.
I am so glad they turned out well for you Martha! Thank you so much for making these cookies!
Any chance we can get gram measurements? Find it much easier to weigh my ingredients than doing guesswork as to how packed to make a cup of this or that…
Hi Stan! I am definitely working on adding weights with measurements to my recipes. Thank you for your feedback!
I’ve posted the conversations here is the comments several times.
Very good! I actually ended up using room-temperature butter and slightly less sugar (I used half less of the white sugar). I also found that the 400 seemed to be a bit high for me, so I ended up doing 375 for 14 minutes with slightly smaller cookies.
I made cookies with chocolate chips, cut up Mr. Big Bars, Kitkats, and Smarties (from Halloween candy), and added them in. Worked great!
How do you recommend baking from frozen dough balls? I’ve made them into 3oz balls.
Hi Anna! I would recommend adding 2-3 minutes to the bake time, watch for the edges to turn golden brown! I hope you enjoy these cookies!
Can I make the cookies smaller? Still a big scoop but like 8 per baking sheet?
I think they will be fine. Just make sure you adjust baking time.
This recipe is amazing! I was on the hunt for a new go to cookie recipe and I finally found the perfect one. I made a few changes because I love a sweet & salty cookie…
– I did 1/2 cup walnuts, 1/2 crushed potato chips, 1 cup pretzels (crushed)
– I added 1 cup mini chocolate chips (semi sweet), 1/2 cup white chocolate chips, 1/2 cup heath bits
They were absolutely perfect. Highly highly recommend this recipe!
Hi Caley! I love the additions you made, that sounds delicious. Thank you so much for trying my recipe out!
I loved this cookie recipe! I’m so glad that I took the time to research over a dozen “Levain cookie recipes” online before baking Modern Honey’s recipe. Highly recommend.
Note: I used 1 cup of Guittard 46% semisweet non-dairy chips and 1 cup of Guittard 100% dark unsweetened chocolate baking bars. I also swapped out dairy butter and used Earth Bound vegan butter sticks instead (perfect for baking), and used light muscovado brown sugar instead of brown sugar and white sugar. I wish that I could share pictures here!
Hi! I wanted to ask if it’s possible browning the butter before adding it to the sugar? Love the nutty taste brown butter gives in cookies!
If so, what’s the best way to do it? Should I let the browned butter cool completely (to cut it into cubes) or are there any adjustments (like adding extra liquid, more butter) to keep the texture right? Thanks so much for any tips!
Hi Malina! You absolutely can. I would suggest chilling the brown butter before mixing it with the sugars. I also suggest chilling the dough for at least 30 minutes before baking. I hope you enjoy this recipe! 🙂
Dear Melissa, thank you so much for getting back to me about using browned butter!
I actually tried it out over the weekend before your response and just went for it. The cookies turned out super tasty, but they were overall a bit harder (also the inside) and had a thin, dark brown, almost spread-out edge. I also had the feeling that the butter might have separated a bit during baking. Do you have any idea what might have caused this?
I followed the recipe exactly, also using cake flour and chilled the dough in the freezer. After browning the 1 cup of butter I ended up with about 185 g (3/4 cup) of butter. Or do you recommend using 225 g (1 cup) of butter after browning?
Thanks again for your help — and I’m sorry for all the questions…I’m just looking forward to making them as perfect as you did 💜
Hi!
Since browning the butter results in some of the water in the butter to evaporate, it’s recommended to add some extra water to your dough. So brown one cup of butter and then add enough water so it’s back up to one cup! Maybe add it in increments so your dough doesn’t get too wet. Hope that helps!