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
Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Crush Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup Cold Butter cut into small cubes
- 1 cup Brown Sugar
- ½ cup Sugar
- 2 Eggs
- 1 ½ cups Cake Flour*
- 1 ½ cups Flour
- 1 teaspoon Cornstarch
- ¾ teaspoon Baking Soda
- ¾ 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
Pin on Pinterest:
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.
Come follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram.
Happy Baking!
Heather
Great recipe with one change. I freeze my cookies for 90 minutes before cooking. This way they stay nice and fat and don't flatten out. I think that's the only thing missing from this recipe. Oh and I do add the vanilla 🙂
Cassandra
You might have over mixed your dough which makes the cookies spread during baking
Tanya sobek
I always freeze cookie dough. Most pastry chefs call for it. It does make a-big difference in flavor and spread of cookies. Even if u mix by hand some cookies spread much. I also use Bak. Powder instead of soda.
Tony
Hi Tanya,
Just curious about baking powder vs soda - how do the end result cookies differ? Taste? Texture? Thanks!
Natalya
Do you adjust baking time when you freeze the dough? Pop out of the freezer and straight into the over at 410 degrees?
Hattie
i also freeze the dough. in addition i put the butter in the freezer in the metal mixing bowl for 10 minutes. soon as everything is almost incorporated, i stop mixing and finish by had with a rubber spatual. i don't add vanilla but i do think this recipe is great. i happen to have a levain in the house and i compared it. the levain is just a little more cake like and less glossy than mine. however, in a day they were all eaten. that says it all
Katie
Hello,
Can these cookies be made without brown sugar by being replaced with normal sugar? Or is there another substitute?
Thanks,
Katie
Tanyac
Most cho. Chip cookies can be made with all gran. Sugar.up won’t get the same intense caramel flavor but will be good.
Alex B
Do you know if I can make this recipe into a cookie pizza? For how long will I have to bake it, and at what temperature? Also what size of pan should I use?
Teresa
Can oatmeal be added to the recipe? If so, how much?
Emily
Is it salted or unsalted butter? And milk chocolate or semi sweet?
Lauren
I used unsalted butter and mix of milk and semi sweet chips since that's what i had. It came out a little sweet. I think in baking, it's always assumed to be unsalted butter.
Jenna
I haven’t tried these yet, but can i brown the butter and refrigerate it, then use it cold? Will this alter the texture or the final product? Also, I don’t have that much of a sweet tooth and wanted to know what happens if I reduce the sugar by 2/3.
Yup ...
Recipe was a bust. 410° is way too hot especially if the dough isn't chilled. They melted into pools of dough and kinda turned into cookies
N. Noble
This recipe is amazing, I can't believe how delicious this cookie was. I made 4 and froze the cookie dough. Would anyone know how long the cookie dough will last frozen? I did have to bake the cookie for 15 min instead of the 9-12. I set a timer for 9 min and when it expired kept adding 1 min increments until it reached the right shade of golden brown. Thanks so much for perfecting this recipe and sharing. ????
Joni
I’ve made these LOADS of times and if your butter is cold (preferably frozen when you cube it up to cream with the sugar) and follow the directions exactly, 410 degrees is perfect for nice fat cookies that are crisp on the outside and gooey on the inside. I’ve even made them in a variety of sizes from huge to small (which made 4 dozen) and I followed her recipe exactly and baked at 410 degrees and they were AWESOME each time. My family doesn’t want any other type of chocolate cookie now at all. Make sure ur butter is cold!!!
Michelle
I never leave a reply but I just had to... your recipe is pure magic!! Specially using cold butter (I always forget to get it out of the fridge)...I did add the vanilla but aside from that it's perfect 🙂 thank you for sharing it!!
Lauren
I make these all the time!!
Denise Kowalski
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!!!
Melissa
My family loved them! The only thing I did different was make them smaller and doubled the batch. It made 40 cookies
Angelica Wood
I was gonna ask if smaller cookies will work. Plan on doing this!
Lisa
I was planning to do this. Did you adjust the temperature since cookies were smaller? Thanks!! 🙂
Jay
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.
Elizabeth L.
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!
Christine
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.
Jay
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.
Lauren
hi! can you freeze this dough for a week before cooking?
Lauren
Yep! my friend does this all the time. she'll bake 3 or 4 at a time and refridge/freeze the rest
Vibha
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 🙂
Leslie
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!
Emily
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
Carly
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.
Jessica
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.
Al
I have made these several times and have now tried the actual levain cookies. This recipe is better than levain!!
Jay
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.
Shawn
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...
Dale
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.
Brandy
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 ????
Brandy
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!
Christine
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.
Bethany
Do you know the ingredients in metric units (grams) so I can make these in the UK? Thank you!
Fatima
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.
Jo Ann
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.
Carrie H
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!
Kristen
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)
Kristen Stevens
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!
Kristen Stevens
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.
Michelle
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!!
A. Wright
I am very grateful to Modern Honey for these awesome Levain dupe recipes! These cookies really come out just like Levain's. It's fairly mind blowing! Super easy and quick to make too, but a major wow factor!
Camila Oms
Hi! 🙂 Does anyone have the quantities of this recipe in grams? I am looking for the conversion to grams but on each website it says something different... Thank you very much.
Jay
Hey Camila -
I converted the recipe into grams when I first started making it, and have consistently excellent results. I also find it's easier to weigh ingredients than it is to scoop and level.
Brown Sugar - 200g
Granulated Sugar - 100g
Cake Flour - 192g
AP Flour - 217g (even though the recipe has equal amounts of cake flour and AP flour, my Ap flour is slightly higher. The reason is that my family doesn't like walnuts in their cookies, and I read somewhere that if you don't put in nuts, then increase flour by 1/4 cup)
Chocolate Chips - just throw in a bag
Also, I often make these for my daughter's workplace, so I make the cookies smaller (60g dough) and bake for exactly 10 minutes at 410.
Good luck!
Camila Oms
Jay thank you so much for your help!!! You are very kind, thank you for your time????????
Kathy
Jay, Can you please clarify the size and baking time for the smaller cookies? 60 or 65 grams? And 10 or 11 minutes. Do you find the bottoms are too brown? I am struggling with this. Thanks.
Kim
Thanks so much for this information!
Marcy
I make these all the time and here are the grams I use:
Butter - 227g
Brown Sugar - 192g
2 eggs
Sugar - 96g
180g cake flour
180 AP flour
340g chips
Hope that helps!
Camila Oms
Marcy thank you too for responding. Can't wait to make these cookies????????
Abbey
The best cookie recipe!! So rich but so good
Kathy
I have made these a few times at 2.7 ounces and my sister said they were PERFECT! She loves them and I do, too but sometimes I end up with the bottoms being brown (too brown?). What are yours like on the bottom? Photos/videos never seem to show the bottoms of cookies and I cannot tell if mine are overdone or not. Please help! Thanks so much!!
Ray
Is there an updated version of this recipe? One without walnuts?
Modern Honey
This one is very similar except I changed a few things -- omitted the walnuts, reduced the oven temp to 400 degrees, reduced the flour by 1/4 cup (you are welcome to keep it at 3 cups for a thicker cookie). Here's the recipe -- https://www.modernhoney.com/the-best-chocolate-chip-cookies/
Dean
You are a rockstar MH! How in the world did you crack the secret code and show us how to get our Levain fix in the comforts of our own home!! These are my favorite Modern Honey creation of all time. The best cookie!!!!
Diane G
I am dying to make these cookies!
I was wondering, could I use pastry flour since I don't have AP flour with this recipe?
Sierra
MY ALL TIME FAVORITE COOKIE! You are a genius for figuring out this recipe!
Karen
Super!! Just like Levain’s! Thanks so much
Mel
Sooooo good and really easy to make ! I totally recommend them
Cheryl
These are Everything! Thanks for doing the research and sharing!! My three kiddos are so happy right now, and my husband is coming home early to claim his!
Caroline
If you follow the directions they turn out wonderful! My first batch from the oven was a little large. Make them into balls about baseball size and they are perfect!
Jen A.
Tried it and your recipe is super delicious! Would just like to be super sure -- are we talking farenheit or Celsius? Thanks!
Stacy
Made these according to the recipe, other than using all-purpose flour and adding 1 tsp. vanilla. Turned out perfect. Baking on a Silpat is definitely the way to go. The best thing is that I'm home with covid and coughed all over the cookies, so there is no way I could possibly share them with anyone!!!
S Young
Do you use semi sweet or milk chocolate chips? Also, how much should the cookies weigh before baking?
Saralyn
Oh my gosh, this is the softest, gooeyest, most decadent cookie I've ever had in my life! I've never had a Levain Bakery cookie, but my sister told me they were amazing, so when I found your recipe I had to try it. I honestly don't know how their cookies could be any better than this one!
Ellie
I'm hoping you can help! I've followed the recipe 3 times now, and made no variations other than adding vanilla. Sometimes I've made them a couple of hours ahead of cooking, so just put them in the fridge in the meantime. However the cookies don't keep their shape but instead pool into vast cookies. Can you advise what the issue could be?
Modern Honey
Hi Ellie! I wonder if it could be the flour amount. Are you putting in 3 cups total flour? The recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour and 1 1/2 cups of cake flour. Could you just be adding 1 1/2 cups of flour total? That would definitely make extremely thin cookies that would spread like crazy.
Kathie
Seriously the best chocolate chip cookie I have ever made! Thank you for the recipe. It will be saved and shared!
Lisa
I made these with a few changes. I hate walnuts so I just used the same amount of pecans, I used the chocolate I had in the house which was Godiva milk chocolate, Bakers semi sweet chocolate, and semi sweet chocolate chips. I froze the dough for 90 minutes which was too long in my opinion because I had to cook them at 410 for 10 minutes and then at 375 for another 5 minutes because they were still raw inside after the first 10 minutes. The bottoms were brown but not bad. These cookies tasted delicious
Lisa
These cookies are soo good. I was having difficulty cooking them to my preferred level of done so I made them again but this time smaller (3 Oz) and cooked them on 350 for about 15 minutes. I also used pecans because I don’t like walnuts. These cookies are to die for. They are so good no matter what size you decide to make them. Stellar recipe. I can’t wait to try the other cookie recipes.
Conner Crowe
Hands down best chocolate chip cookie recipe I’ve ever made. I keep coming back to these because they are not too white sugary like a sugar cookie and have a perfect balance to them.