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
The BEST Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Copycat Cookie Recipe.
- 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
- 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.
*can substitute all-purpose flour for cake flour
*Levain Bakery has stated they don't use vanilla extract in their cookies. If you would like to add vanilla extract, I would suggest adding 1 teaspoon when adding the eggs to the batter.
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.
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Happy Baking!
I apologize if you’ve answered this before but do you have flour measurements in grams? I am terrible at measuring consistently.
I have the same problem so I always use a converter on google. I type “cup to grams”
Get a scale! You can select Grams and baking with a scale and not using cups will result in absolutely perfect recipes! My scale was the best purchase ever! 🙂
These are the ultimate!!! I will never use another chocolate chip cookie recipe! My son has a nut allergy, so I omitted the walnuts and substituted one extra cup of chocolate chips and it turned out great. And definitely use the Silpat silicone baking mats so the bottoms don’t burn while waiting for these huge cookies to fully bake at the higher than normal temp.
HELP!
I don’t have a clue what went wrong.
I did everything as stated in the recipe (and I’ve gone over it several times!) – AND did not substitute anything for anything. I followed the recipe to the LETTER.
Now, I will admit, the cookies are absolutely decadently delicious – probably the most amazing chocolate chip cookie I’ve ever tasted.
But, they never leveled out in the oven! They are still the shape of a baseball! Needless to say, they have to be eaten with a fork, as NOBODY’s mouth is large enough to take in this cookie! LOL
Should I have flattened them out before baking? I didn’t as I’m used to chocolate chip cookies sort of ‘melting’ flatter as they bake.
HELP please! Where did I go wrong?
Usually when this happens, it is one of 4 things: you didn’t add enough butter (1 cup is 8 oz. or 1/2 lb.), the butter is too cold (make sure is warms close to room temperature when you’re done mixing—the warmer the butter, the more they spread) there is too much flour (scoop and level), or your oven is too hot (an oven thermometer can remedy this). Hope that helps and you can figure out what went wrong!
Nope, that is how they are supposed to be. If you ever get a chance to get the Levain cookies in NYC, you’ll see they are also ball-shaped.
Wooowww
These cookies are absolutely delicious. Everyone loved them. The cooking time can be a bit tricky though.
Loooovely taste but mine whent almost completely flat and raw in the middle. Will try to make them again way smaller.
Same! They taste amazing, but they’re huge (and pretty raw in the middle). What did I do wrong? I thought I followed the recipe exactly.
I also had this issue. It was near impossible to cream the cold butter into the sugar – went flying everywhere. Once I got that smooth, it was a momentous task to fold in the dry ingredients. I literally broke my silicone spatula. Then baking them as the recipe called for yielded crispy edged puddles of dough. Dont get me wrong, they were tasty but nothing like the picture shows. I baked the other half of the batter in smaller cookies at a lower heat after freezing the dough but it still spread like crazy. Disappointing.
Oh. My. Word. These are the best cookies I have ever tasted. They are almost like a cross between a biscuit, a scone, and a cookie. The outside is crisp and buttery, and the inside is gooey and, well, simply perfect. They held their shape great in the oven, and looked just like Levain’s cookies. I did make a few small changes to the recipe after I read the reviews and found that some people had problems with the insides being a bit too raw. I baked them on the bottom rack of my oven, and also baked them at 400 degrees F for about 12 minutes. I used a silpat like the recipe said, and I also weighed each cookie dough ball to be just shy of 6 oz. I would make this cookie again and again. Highly recommend!
when you weighed the cookies (6 ounces), about how many cookies did this recipe make?
About to try these! Does it matter if you use light or dark brown sugar?
I made these cookies, they came out excellent. But how do you keep them fresh for a week or so?!
Put in a airtight container with a piece of bread
What butter do I use unsalted or salted ?
I would use unsalted as that is what is most commonly used in baking. The recipe includes salt.
I was so excited to make these – I followed all directions, started with cold butter from the fridge and they completely spread out in the oven. I have cookies the size of dinner plates that are crispy on the edges and raw in the middle. What do you think went wrong?
Did you maybe only add one type of flour and not the other? That’s the only thing I can think of, especially since you started with cold butter.
My 10 year old made these and OH MY!! I can’t stop eating them!! My kids couldn’t finish 1/3 of the cookie, they are so rich and huge. I on the other hand can’t get enough! These are amazing. We made them again and did 2.5 cups of chocolate chips and 1.5 cups of walnuts because I LOVE chocolate and thought it might taste a little more gooey subbing chocolate for the crunch of the walnuts. They were even more amazing and chocolaty in the center.
Definitely a cookie to give as a gift and impress.
Amazing. Do you have a suggestion for making these but free? Maybe sub crushed potato chips?
Hi! Super excited to try these cookies! Some of my family doesn’t like walnuts, is it ok to leave these out of will it throw the cookies off?
Hello! In my experience, I’ve always substituted for more chocolate and they’ve always turned out great!
My family doesn’t care for nuts either, so I’ve always left them out. I’ve made this recipe at least 20 times and it always comes out perfect. I just make sure to include a full cup of chips, and I add an extra 1/4 cup of flour.
Since they’re just an add-in you can definitely exclude them! Maybe add a few more chocolate chips to make sure there is still enough chunks!!
Hello, I am new to your Site/Blog. I was wondering if you could tell me why the Recipe does not call for Vanilla Flavoring? Usually cookie recipes call for Vanilla. Thank You so very much. Emma Steiger Johnston
She explains why in the recipe notes.
Do these freeze well? How would you recommend thawing them, if so?
I freeze them individually and then just pop one in the oven for about 20 min
Hi, can I make the dough and chill it until ready to bake? If I do this should I let it sit out for a few minutes before baking?
Thanks!
These cookies take waaay longer that 9 to 12 minutes. I had to bake them for 20 minutes, plus the recipe asks for cold butter, i wish I would’ve went with my instincts and used room temp butter. They didn’t spread nor did they cook evenly. These cookies are a bit pricey to make so I was really disappointed that they didn’t turn out according to the instructions. Never again
These cookies aren’t supposed to spread. Levain Bakery cookies are ball shaped and kind of undercooked (or “raw”) in the middle.
Can we please have recipe conversions for us Brits? Pretty please 😬
Go to Google and use a “cups to grams” etc. converter. This is what I do when I make a European recipe.
Thanks, this is what I currently do but is time consuming…just trying to streamline the process
Can these cookies be made smaller successfully? What adjustments would I need to make.
I just made these, and OMG, they are incredible! I actually got 12 out of the recipe and they’re still huge. I used 4 different chips and no nuts. Dark chocolate, semi- sweet chocolate, white chocolate, and butterscotch chips.
I also baked them longer, 15 minutes per tray. Florida sea level can mess with baking times.
This is definitely a keeper recipe.
These are absolutely delicious. Like so many other readers. My cookies were still a bit raw in the middle after 12 minutes. I just lowered the oven temp to 350 and baked another 10 and they turned out great!
So if I’m subbing the cake flour it’s 3 cups of all purpose flour, correct?
I have finally found it… the perfect recipe! Didn’t have those mats so used parchment. That’s the only change I made. Perfect! And dreamy to use cold butter!!
Go to Google and use a “cups to grams” etc. converter. This is what I do when I make a European recipe.
A bakery can save a ton of money by coming up with methods without using vanilla; its good business practice. Reminds me of Milk Bar relying heavily on (clear) imitation vanilla under the guise of nostalgia.
I will try with and without vanilla and let my hungry teenage do a blind taste test!
Thank you for the hard work put in to this recipe…
Just curious: is it possible to make smaller cookies with this recipe? Would anything need to be adjusted?
We make these smaller all the time, for a batch of 24 we just bake them for 7 minutes* instead of the full amount. One thing with making them smaller is that they may spread out a bit more than the larger ones, but not excessively. *We’re at 4550 ft elevation so time may vary.
I bake a lot and these are the best cookies i very ever made.will be my go to recipe.
I did a CC cookie off last March and baked off 8 different recipes. Didn’t know about this one. I MUST say, without the others on my counter to review together, that these are the winner! Loved everything about them. Not the least of which, cold butter!! A few notes. I did not have cake flour and used just AP flour. Can’t imagine them better, but I put cake flour on my grocery list! Also, I used a “large” cookie scoop and they were “pretty full” by my standards, my yield was 21. So smaller than noted in recipe, but still really big and thick. I did bake them 6 per sheet for 11 minutes. Lightly browned on top. So so so good. Oh, yes, I also added one teaspoon of vanilla, as suggested.
Thank you so much for figuring these out a pnd sharing.
Are the walnuts toasted or raw prior to adding to the batter?
Mine turned out great but it’s too sweet. Will try less sugar next time and dark choco chips! Thanks for this recipe
These cookies are sooo good! A half batch made 10 cookies, and I had to bake them for 15 mins to get them to set up. Not perfectly gooey like Levain, but easier to hold and eat!
This is amazing! While I’m not really a big fan of walnuts, it took the cookies to another level in terms of texture. I love how the cookies are crisp and firm on the outside, but gooey inside. The salty-sweet flavor profile of the cookies are great too.
Because I was so worried about the cookies being raw, I baked them at the same temp (410 F) but for 17 minutes. They had a good color and were chewy inside, but not raw. Creaming the cold cubes of butter were quite a hassle, so I tried breaking them up first with a pastry blender/cutter together with the sugars. I used my mixer once they were more broken up, and beat the eggs with it too. For the dry ingredients and mix-ins, I just used my silicone spatula to combine them with the wet batter.
Can’t wait to try this with just chocolate chips. Will definitely be gifting people with these!
The best 🍪 recipe ever! Golden brown but soft and chewy. I did add a little bit of vanilla extract. I used a #30 (2.5 TBS) scooper and baked for 10 min.
Thank you for all your dedication and research!