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
Equipment
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!
CWL
Some cookie recipes recommend that the dough be chilled after the cookies are on the baking sheet. Why don't you recommend this for this recipe? Thanks.
Melissa Stadler
Hi there CWL! If you wanted to chill the dough on the baking sheet that would be fine, I have just found that it is better to limit the dough’s exposure to air while chilling so that it doesn’t get too tough or dry. I also generally don’t have enough room in my fridge to pop a whole pan or two in, haha!
I will say that you definitely want to avoid a hot or warm baking sheet. Let the pan cool down in between batches that are going in the oven, if not the cookies could spread and flatten more easily.
That’s a lot, but I hope it helps!
Brenda
Hey Melissa! Question: Can I use Swans Down Cake Flour which is bleached (I have it on hand) or do I need to get some King Arthur cake flour, which is unbleached? I can’t figure out if the cake flour should be bleached or unbleached. Also, if I make the cookies the size of an ice cream scooper, would I use the same oven temperature and for a shorter baking time?
Can’t wait to make these cookies! Your assistance is greatly appreciated!
Anne
I would also like to know that answer I have the same flour to use when I bake them
Sheryl Granade
Are you swan cake flour, and it was fine
Melissa Stadler
A great question, Brenda! So bleached flour is whiter and softer than unbleached flour. Unbleached ends up being denser, which is better for baked goods that need structure like yeast breads and pastries. I used bleached for that reason! Hope this helps!
Brenda
Ed P. Since they were a bit smaller, temperature was your oven set too and did you have to adjust it at a lower temp say around 375 degrees or did you keep it at 410 degrees for 8 minutes? I want to make the same size you made. Your assistance is greatly appreciated, thank you in advance.
Sheryl Granade
These are really big chocolate chip cookies and I didn’t make them as big as they did. I got 18 cookies and they’re still pretty big.
Kat
Family absolutely loves them
Mary
Can I just humbly say THANK YOU! For your time, effort and persistence in your search for duplication of levain’s chocolate deliciousness! And for finding it in your heart to share! These are PHENOMENAL!! To my waist’s detriment I’m sure! Amazing recipe! Thanks again Melissa! (You’re absolutely GORGEOUS btw!! Brains, baking queen and beauty! Wonderful combo!!)
Melissa Stadler
Mary!!! This is the sweetest comment of all time!! I am so grateful for your appreciation. I love creating recipes, and it is so fulfilling when I hear about how much you love my recipes. Thank you so much for following along and for using my recipes! You’re the BEST.
Mary
For those having trouble with the cookies not being done in the specified time, get a oven thermometer and see what you find. Does it match the temp that you set the oven at? Many don't. My oven before this one was just awful and almost impossible to bake in.
Joan
These cookies are really good, but baking them at 410 degrees x 9-12 min. in the middle of the oven, they were very underdone. I baked for an additional 3 min., for a total bake time of 15 min.
Sheryl Granade
I fixed mine for about 10 minutes at 410° let them sit on the baking sheet and they were perfect. They were not raw inside you must’ve done something wrong.
Nancy
Absolutely delicious. The best cookie I’ve ever made.
Anne
I want to make these but I only have a hand mixer will it work
Ed P.
You can use a hand mixer for creaming the butter and sugar. But beyond that you will need a sturdy wooden spoon to fold in the flour, raisins and nuts. It is a VERY heavy dough. Even my stand mixer had trouble at that point. Do I do it by hand now. (And I make them much smaller; about 4 tsp).
Sara
Just wondering- if you use salted butter is it better to omit the additional salt or should still add?
I’ve made these a few times and call them my ‘special’ recipe I won’t share so I can continue to bring them to parties without competition lol. Thank you for our little secret
Melissa Stadler
Hi Sara! If you are using salted butter I would recommend lessening the salt to either 1/2 or 1/4 a teaspoon, depending on taste preference. I am so glad that you love these cookies, they’re one of my favorites as well!
Debbie
The recipe call for 1 1/2 cup of cake flour then another 1 1/2 cup of flour. What is the second flour, all purpose or self-rising?
Soren
I can’t wait to bake these this afternoon. I live in London which is at sea level. What adjustments need to be made since I presume these were baked at high altitude (in AZ?). Please let me know!! Thank you.
Pam
Hi-never had an original before so I don’t have anything to compare to. No nuts doubled the chips. Followed directions and using a large ice cream scoop for uniformity. Are they supposed to be under done in the middle? Or a true dry cookie center? Mine is domed but they look ok…thanks for your input!
Carol
can you leave out the nuts?
Melissa Stadler
Of course! Adjust to what you like!
Ed P
You can leave out the nuts.
And the size of these does make them soft and chewy in the middle. Especially if you make them large. If you don’t eat them quickly they will lose that crunchy exterior.
Melissa Stadler
Hi Pam! Yes, these have a doughy and soft center. If they are dry, that probably means that they are overdone. Hope you like them!
Ivanna Caballero
Made these, the best cookies I’ve ever had
Dina S
Made a batch of 8 cookies (as called for in recipe). Baked 4 and froze the other 4. Should the balls be baked from frozen or should I defrost? If from frozen, how much time should i add.
I should add that these were delicious! Baked for 12 min but felt they needed another 1-2min. They came out of the oven having barely fallen. I had to flatten them lightly with a spatula.
They were a bit doughy at first but amazing 24 hours later! They set really well by the next day and no longer doughy in the middle.
Melissa Stadler
I would let these thaw to be chilled, not room temperature, before baking them. I’m so glad that you loved my recipe! Thanks for trying it!
star21
Hi! When you mention a cup of butter, does it mean we melt the butter and measure one cup and then once cold cube it up or just fill one cup with cubed butter? I made the comparison and one is almost double the other. thanks
I”Em”Baker
1 cup of butter is 2 sticks or 8 ounces. Cube it right out of the fridge.
Melissa Stadler
Hi there! 1 cup of butter refers to chilled and cubed butter sticks. Packages should show the amount of butter included, but generally speaking a stick of butter is 1/2 a cup. Hope this helps!
Simone
Can I swap out regular flour to cup 4 cup or GF Jules GF flour, and make these the same way? I have celiac so I need GF flour. I know to rest the dough before baking. But I’m wondering if this can be made with a swap of the flour and get the same results?
Joclyn
I want to make these for super bowl and I don't want to make them quite this large cause I would like to have more cookies to go around. What is your measurement for baking smaller cookies, for how long and do I keep the temperature the same? PS. Your cookie recipes are my absolute favorite and I follow you for all my baking!
Jay
I make these all the time in a smaller size for my daughter to bring to work. I actually weigh the dough into 55-60 gram balls and it makes about 20 cookies. Same temp and I find 10-11 minutes results in the perfect cookie. I have done this about 30 times and it's always a hit.
Joclyn
Amazing, thank you Jay!
Ed P.
I always make them smaller. I use a small ice cream/ cookie scoop that holds about 4 tsp. I cook for about 8 minutes and keep an eye on them to make sure they don’t over brown. Plenty big for everyone. It makes about 3 dozen.
AG
I make with half Cup4Cup and half almond flour with great results.
Kylah
I followed the directions exactly, even refrigerated the dough for 30 min and the cookies were completely raw in the middle & spread out. I was really looking forward to these……
Angelina
Same thing just happened to mine and I followed the recipe EXACTLY 😭
Saadiyah
omg!!! I just looked at the ingredients list and realized I forgot THE NORMAL FLOUR!!!! LOL. *crying face* ooook, will try again 😂 guess I was a little too excited and missed it.
Sarah Shephard
These cookies are delicious! I am in high altitude in a snow storm so 98% humidity, I didn't use the vanilla to avoid adding extra moisture. Cooked them for 12:30 and they were perfect. Thank you so much for this amazing recipe. The cornstarch makes all the difference.