If you haven't picked up on it already, I am full-on obsessed with cookies.
I created two other Levain Bakery Copycat recipes and they have been the top recipes on Modern Honey ever since. Levain Bakery's signature cookie is still holding on to it's 5 star rating over a year after posting the recipe --
Levain Bakery Copcyat Chocolate Chip Crush Cookies
Levain Bakery Copycat Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies has a 5 star rating as well.
Now it's time to share my original Levain Bakery Dark Chocolate Chocolate Chip Copycat Cookies recipe. This recipe is so much like the original Levain Bakery cookie that you will not even know the difference!
This cookie is full of rich chocolate and studded with semisweet chocolate chips for all of the chocoholics out there. The fascinating thing about Levain Bakery cookies is their ability to be thick without being cakey.
If you read my other Levain Bakery copycat cookie post, you will know that those cookies are my husband's favorite cookie of all time. I think the reason is that they aren't over the top sweet. They are rich and decadent without putting you into a sugar coma.
There are a few SECRET tricks that make these Levain Bakery Dark Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies extra special:
- Use very cold butter. Now, I am not talking about throwing two cubes of cold butter into the mixer and hoping the butter will incorporate into the sugars. Nope. The key is to cut the butter with a knife into small cubes, making it easier to cream with the sugar. We want them to become one and meld together to break down the graininess of the sugar. Cream for at least 4 minutes on high until light and fluffy.
- Use good high quality cocoa, if at all possible. Levain uses dark cocoa for these cookies. If you can find that in your grocery stores, use it! Hershey's makes a dark chocolate cocoa that would be fantastic. Guittard and Ghirardelli makes high quality cocoa powders as well. If you follow me at all, you know I am a huge fan of Callebaut cocoa. It's found in the bulk bin section at Winco and is very reasonable.
- Use a mix of cake flour and all-purpose flour. Why cake flour? You know how I talked about Levain being a thick cookie without tasting like a scone? When you use cake flour, it creates a more TENDER crumb on the cookie which creates a mouth watering texture.
- Another game changer is cornstarch. It also helps to create and soft and tender cookie.
- Bake at high heat. You want to shock these Dark Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies with high heat so they don't spread too rapidly. It helps keep their shape and make those crispy edges.
Levain Bakery Dark Chocolate Chocolate Chip Copycat Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup Cold Butter cut into small cubes
- 1 cup Brown Sugar
- ½ cup Sugar
- 2 Eggs
- ½ cup Dark Baking Cocoa
- 1 cup Cake Flour
- 1 ½ cup All-Purpose Flour
- 1 teaspoon Cornstarch
- ¾ teaspoon Baking Soda
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 ⅓ cup Semisweet Chocolate Chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 410 degrees.
- In large bowl, cream together cold butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
- Add cocoa, cake flour, all-purpose flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt and stir until combined. Stir in semisweet chocolate chips.
- Chill dough for 15 minutes.
- Separate dough into large balls and place on lightly colored cookie sheet. Lightly press on top of dough to smooth out. If you have a scale, you can make them anywhere from 4.5 ounces - 6 ounces. You will fit 4-6 cookies on one large cookie sheet. The dough makes 8-12 extra large cookies.
- Bake for 9-11 minutes or until golden brown on the top. Let them rest for at least 10-15 minutes to set.
Video
You are going to go crazy over these Levain Bakery Dark Chocolate Chocolate Chip Copycat Cookies and won't be able to tell the difference.
Happy Baking, my friends! xo
Mariden
Is there no vanilla extract in this recipe?
Modern Honey
Hi Mariden! There is no vanilla in the Levain Bakery Dark Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies so I didn't include it in my recipe. However, vanilla can add some great flavor so feel free to add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.
Kelly
Nailed it! These are SOOOO good…Easy to make and even easier to eat!!
Modern Honey
Hi Kelly! Thank you so much for your kind comment. I am so glad you loved the cookie recipe.
Michele
Can you use black cocoa instead of dark cocoa or will it be too bitter. Looking for a black cookie recipe
baking dancer
These cookies are amazing. They are incredibly rich - it is difficult to eat one by yourself.
Modern Honey
For sure! They are definitely rich chocolate cookies and perfect for sharing. Thank you so much for trying my recipe.
Julia
They were sooo good, but can i make them smaller (4oz) and if so, should i lover the temperature of the oven wjen i bake em???
David
Baking is a science. Procedure matters a lot. I'm guessing the cold butter makes the cookie not flatten out during the baking process. It doesn't matter if you refrigerate the dough.
Jeff
Excellent recipe! I’ve never had the Levain Bakery version, but now, I don’t think I need to try it. I mean, how could it be any better than these amazing cookies?!
I’m just curious—can you explain the reason for using the cold butter? I wonder because if you’re going to beat it with sugar until fluffy and also refrigerate the dough, what does starting out with cold butter vs softened butter achieve?
Thanks for yet another wonderful recipe!
Holly
I had to use regular hersheys cocoa powder rather than dark chocolate, and I didn’t have cake flour so I just used AP for the whole thing….. these were still absolutely amazing. I added some maldon sea salt on the top before baking and baked for exactly 9 minutes (12 minutes made them a little too overdone for my taste). I will definitely make this recipe again. Delicious
Janice
We just got back from New York City and one of the first things I did upon returning was search for Levain Bakery cookie recipes. We tried this tonight and the cookies are outstanding. You have nailed it! I used light brown sugar, salted butter, and I baked them at 410 degrees on convection bake for 11 minutes. They tasted just like Levain's to us! We can't stop eating them! Thank you for this recipe!
Susan
Lordy! These are delicious! My husband is a complete health fanatic….. he cannot get enough of these for his cheat day. Next up is the chocolate peanut butter, he loves peanut butter. Super easy to throw together as well
Gina
Love love love!!! May I suggest that you move the directive of ‘Preheat the oven’ to right before ‘Chill the dough for 15min’? Oven and dough should be ready at the same time.
Elizabeth
These are so good! We made them a little smaller (16 cookies rather than 8 cookies) and they took only 7 minutes at 410. Sending a huge thank you from a Levain lover stuck in Wisconsin!!
Mackenzie
Hello! I was just wondering if you could could add 2 cups of chocolate chips to the recipe?
David
No or the cookie cop will toss you in jail!
Why not add as many choc chips as you want. Are you sitting down? I didn't use choc chips. I used choc chunk pieces without asking if it was okay. Please don't report me to the cookie cop.
Irene
I needed a laugh today!!!
Michele
Thanks for the laugh. I sometimes go rogue with chocolate too!
Nedra
These turned out amazing and taste just like the bakery ones!
Pankaj Nair
You recipes are wonderful. Thank you for the hard work you do in creating them. One suggestion, could you give metric weights? It makes the recipe more dependable and replicable. Gettig the correct weight of cubed butter inna volumw based measurement is a hot or miss affair, for instance. Density of ingredients changes with temperature, so cup measures cannot be dependable.
iris
can i chill dough for 24 hours instead of 15 mins?
RUBEN
I ussualy do. They taste even better if you let them rest longer. I also use to let the dough in the fridge for days and bake then as needed.
JCM
Insanely delicious. Made exactly as written (except arrowroot for cornstarch as didn’t have it). These are incredibly fabulous and easy. Be warned.
Hadley
Made a gluten-free, dairy-free version of these tonight and they were fantastic! Loved them and will totally be trying the regular Levain bakery copycat recipe some time soon!!
michelle
how did you make them? I'm trying to go vegan and would love a vegan copycat to these cookies
Aurora
I got crazy first time i eat the cookie in BridgeHampton i love it is so delicious i will recommend this bakery amazing
Jana
Hi, can I use flax seed or chia seed as an egg replacement in this recipe? I would love to make a vegan version of this recipe. Can you please make a vegan version of this recipe?
Gale Barnett
Made a batch for my dad for a Christmas Cookie added some chopped pecans. Had an extra cookie that did not fit in cookie tin so I warmed in microwave next morning enjoyed with a cup of coffee. The cookie was amazing . Dropped in the mail for some Christmas Cheer.
Bbching
HI hi, this recipes looks great, and I definitely want to try this Christmas. If I make them 1/2 the weight at 75gr each do I 1/2 the baking time too ? bake 6 mins ? and may I know do you use dark brown sugar or just the normal ? Thank you very much for sharing this great recipe
Terri Schottenfeld
Dark brown or light? Please respond as soon as possible! I need to make these again and don’t remember which I used last time.