To be completely honest, I have never heard of the Levain Bakery or their apparently famous chocolate chip cookies. But I am forever baking any and all versions of chocolate chip cookies I come across…even though I’ve been told by my family that the classic Tollhouse cookies and Jacques Torres’ Secret Chocolate Chip cookies are the gold standard. This recipe differed from the above by including a small amount of cornstarch in the ingredients and no vanilla extract (though I added some vanilla paste). The butter was mixed in cold (no easy task) then large dough balls were formed and frozen briefly. I omitted the nuts…as you may know, the picky family would not be pleased with any crunch in their cookies…and added some vanilla paste.
These did not spread into pancakes as they baked, but, instead, were thick mounds of chocolate chip goodness. Bill proclaimed them terrific, but both Nick and I thought some of my other recipes were better. I’ve included a number of our favorites from the past two years below. But if you’re a fan of Levain Bakery’s cookies, this copycat recipe may be just what you’ve been looking for!
Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookies…adapted from Lisa of Parsley, Sage and Sweet via Plain Chicken
1 cup cold butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla paste
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cornstarch
3 1/3 cups flour
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350º. Line two cookie sheets with parchment.
In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugars with an electric mixer. Add eggs, one at a time and mix till combined. Add vanilla paste, then dry ingredients. Stir in chocolate chips
Divide the dough into 12 equal parts. Roll into balls and freeze for 10 minutes. Place 6 dough balls on each cookie sheet and bake about 20- 25 minutes, till edges are golden. Cool about 5 minutes, then remove to cooling rack.
Makes 12 very large cookies.
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Other favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipes (yes, my food photography has evolved a bit since I started blogging):
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