Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookies

This copycat Levain Cookie Recipe has more than a quarter-pound of dough per cookie and makes for a rich, delicious indulgence. They’ll catch your attention by their size, then keep it after your first bite!

At our house, dessert is a given. We are chocolate chip cookie aficionados and these Copycat Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookies are always a hit!

Why You Must Make

Who doesn’t love those big, soft bakery cookies? If my cookie jar was empty, these Bakery Style M&M’s and Chocolate Chunk Cookies are the sort of sweets the hubby would be trolling the bakery for. To be completely honest, I had never heard of the Levain Bakery or their apparently world-famous chocolate chip cookies until I started blogging.

• Levain Bakery is touted as the home of New York City’s most famous cookies. They’re especially known for their 6-ounce chocolate chip walnut cookies, like those I’m sharing today. If you’re curious about these legendary cookies, do like I did and whip up a batch.
• Huge cookies that are packed full of chocolate, are winners. Each cookie contains more than a quarter-pound of dough!!
• Packed in a cellophane bag with a simple ribbon, they’re great to give to friends or have as party favors.
• They are delicious with or without walnuts, so make them your way!

Reader Endorsement:

From Fran via the comments: So good, the best chocolate chip cookie I ever made!

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. How did these rate, you may wonder? Read on.

Ingredient Notes

• Kitchen Staples – Sugar, Brown Sugar, Baking Soda, Salt, All-purpose Flour
• Butter – Cold, Chopped into Cubes.
• Eggs – Large; at room temperature.
• Vanilla Extract – Do not use artificially flavored vanilla. I prefer the Nielsen-Massey Brand.
• Cornstarch – It is often used to replace some of the flour, helping to make more tender cookies. But with only one tablespoon in this recipe, it wouldn’t have a dramatic effect.
• Semisweet Chocolate Chips – I used the Ghirardelli Brand.
• Chopped Walnuts – I’m the only one in the family who would eat nuts in cookies so I omitted them. If you use nuts, it’s best to gently warm them in a dry skillet to help release their essential oils before using. This brings out their nutty flavor. Pecans could be substituted.

Expert Tips

This recipe for the coveted Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookies differed from the cookies listed above in both the ingredients and technique.

• These cookies include a small amount of cornstarch in the ingredients and no vanilla extract (though I’d definitely add either some vanilla bean paste or extract). Adding cornstarch lowers the amount of gluten per cookie, making them more tender.
• The butter is mixed in cold (no easy task if you don’t use a stand mixer fit with the paddle attachment) then large dough balls are formed and frozen briefly.
• The recipe includes both chocolate chips and walnuts. Note that I omitted the nuts and replaced them with more chocolate chips. My picky family would not be pleased with any crunch in their cookies.
• PRO-Tip: If you don’t want to use walnuts, you may add 2 more cups of chocolate chips as a replacement. I’ve always made them without nuts and have baked them with 2 cups and with 4 cups of chocolate chips. Do what makes sense for your family’s tastes.
• These cookies are huge. The dough is divided into just 12 cookies making them supersized and taking 20 to 25 minutes to bake, unlike ordinary-sized cookies taking approximately 10 minutes.
• PRO-Tip: I used a scale and divvied up 5 full ounces of dough per cookie. Keeping them a consistent size helps them bake evenly. I’ve also made them by using a large (¼ cup) cookie scoop and baked them for only 18-20 minutes.
• Slightly underbaking makes for soft, gooey middles. Baking time will vary depending on your oven.
• There are fans of doughy middles which are one of the hallmarks of these cookies. Decrease the baking time even less than the suggested times in the recipe for a slightly undercooked, gooier center. Just be aware that uncooked dough can harbor salmonella and could result in food poisoning so the cookies should be only slightly underbaked, not raw. Be cautious and don’t feed uncooked dough to the very young, elderly, or anyone who is immune-compromised.
• PRO-Tip: Bake one test cookie to see what timing works best for the results you want.
• Note: these cookies are best eaten within a couple of days of baking them. But they freeze well and you can pull out one at a time for your cookie fix! As with all cookies, store them in an airtight container at room temperature or in the freezer.
• To refresh your cookies or just to get the chocolate gooey again, place one cookie on a paper napkin or microwave-safe plate and zap for approximately 10 seconds. Timing will vary depending on your microwave.

BIG Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

This Levain cookie recipe did not spread into pancakes as they baked, but, instead, were thick mounds of chocolate chip goodness. Bill pronounced them terrific, but there is nary a nut-free chocolate chip cookie that he would snub!

PRO-Tip: If you want your cookies to have the rustic look of the original cookies, don’t roll the dough balls after you scoop out a portion.

Nick was home for the week, and he asked if he could take some of this Levain Bakery Cookie Recipe back to campus. He rewarded himself with one after his workouts. I suspect he will finish off the remainder in no time! The hubby, a self-proclaimed chocolate chip cookie connoisseur, gave them two thumbs up. If you’re a fan of these famous cookies, perhaps this copycat recipe is just what you’ve been looking for!

How to Make

Frequently Asked Questions

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Continue to Content

Print

The Recipe:

Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Yield 12 large cookies

A copycat chocolate chip cookie recipe from the Levain Bakery.

Ingredients

• 1 cup cold butter, cut into cubes
• 1 cup brown sugar
• ½ cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 3 cups flour
• 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 2 cups chopped toasted walnuts*

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350º. Line two cookie sheets with parchment.
2. In a large bowl, cream the cold butter and sugars with an electric mixer (if using a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment).
3. Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix till combined.
4. Add vanilla extract, then the dry ingredients. Stir in chocolate chips
5. Divide the dough into 12 equal parts. Roll into balls and freeze for 10 minutes.
6. Place 6 dough balls on each cookie sheet and bake for about 20-25 minutes, until the edges are golden. You can also make smaller cookies using a ¼ cup cookie scoop. Bake those for 18-20 minutes.
7. Cool for about 5 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack.

Notes

Total time does not include freezing time.

Slightly underbake if you want a soft, gooey center.

*May replace the walnuts with 2 more cups of chocolate chips or simply omit them.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

• 
  Smithcraft Stainless Steel Measuring Cups Set
• 
  Measuring Spoons
• 
  Nicewell Food Scale, 22lb Digital Kitchen Scale Weight Grams and oz for Cooking Baking, 1g/0.1oz Precise Graduation, Stainless Steel and Tempered Glass
• 
  USA Pan Bakeware Half Sheet Pan
• 
  Reynolds Cookie Baking Sheets Non-Stick Parchment Paper, 25 Sheet, 4 Count
• 
  KitchenAid KSM150PSER Artisan Tilt-Head Stand Mixer with Pouring Shield, 5-Quart, Empire Red

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

12

Serving Size:

1 cookie
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 625Total Fat: 38gSaturated Fat: 16gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 20gCholesterol: 72mgSodium: 335mgCarbohydrates: 69gFiber: 4gSugar: 40gProtein: 9g

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