Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookies
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These thick and gooey chocolate chip cookies are a staple at Levain Bakery and they are so big that you can share them.
Recently we went to Washington, DC for a midweek trip. It was my husbands birthday so I wanted to get him a sweet treat. When I realized Levain Bakery was down the street I knew I had to get a few cookies to celebrate.
Levain Bakery has a number of giant cookies to choose from in addition to breads, muffins, and other baked goods. We tried four different cookies as well as the best chocolate stuffed brioche I’ve ever had.
What is Levain Bakery?
Levain Bakery is a popular bakery known for its large, thick cookies. Founded in 1995 in New York City, Levain Bakery has become famous for its decadent, gooey, and chewy cookies. It’s signature cookie is the chocolate chip walnut variety. In addition to cookies, the bakery offers a range of other baked goods, including breads, pastries, and cakes.
I wanted to try making Levain chocolate chip cookies at home because while I make chocolate chip cookies frequently, these huge cookies were new to me.
One of my favorite chocolate chip cookies are these small batch Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies. When I want extra chocolate flavor I make Nutella Chocolate Chip Cookies. Then we have the Caramel Swirl Chocolate Chip Cookies with big chocolate and caramel flavor.
The Levain Bakery chocolate chip cookie differs in both the size of the cookie and the texture. It also adds walnuts to the cookie which I liked because it added a little more crunch.
Another thing that is different is that it uses cake flour. I think that helps to make a softer and lighter feeling cookie since they are so big.
How do you make cake flour?
I’ll be the first to say I rarely have cake flour on hand. That’s ok because it’s so easy to make it yourself! For every cup of cake flour measure one cup of all purpose flour. Remove 2 tablespoons of the flour and replace it with 2 tablespoons of cornstarch. That’s it! You now have cake flour.
One tip when making these cookies is to let them cool on the baking sheet. I always want to remove them to cool on a baking sheet but in this case it helps the cookie to keep baking and cook all the way through by leaving it to cool on the hot baking sheet.
Ingredients:
- salted butter (or unsalted if you prefer)
- light brown sugar
- granulated sugar
- eggs
- vanilla extract
- cake flour (see note above for how to make cake flour)
- all purpose flour
- baking soda
- salt
- chocolate chips (I use milk chocolate or semisweet chocolate)
- walnuts (optional)
To make these cookies preheat the oven to 410 degrees. Yes, this seems high for a cookie but because of how big these cookies are, the temperature needs to be high to cook the center of the cookies.
In a large mixing bowl cream together the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Mix well. Add in the eggs and vanilla and mix until well combined.
Add the cake flour, all purpose flour, baking soda, and salt and mix until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips and the walnuts if using.
Here is where you can decide how big you want the cookies to be. I chose to use a 1/4 cup (4 Tablespoon) cookie scoop to make mine and those make pretty large cookies. If you want actual Levain cookie size then you will need two 1/4 cup cookie dough scoops stacked on top of each other and pressed down slightly.
Scoop the cookie dough onto a large baking sheet. Press down slightly on top of the cookie dough. You do not want it to be flat but this will help the cookies to bake more evenly.
Bake the smaller 1/4 cup cookies for 9-12 minutes or the larger 1/2 cup cookies for 11-14 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.
Remove the baking sheet from the oven and let the cookies sit for 10-15 minutes on the hot baking sheet to cool and finish baking.
These cookies are delicious! They are huge and have a firm exterior with a soft and gooey interior. If you include the walnuts there is a nice crunch to the cookies as well.
I enjoy these cookies with a glass of milk or a cup of coffee. They are big enough that you can share with a friend or keep them for yourself.
How do you store these cookies?
Store the cookies in an air tight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
Can you freeze these cookies?
You can freeze Levain Chocolate Chip Cookies. After they have cooled completely wrap in plastic wrap and place in a freezer bag. Freeze for up to 6 months. When ready to enjoy remove from the freezer and defrost on the counter. Heat in the microwave for 15-20 seconds to make them warm and gooey before eating if desired.
We really liked these copycat cookies. While they didn’t taste exactly like Levain Bakery cookies they were pretty close. Since we don’t live near one of those bakeries they are perfect when we have a craving for the huge chocolate chip cookies.
Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup salted butter cut into cubes
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups cake flour
- 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups chocolate chips
- 1 cup walnuts chopped (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 410 degrees.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and sugar. Mix until light and fluffy.
- Add eggs and vanilla and mix well to combine.
- Stir in the cake flour, all purpose flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix until just combined.
- Gently stir in chocolate chips and walnuts.
- Using a 4 tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop large cookies onto a cookie sheet and press down slightly. You can also use two of the large scoops, stack them, and then press down gently.
- Bake large cookies for 9-12 minutes or extra large cookies for 11-14 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.
- Remove from oven and let them cool on the hot baking sheet for 10-15 minutes or until they have set.
Notes
