Almost 1/2 pound of the most indulgent chocolate chip cookie ever! Our Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe was founded after hours and hours of research, testing and of course, tasting. This is the make-at-home version you will make over and over again!
If you’ve traveled to, or live in New York City, you have probably heard of Levain Bakery and their famous chocolate chip cookies. On my last trip back east, I made a stop at the popular bakery on West 74th Street to see for myself if this was indeed the best chocolate chip cookie in the world!
Levain Bakery is rumored to have the best chocolate chip cookies in the world. Yes, in the world. Hmmmmmmm. This is a highly debatable subject. What determines if a recipe is the best recipe in the world?
It’s all a matter of personal opinion and preference. Follow along and I’ll give you my observations and the results of my taste testing and baking research.
Last September, I took a trip with my oldest daughter Corrine to NYC. She was there for Fashion week and I was there for support, choosing restaurants and overall sightseeing. Levain Bakery was high on my list of places to visit this trip. We purchased each of the four types of cookies they sell. My favorite was the Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookie.
I Instagrammed a photo (below) of the cookie while we were in NYC and received loads of comments from readers professing their love for Levain cookies, recipe requests and even comments stating a copycat recipe would be an answer to prayers!
In the interest of answering prayers and helping everyone who doesn’t live close to NYC (or even those who just want a make a batch of Levain style cookies) I’m going to share my version of the Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookie recipe (and also the no-nut version, read end of post). But first, I’ll give you the story of how this recipe came to be…
Cut to the chase:
I know some of you probably just want the cookie recipe. If you are one of those people, skip to the bottom of this page and I’ll spare you my three thousand word essay on the who/what/why of recreating the Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookie. If you want the back story, here it is…
History:
Levain Bakery was opened in 1994 by two women, Pam McDonald and Connie Weekes, who trained for triathlete/Ironman competitions together. They were often hungry after training and wanted a treat that would fill them up. During the training process they talked about creating the best chocolate chip cookie in the world. Over 20 years later, they are still baking cookies (and muffins, breads, pizza, sticky buns) and wowing New Yorkers and tourists every day.
They have 3 (now) 7 locations! There is almost always a line out the door, and their locations even sport a line cam giving you a look at the length of the line. Not that a long line seems to deter anyone from buying Levain’s cookies! We visited the West 74th street location and waited in line for less than 20 minutes.
Why is the Levain Chocolate Chip Cookie so popular?
Size: Huge. 6 oz (almost half a pound) of cookie. Everything is is big and flamboyant in NYC, and Levain cookies are no exception. The cookies are enormous. If you are forking out $4 per cookie (price in 2016 when this post originally went live), you want a cookie you can sink your teeth into.
I’ve purchased big cookies in the past, only to be disappointed that the flavor didn’t match up to the size of the cookie. The Levain cookies deliver in both the size and deliciousness categories!
Texture: Perfect combination of crisp outside and incredibly gooey center. The cookie is baked at a high temperature, and mounded high, allowing the outside of the cookie to crisp up perfectly while the middle barely gets baked and creates puddles of chocolate in the cookie dough.
Hype: New Yorkers love to wait in line! No really. Anything with a long line in NYC= (usually) an experience you don’t want to miss. This isn’t a tourist-only line. New Yorkers faithfully stand in the Levain line, patiently waiting for their cookie fix.
Why recreate the Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookie?
Reason 1. They are delicious- See all of the above reasons. A big melty hunk of a cookie.
Reason 2. Cost- At $4 per cookie, if I lived in NYC and could run down the street to buy a cookie whenever I had a craving, it would be an easy choice. Four dollars a cookie is a reasonable price, given the size of the cookie. I mean, it’s a meal for $4. So one cookie or two or three are affordable. But when you consider you can make 8 at home for about a dollar per cookie, the make at home option starts to look very attractive.
Reason 3. Location- If you don’t live in NYC, (and who does?) I mean, only about 8 million people, but most of them don’t read this blog, which brings us to the out-of-towner option, having the cookies shipped. See reason 4.
Reason 4. Affordability of shipping: The mail order option, in my opinion, is not very affordable for most people. And who wants to wait 2 days when they have a chocolate chip cookie craving? Levain cookies are sold four to a package in the smallest package available. The least expensive shipping option (to Utah, 2 day air) will set you back approx $64 or about $16 per cookie. For two day old cookies. Gulp.
or
The next option is $81.50 for next day air, which is about $27 per cookie. Fairly fresh, but still a day old.
or
Last, but not least, next day (early) delivery is $108.50 or $34.94 PER COOKIE. Did you just pass out? I’ve eaten a lot of cookies in my lifetime. Probably more than my share. I don’t ever recall eating cookie that was worth $35 per cookie.
The shipping is what increases the price of the cookies. If you have a friend visiting NYC, having them hand deliver cookies is a sweet option. Unless they leave the cookies on the plane. Oops. See Reason 6.
Reason 5. Everyone asks for the recipe. Many of you have been to Levain, and NEED this recipe. After eating one of the Levain cookies, I knew it was my duty to create a make at home version of the Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookie.
Reason 6. I want to help you keep your integrity intact. These cookies are a HOT item. Don’t leave them unattended, or else. True story. My friend Maria was visiting her kids in New York last year. We were texting back and forth and talking about some of the fun restaurants and treats they were enjoying in the city, including Levain cookies. At one point, I asked her to pick up a cookie for me if she was close to the bakery again before returning home… for research purposes.
Maria was kind enough to buy a few cookies, had them packaged up and carried them back on the plane to SLC in a cute little Levain Bakery bag. After she left the plane, she realized she had left the cookies onboard. Maria tried unsucessfully to re-board the plane. Her husband saw a man leave the plane with the cookies in hand…
He approached the man and said “I believe that is my wife’s bag of cookies she left on the plane.” (awkward, right?) The man looked startled, but acted like they were his cookies, although he had no story to share or no retort for the insistence by Maria’s husband that they were Maria’s cookies.
Picture me, reading this text from Maria, about what happened to the cookies, and saying over and over again, “OH MY GOSH” Grant thought maybe someone had passed away. No, just a cookie casualty… Maybe this gentleman did purchase the cookies, but it sounds like a possible cookie heist to me. Don’t take something that doesn’t belong to you. Just bake a batch at home instead.
Observations, baking tips and how I came up with this copycat Levain Bakery recipe…
In order to make a cookie that tastes, looks and has the same texture of the Levain cookie, I started by watching an episode of Bobby Flay’s Throwdown, where the Levain Bakery owners and Bobby Flay bake up a batch of cookies and judges pick their favorite cookie.
Pam and Connie (Levain founders) show up to the throw down with their dough already made, so it was difficult to do much observing of the actual cookie making process in the video clip.
I did take a look at the texture of the dough, which seems to be fairly sticky, leading me to believe there is not an excessive amount of flour in the dough. They also state a few times during the segment, they like to “keep it simple”. Bobby Flay’s cookies include Muscavado sugar and gourmet chocolate. In the end, the Levain cookies won the throw down.
The second video “Levain Bakery Pam and Connie Make Cookies” shows Pam and Connie making the cookies. They don’t show specifics, such as amounts, but I carefully watched and re watched the video several times and gathered the following:
-They use cold butter in 1 lb blocks
-The walnuts are not chopped, and don’t appear to be toasted.
-It looks like the amount of brown sugar is a bit more than the white sugar added, and the brown sugar appears to be light brown sugar, but difficult to tell the proportions of white to brown sugar, since brown sugar is usually measured in packed down amount, and the amount in the bowl does not looked packed.
–No vanilla. They also mention in the Bobby Flay video they don’t add vanilla because they think it is not needed. At first I thought WHAT? No vanilla in a cookie? But they are right. It really doesn’t add much flavor.
–Eggs, appear to be 2 per recipe, from what I can see, the butter and egg ratio per (at home) recipe would be 1/2 lb butter to 2 eggs.
–Chocolate chips. Semi sweet. About 2 cups per recipe. They add the walnuts first and pulse the dough, then add the chocolate chips last. They add the walnuts and chocolate chips after the dry ingredients have been pulsed into the wet ingredients.
–Dry ingredients. They add the dry ingredients in one big bowl, so it is difficult to tell what is in the dry ingredient portion of the recipe. I tried all purpose flour, cake flour, bread flour, a combination of bread and AP flour, a combo of cake flour and AP flour, and the AP flour by itself. I also tried baking soda, baking powder and a combination of both. Many people believe Levain Bakery includes cornstarch in their cookie, but I believe it is just plain old baking powder, which is made with a bit of cornstarch (remember the “keep it simple” quote)?
-The cookies also seem to be on the less salty side, which is less to my liking. I’m a firm believer in salt to balance out and enhance the flavors in desserts. I think they probably use about 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of salt per recipe. I always use a coarse sea salt for best taste results. I am not sure if they use salted or unsalted butter, but I always use unsalted.
–Mixing: The mixer used in the video is a large commercial grade machine. They mix the butter and sugars together first, with the mixer on low. The mixer speed is always on low, it seems. When making other chocolate chip cookies, I usually add my chocolate chips and nuts with the flour to get them coated with flour (which is supposed to help them from sinking into the bottom of the dough) but Levain just adds the walnuts and chocolate chips after mixing in the dry ingredients. They pulse the mixture several times to prevent the flour and other dry ingredients from spilling over the bowl.
–Refrigeration of dough: They don’t talk about refrigerating the dough, but there are reports of the dough being refrigerated or frozen before baking. Refrigeration of dough usually enhances the texture of the cookies, but I don’t feel it is necessary in this cookie. I have baked this recipe right out of the bowl and also refrigerated the dough before baking. You can see what will be best in your oven by baking a cookie right after mixing up. If the cookie flattens too much, refrigerate the remaining dough for 30 minutes before baking.
–Shaping: Pam and Connie talk about “no baseballs” when shaping the dough. I usually create “baseballs” by using a cookie scoop. The Levain cookie is a more rustic looking treat. They use their hands to shape the dough. I prefer to use a food handler’s glove and measure the dough out and weigh it on my trusty kitchen scale.
–Baking time and temp: I found the best temperature in my oven is 400 degrees. If I am baking on a regular setting, I bake at 400 for 11-12 minutes. If using convection, I bake for 8-9 minutes. To achieve the gooey consistency of the Levain Bakery cookie, you must take the cookie out of the oven before the center is baked.
–Cooling-an important step: The Levain cookie needs to sit on the cookie sheet for at least 15 minutes before eating. Leave the cookie on the warm cookie sheet so it can finish baking and set up. I believe the cookies are best when left to sit for about an hour after baking.
Cookie Conclusion
I loved this cookie at the bakery and at home. It’s definitely a cookie lover’s dream. Not to be confused with the New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookie, which is a chocolate lover’s dream, this cookie is a mini-mountain of chocolate chip cookie dough.
I’m still partial to my all time favorite, ABK’s Tried and True Chocolate Chip Cookie. If you know someone who loves to eat the dough more than a baked cookie, I am guessing they will fall in love with the ABK version of the Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookie. One recipe makes 8 GINORMOUS cookies. I look forward to reading your reviews… Happy baking!
Can’t Get Enough Levain?
I’ve made multiple copycat versions of Levain cookies: The Dark Chocolate Chocolate Chip, the Oatmeal Raisin, and the Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookie. They were all tested, tested again, and retested until I felt the recipe was as close as possible to the real deal.
This Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe has the most in-depth explanation of all the who, what, why and how on everything in my Levain Bakery copycat cookie journey. A little over the top, but seriously some of the most fun I’ve had in the recipe development game.
**Update May 2017** NO-NUT VERSION**
After receiving lots of feedback on this recipe several of you have said in emails, messages through Instagram and comments on Instagram posts that your cookies are going flat. I was puzzled by this! As you can see, the cookies are HUGE balls of dough before baking. I finally measured, and the dough balls sit about 3 inches high.
How could they flatten out after baking for such a relatively short time? When I drilled down the problem, I found the readers who were having issues with the cookies going flat were NOT adding walnuts to the recipe. I stated in the recipe notes originally – “If you are going to omit the nuts, you may want to try adding more chocolate chips and 1/4 cup of additional flour.”
I should have been more specific. I didn’t want to add much more flour than the originally called for 2 1/2 to 2 3/4 cups total, because once you add too much flour it changes the texture and flavor of the end product. Apparently 1/4 cup of additional flour was not enough.
I talked through this with my friend Melinda a few days ago. She mentioned something about replacing the volume of nuts in the cookies with something else. Then it hit me. To have success with this recipe the volume of the nuts had to be replaced exactly if the cookies were going to hold their shape.
I experimented with adding the additional 1/4 cup of flour- 3 cups total flour (1 cup cake flour, 2 cups AP flour) and 4 cups total semi sweet chocolate chips. HOORAY! The no-nut perfect version of the Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookie Copycat was born. The adjustments are in the recipe notes.
I highly recommend refrigeration of dough if you do not have a convection oven. Refrigerate for 45 minutes after shaping the dough, then bake as directed. This will also help the cookies hold their shape.
One more note- The chocolate chips weight equals 14.6 oz for 2 cups, while 2 cups of whole walnuts equal 10.16 oz for 2 cups. The walnuts take up more volume, but weigh less than the chocolate chips. When measuring out the cookies made with chocolate chips only, the dough is more dense and the dough balls are smaller.
I weighed out the cookies without walnuts to about 7 oz per cookie, as opposed to 6 oz for the cookies with nuts. The recipe will still yield about 8 cookies per batch!
**Update May 23, 2017 Mini Version**
The cookies can be made in a “mini” size, about 3-3.5 oz each. Perfect size for any gathering where you don’t want to make and serve cookies that are nearly 1/2 lb each! Shape as directed, then bake at 400 degrees ( I use convection bake, but you can use regular bake as well) for about 5-6 minutes or just until top of cookie forms a crust.
**Update June 2017**
Lots of questions about CAKE flour. It is usually found on the top shelf at grocery stores, in a small box. Most groceries sell ” Softasilk” Cake Flour in a box. Make sure you read the label if you buy other brands and buy Cake Flour and not a “Cake Flour Blend”.
If you can’t find cake flour at your grocery, you can make your own at home by using this method to Make Cake Flour at Home:
- Measure out 1 cup of all purpose flour into a medium size mixing bowl.
- Remove 2 tablespoons of the flour and place back in the flour container.
- Add 2 tablespoons of cornstarch to the flour in mixing bowl.
- Sift the flour and cornstarch mixture. Sift again about 3-4 more times.
- You now have cake flour! Place in a bag or container, measure out and use as needed.
Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter cut into tablespoons, I prefer unsalted
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup cake flour
- 1 1/2-1 3/4 cup all purpose flour* see notes
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
- 2 cups walnut halves
- 2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips* see notes
Instructions
- Pre heat oven to 400 degrees and set rack in middle of oven.
- Place butter into bowl and turn mixer on low. If using a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment.
- Add sugars and beat butter until smooth on medium speed. This should take about 1 minute. Mix until the butter pieces are completely blended with the sugar and is no longer visible in pieces.
- Add the eggs and beat on medium just until incorporated with butter and sugars, about 30 seconds.
- Turn the mixer off. Add the cake flour, all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Pulse the dry ingredients on low until the wet and dry ingredients are mixed together.
- Pour the walnuts into the batter all at once. Pulse the batter 5-6 times.
- Pour the chocolate chips into the batter and pulse again 5-6 times.
- Pour the batter out onto a clean surface. Fold the dough together a few times until all of the chocolate chips and walnuts are mixed into the batter.
- Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces about 6 oz each. Use your hands to shape cookies. Do not use a cookie or ice cream scoop. The cookies are meant to be roughly shaped. Do not flatten the dough.
- Bake 4 cookies per pan, for 11 minutes on regular bake or 400 convection bake for 8-9 minutes.
- The cookies are done when the top is a bit golden and the bottom is also golden.
- Do not over bake. Let cool for 15 minutes before serving.
- To make the cookies without walnuts, see recipe notes below!
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
Be sure to leave a comment and rate this recipe! I’d love to see a photo, tag @abountifulkitchen on Instagram!
Grace Han
Hi, just a quick question about the refrigeration of the dough. If I were to refrigerate the dough for about a week and then bake them, would the end result still be the same?
Si Foster
Hi Grace, from my experience, yes the cookies turn out the same, if not better after chilling for so long. Thank you for reading ABK!
xi
Si
Curious baker
Hi,
Thank you for the recipe! I am wondering, should we be using room temperature eggs or cold eggs straight from the fridge?
Si Foster
Hi, I would use cold eggs for this recipe, thank you for asking!
xo
Si
Fatima Khan
Hello, I hope your’e well, I’m trying this recipe and only have around 1/2 a cup of walnuts, should I half the recipe aswell or just make the whole thing, will the amount of the nuts affect the overall texture?
Thank you
Et
Hi! Were the eggs you used in room temp or cold? Thank you!
Si Foster
Hi, I would use cold eggs, thank you for reading ABK!
xo
Si
Nina
Followed this recipe to a T and baked it for 11 mins, but turned off the oven and let the cookies sit inside for about 3 mins. I didn’t want a super gooey inside and the cookies came out great! The outside was golden brown and the inside was still soft and chewy. Next time I’ll try baking it for 11 mins then take it out of the oven immediately. Thank you for such a good recipe!!
Macy perrins
This was the best chocolate chip cookie I’ve ever had!! Loved it so much. I used all chocolate chips because my brother is allergic to walnuts and it turned out fantastic. Thanks so much!
Kelli
We made these this morning and they were amazing. Thick and gooey and super good. One question, we did not use walnuts so we added the additional 1/4 cup flour (1 3/4 C total flour) and 4 cups choc chips (one of the commenters said that if you take out the walnuts you need to add additional choc chips and additional flour so we did both). However, It was a bit too many choc chips, if that is possible. If I wanted to cut it down to 2 cups choc chops, would I need to add more than 1 3/4 cup flour?
Thanks for any help you can provide.
Si Foster
Hi Kelli, I would try adding 1/4 cup of flour, so in total that would be 2 cups AP flour and 1 cup cake flour. If it’s still too sticky, add an additional 1/4 cup AP flour. Hope this helps and thanks for asking!
xo
Si
sarah
Thanks for this great detailed approach to the best cookie ever!
Lisa
I tried this and it doesnt come out perfect U_U. I had to leave it in for another 10 minutes or so.
Stacey
Haven’t been to Levain but have heard of their infamous cookies. I’m a former professional baker gone vegan. Searched the comments for vegan swaps (earth balance, applesauce, gf flour). Will try these with flax eggs and report back. Thank you for your commitment to reproducing these beauties!
Si Foster
Please let me know how they turn out, Stacey! Thank you for reading ABK,
xo
Si
Barb
I followed recipe nut cookies came out gigantic and took more than 11 minutes. What did I do wrong??!!😂 wish I could show you a picture!!!
Yándary
So good! 1.5 cups of flour worked for me.
Charlotte
This recipe is amazing!! I did the version without walnuts (so added extra flour and extra chocolate chips). Amazing!! I baked for 12 minutes. Don’t bake any longer, even if you think it needs more…don’t do it! They harden when they cool down (but are still nice and gooey in the middle!). As someone who lived a few blocks from Levain bakery for two years…I can attest that these are just as amazing as the real deal.
Susan
I’ve been to Levain many, many times (lived right in the neighborhood for 6 years). These cookies are close to Levain, but there is something that’s slightly different with the texture. Even so, these are THE BEST homemade cookies I’ve ever made. Thanks!
Layna Massey
So yummy!!!!!! They are so fast and easy to make. They baked up beautifully. I’ll definitely be using this recipe to make for neighbors and friends. They are so yummy. Perfect when you are craving an amazing cookie but don’t want to pay a ton of money at a cookie shop!
JeN sroczyk
As someone who is OBSESSED with Levain cookies and equally as obsessed with baking, this recipe is such a win!! The texture is spot on and the flavors are so so close to the original – it really is the perfect “dupe”!!
I don’t personally love walnuts (but i love the original bakery cookie and it’s perfect just as is) but since i was making it at home, i thought why not give it a try with pecans. And i used dark chocolate chips instead of semi sweet chips just because i really love dark chocolate haha. And it was soooo good!
The recipe is seriously so good without any substitutions or changes but it’s always fun to experiment! You definitely need to make these!!
Sarah
These are seriously so good! Mine came out a little flatter than yours but still tasted amazing. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
Jaclyn
I have never been to the levain bakery but these cookies needed a try. OOOH my!! They were sooo gooood! I kept cutting off 1/8 of a cookie but could not stop returning for more. I think I preferred them at room temperature over fresh out of the oven! I used pecans as my nuts and wow! I don’t dare make them again :))))) (those are my double chins forming). Thanks for the recipe! Now to try another one of your Levain bakery cookie knock-off recipes, although I can’t imagine any being better than these!
Christine culshaw
I haven’t made this yet because I can’t work out the conversation weight of ingredients. I have never used measuring cups I only know grams and use a scale. I’m in Australia and all measuring cups seem to be different sizes and I have looked up the conversations online and they are all telling me something different.
Corbin Morgan
My go to chocolate chip cookie recipe! I substitute the walnuts with more chocolate chips and make my own cake flour. Always turn out great!
Si Foster
Thank you Corbin! So glad you love this recipe. And making your own cake flour is a great idea. Thanks for reading ABK, and happy baking!
Karin
THIS WAS SO FUN!! I followed this recipe almost exactly. I live in Idaho where the elevation is a bit higher so I always bake for 2 minutes less than what recipes call for and adjust as needed. I baked for 9 minutes @ 400° for my first batch and they were golden brown. I wanted them a bit lighter so the next batch I made I baked at 385° for 9 minutes and they were exactly what I wanted! I grabbed my butter straight from the fridge and microwaved it for 12 seconds so I could easily cut through it. I had so much fun baking these and testing the dough for poison 😉 they were DELICIOUS!!!!!!
Si Foster
Karin,
Thank you so much for sharing the modifications you made, this is so helpful especially to other readers! Thank you for reading ABK,
xo
Si
Michelle Abbey
I have been searching and trying out chocolate chip cookie recipes left and right…and failing. I happened to come across your website, and this recipe is THE ONE! I have had Levain bakery cookies and these definitely remind me of them! I am so excited to find such an easy and successful chocolate chip cookie recipe…can’t wait to try baking the other flavors too.
And your website has so many great looking recipes! Can’t wait to try them 🙂
Si Foster
Thank you so much Michelle! I love hearing feedback and especially when a reader has tried the real deal at Levain Bakery. Thanks for reading ABK.
xo
Si
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Ashley cambra
Amazing every single time! I always make mind smaller so we have more since we have a big family. But they are so amazing! Not too sweet just sweet enough and the perfect crunch!
Si Foster
I love the ‘minis” too!
thank you for sharing!
xo
Si
Michelle ohira
Can I freeze the dough? If so, how does that change the baking time?
Si Foster
Hi Michelle, you can freeze the dough, I would definitely let the dough unthaw for a few hours before you bake it. Also, let your oven heat up for at least 15 minutes, the cookies may take a few minutes longer to bake. Thank you for asking!
xo
Si
Erin b
This is by far the best cookie recipe I have ever made. (I even messed up and wasn’t paying attention and didn’t put enough butter and it still turned out wonderful.) A 6oz cookie is not for the faint of heart, but this one is worth every calorie. I made my own cake flour since my store didn’t have any. The instructions were super easy to follow. The hardest part in the whole thing was waiting an hour to dive in!!
Si Foster
Thank you Erin! I agree, a 6 oz cookie is for someone who is COMMITTED to chocolate chip cookies! Thanks for your comment and for reading ABK,
xo
Si
Megan
Do you have a preferred brand of chocolate chips? Thanks!
Si Foster
Hi Megan, I like to use Guittard or Ghirardelli chocolate chips. Thank you for asking and for reading ABK!
xo
Si
Jadee
Hi!
Never tried Levain, but I’ve heard about them. Made this for the first time today and it is SO AMAZING! I found the video to be really helpful. Mine definitely didn’t look like yours, but I’m going to try again. Thank you for sharing your wonderful recipes with the world. I also tried the cinnamon rolls and those were to die for, too.
Daisy
Hi!
Do you have any suggestions for making these in high altitude?
Si Foster
Hi Daisy, this recipe has already been adapted to be made at a higher altitude, but definitely let the oven heat up for at least 15-20 minutes before baking. Also, I would refrigerate the dough balls after you’ve shaped them for at least 30 minutes. Hope this helps and thank you for asking!
xo
Si
Vanessa sanfilippo
So glad I found Si’s blog a few years ago and since then these Levain Bakery cookies have been my go-to cookie recipe! I’ve never been to NY, but I have heard about Levain Bakery so I was VERY excited to make these cookies the for the first time and I feel like they are the same. I’ve never strayed away from chocolate chips but today we did white chocolate instead. Both are so good!! And we always do 1 3/4 cup AP flour..I’ve found that it makes the cookies extra thick. Anything less and I’ve found them to be flat.
Thank you for sharing this recipe with us Si!! This recipe will be used by our family for years to come!
Mallory
Any suggestions on trying to make these with a gluten free cup-for-cup flour. Have some allergies in the house but still want to make these!
Si Foster
Hi Mallory,
I have had several readers tell me they have made this recipe using Cup4Cup and had great success. As with any GF baking, I highly recommend making the dough the day before or early in the day and then letting the dough sit for at least 6-8 hours before baking. This allows the flour to absorb the wet ingredients, especially the butter and takes away some of the gritty texture you see with gf baking. Take a look at this recipe for more tips on gf cookie baking. If you haven’t tried ABK GF sugar cookie recipe, I think you will love that as well! Thanks for reading ABK,
xo
Si
https://abountifulkitchen.com/gluten-free-sugar-cookies/
spencer
for the substitute for cake flour of 2 1/2 cups of AP flour… is this NOT including the AP flour already added in?
Si Foster
Hi Spencer,
If you’re just using AP flour, then 2 1/2 cups is the total amount needed for the recipe, you may need to add in another 1/4 cup if the resulting dough is too sticky. Thank you for asking and hope this makes sense!
Si
Ivy
These are fantastic. I am a devout fan of Levain, and though we loved these, there is something a little different, maybe these are slightly less “crumbly,” they hold together more, which might have to do with my alterations: I halved the recipe, used the cornstarch addition instead of cake flour and made the cookies 5oz each instead of 6. I think I kept these in maybe a minute longer than I should have, because the bottom was toastier than I wanted. All in all these are amazing and I will definitely make them again.
Cindy
Hello ! What type of chocolate chips are you using for this recipe? What brand is it? I love the pic! Gonna try it soon 🙂
Si Foster
Hi Cindy, I like to use “Guittard” semi-sweet chocolate chips, “Ghirardelli” is also a great brand. Thank you for asking, let me know how you like the recipe!
xo
Si
Tatiana
This is the recipe that brought me to the BK site. I have been cursed my whole life with flat cookies, and my friends could all make crackly-chewy perfect cookies. I followed the notes to the letter. I made my own cake flour. I mixed for the exact time stated, I used pecans, I was a total robot and didn’t free-lance like I usually do. They turned out perfect. My convection setting really cooked quick, so watch them like a hawk, starting at 4 minutes. These are on repeat. Also, I don’t dare make the big ones. I would eat the whole thing, so I just do the minis.
ps, I did cave and use vanilla, because I just have to.
Marti
I am a BIG fan of Levain Bakery cookies (every time I go to NYC I have to hit up Levain’s… as often as possible). I have made this recipe a few times and it has worked out so well! They taste amazing and authentic.
The only thing I sometimes vary with the recipe is not using as many walnuts. What I like to do is 3 cups of chocolate and 1 cup of walnuts (instead of 2 cups of each). I also like to do different kinds of chocolate chips… chocolate chunks… mini chocolate chips… I mix them all in!)
Elsa C.
They are perfect, made my own cake flour and use my regular oven I don’t even have a mixer and they turned out amazing. All good, delicious. Thank you!
Karen
Just made these and they are absolutely delicious! My daughter and I are quarantined and she wanted a chocolate chip cookie. I chose your recipe and she was exchange she follows Levian in Instagram. We both thought these were wonderful! Thanks for sharing!
Michael
Hi! Terrific recipe. I’ve had Levain cookies before. Do you think they take any additional safety measures regarding the rawness of the dough? I could care less but some people make a fuss about raw flour or raw eggs since the cookie is pretty raw in the center. What are your thoughts on this? Some would say to cook the flour in the oven before but that is way too much work and I don’t believe they do this.
Si Foster
Hi Michael, I don’t usually worry about this at all, the risk is fairly negligible. If someone is really concerned about raw flour, you can always toast the flour beforehand, but I agree that it is way too much work. And if raw eggs are a concern, then you can use pasteurized eggs. Thank you for asking!
Si
Zaki
What will happen if I don’t add 1/4 cup of all-purpose flour when I don’t have the walnuts?
Diane Perris
I just baked a 1/2 recipe of these, making 4 ginormous cookies. I usually try to do this when trying new recipes just in case I’m not thrilled with the results. That was not the case with these cookies, they are completely off the hook. Cutting the recipe in 1/2 was easy with a good food scale (I use OXO’s) and the invaluable “Ingredient Weight Chart” from King Arthur. If you weigh out your ingredients instead of measuring in volume or ounces you can scale however you like.
Anyway, I made 1 change to the ingredients (used pecans because I don’t like walnuts). I also learned a few things for next time based on “Bountiful”‘s wonderful and thorough directions:
1) This is the only choc. chip recipe where I will use chips instead of chunks or cut-up bars. That’s because I’m going to want more distinction between cookie and chocolate than I got using a variety of chunks, which almost created a pudding on the inside.
2) These cookies are so big they will want to break apart after baking so heed the advice to bring the dough together. I didn’t put on a clean surface, just brought dough together in the bowl with my hands. I also chilled it for a few hours before baking at 400 convection. Due to the chilling it took longer than 8-9 minutes to bake them, but maybe that’s because I didn’t like the almost unbaked dough in the middle. I put them back in the oven for 5 more minutes (15 total). They were probably more browned than recommended but the texture was amazing; gooey and tender on inside but crisp and chewy on surface.
3) Adding a bit of flaked sea salt before baking is a lovely touch.
4) I’m going to bake them again but now that I’ve astonished myself and wowed my family/friends with the sheer size, I’ll probably do 1/2 size cookies. 3 oz. portions of these cookies will probably still be spectacular, and the ingredients will go a lot further.
That said, these are absolutely spectacular. I’ve never baked a cookie before that I had to eat with a fork, over a few hours. And loved every bite.
Ashley
Hi! I’m interested in making these but was wondering If you could please provide the amounts of each ingredient in ounces?
Thank you!!! Pumped to try these!!
Sharyl Gourley
My family and I have been to NYC and we love Levain Bakery!!! I love this recipe, I do make the cookie smaller more like a normal size cookie & they turn out perfect!! Have you tried freezing them? I haven’t (they haven’t lasted that long yet!) I have a friend going to NYC & I told her Levian Bakery is a must!! I made her these cookies & I’m hoping when she goes this recipe will be a great comparison for her! She has already asked me for the recipe so that’s a great sign!!!
Si Foster
Yes Sharyl, the Levain Bakery is a must if you go to NYC! And yes, you can freeze these cookies, I usually freeze a few after I bake them. Thanks so much for sharing!
xo
Si
Reva
I’ve made these twice and both times were a hit! They are pretty much identical to the real thing…and dare I say, maybe even better because you can eat them straight out the oven instead of from a display case! I put the dough in the fridge for about 15 mins before baking, I find that they don’t spread as much when I do so!
Tracy baker
This is my 2nd time making these and I saved the best for last this Christmas. These are the absolute best cookies. I follow the recipe exactly and they were perfect each time. Thank you, Si, for a wonderful recipe! They are my go-to now.
Robyn
Wow, these are everything I hoped they’d be. My 10 year-old son and I made them using the homemade bread flour, no walnuts (extra choc. chips instead), and the half size. They were beautiful and delicious .
Becky Veigel
This is one of my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipes. Maybe THE favorite. I love the crispy bite to the exterior with the chewy, gooey inside. Some notes on the recipe: I don’t put nuts in because my kids don’t eat them, so I use the 1 3/4 c flour increase as well as increase the chocolate chips to 2 1/2 cups (I haven’t added the 4 cups like she suggested, but this amount works fine for me). I also don’t make the ginormous cookies, I use a cookie scoop to make regular-sized (about golf ball size) cookies. The cooking time doesn’t change a lot for some reason? Maybe a couple of minutes less and see how your oven does. You should know these cookies SHOULD be a little golden on the bottom and top (I try not to get much brown at all on other chocolate chip cookies), the butter makes them brown a little and makes that nice crispy bite! Also, I don’t refrigerate the dough. No patience ;). Only possible negative, these are way better the day they are made. You lose that nice crisp outside when they’re left to the next day. Although you can stick them in a toaster oven for a little bit and get some of it back!
Kathy
Also I added 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. I also stuck some caramels and small candy bar pieces in a few of them. Those came out nice and gooey! Thanks for posting your recipe.
Kathy
Excellent recipe! I baked them last night. I made them without walnuts and added the additional 1/4 cup of flour and 2cups of chocolate chips. I baked the 6 ounce for 12 minutes and the 3.5 ounce cookies for 8 – 9 minutes. Love them!
Julianne Weight
I’m going to try this recipe but I’ll be heretical here and say it: I was not impressed with the Levain cookies. I was recently in NYC and made a point of going there to try out these “world famous cookies.” Maybe the Harlem location is baking a different cookie than the other locations, I don’t know, but there was no line. My daughter, who has never even heard of Levain, and I plunked down $4 each for a chocolate chip walnut cookie. She’s still puzzled as to why I *had* to go to Levain while in NYC. I’m puzzled over the fandom. We were both equally unimpressed.
Dare I say it? It’s an oversize, undercooked chocolate chip cookie with walnuts. Undercooked does not equal gooey, people. It’s just undercooked.
While I intend to try the posted recipe, it’s just because I’m still intrigued and I love to bake.
Si Foster
I’m sorry to hear that, Julianne, but thanks for your comment and let me know how you like this recipe!
xo
Si
Diane Perris
May be heresy but after baking today (see my comments below), I agree. If you take them out when the recipe says, which is based apparently on the Levain recipe, they are in my opinion, underbaked. That’s why I put them back in for another 5. If you bake them until YOU feel they’re done, you might just love them. It was 15 minutes for me.