Copycat Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookies

Cookies
January 16, 2015
Cookies
January 16, 2015

Copycat Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookies

  • Prep time: 1 hr
  • Cook time: 30 min
  • Total time: 1 hr 30 min

Say hello to the best cookie I’ve ever had. I’m a huge fan of the Levain Bakery cookie trend going

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Copycat Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookies

levain bakery cookies in a stack

Say hello to the best cookie I’ve ever had. I’m a huge fan of the Levain Bakery cookie trend going on right now on Instagram. A backstory for those who don’t know: Levain Bakery is a wonderful bakery in New York that has become widely known for their 6-ounce walnut chocolate chip cookies. It’s crunchy on the outside with a thick and gooey center. And when I say thick, I mean it. Like a full inch tall. It is a large and in charge cookie.

So tons of people have been instagramming Levain cookies recently, leaving all the rest of us drooling at their good fortune (or good eats, I should say). But being me and loving cookies as I do, I could not pass up the opportunity to share my take on the Levain Bakery cookie recipe on Broma Bakery. Because who doesn’t love a mile high cookie overflowing with chocolate chips and with a perfectly gooey center?  

Well I guess the answer is my grandfather. It went like this:

levain bakery cookie recipe

Making these copycat cookies for my grandpa

He was visiting us over the holidays. Rebe and I made mason jars of cookie and brownie mixes for our family for Christmas, and he got an oatmeal raisin chocolate chip cookie mix. My dad thought it would be a good idea to bake the cookies with my grandfather, so one day after Christmas Rebe and I went over to the house to bake.

Me: Granddad, do you want to bake with us?
Granddad: Do I want to bake with you?
Me: Yes.
Granddad: No, not really.

So Rebe and I got to work on the cookies ourselves. While they were baking, I asked him if he preferred chewy or crispy cookies, as I wanted to know when to take them out of the oven.

Granddad: Chewy cookies are Plebeian. They don’t know any better. Crispy cookies are the best cookies.
Me: ……
Granddad: And Plebeians don’t drink good German beer. They drink that American stuff.
Me: Budweiser?
Granddad: Yeah.
Me: What does that have to do with cookies?
Granddad: It has nothing to do with cookies.

So I learned that day that if you like chewy cookies, you are a Pleb. And if you are a Pleb then you also have a horrible taste in beer.

Ipso facto we are all Plebs and wouldn’t know a good German pilsner if it whacked us in the head.

Ipso ipso facto at least there is this Levain Bakery cookie recipe to keep us happy.

chocolate chip levain bakery cookie

Tips for making this copycat Levain Bakery cookie recipe

My top advice is to bake these copycat Levain chocolate chip cookies right before you plan to eat them. They’re best straight out of the oven. If that means keeping all of the cookie dough balls in your freezer until you’re ready to bake them one by one, then by golly do it. Nothing beats that fresh-from-the-oven taste.

Also, you should know that this recipe works best if you undercook the cookie slightly. These massive cookies continue baking as they cool, so be sure to take them out of the oven early. Oh, and use large chocolate chips (or cut your own chocolate chunks from a chocolate bar). They create those beautiful melted chocolate puddles inside your cookie that are impossible to resist!

levain bakery cookies on countertop

Hope you are all off to wonderful weekends, friends. Happy baking!

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Copycat Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookies

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.8 from 40 reviews
  • Author: Michelle Norris
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes
  • Total Time: 25 minutes
  • Yield: 12 giant cookies
  • Category: cookies
  • Method: baked
  • Cuisine: american
  • Author: Michelle Norris
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes
  • Total Time: 25 minutes
  • Yield: 12 giant cookies
  • Category: cookies
  • Method: baked
  • Cuisine: american
Units:

Ingredients

  • 3 cups plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour (I used King Arthur Unbleached AP Flour)
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1 cup unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes
  • 3/4 cup + 4 teaspoons (6 ounces) light or dark brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 eggs, cold, lightly beaten in a separate bowl
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 cups dark chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli dark chocolate baking chips)

Instructions

    1. Line a large baking sheet with a silicon mat or parchment paper. Set aside.
    2. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, powder, and salt. Set aside.
    3. In a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter until it comes together in one lump, about 1 minute. Add in the sugars and beat for another 1-2 minutes, or until the sugar dissolves into the butter. Lower the speed to medium-low, and mix in the eggs and vanilla and beat until mixed (the batter will be lumpy). Gradually add in the flour mixture, beating until a little flour remains. Fold in the chocolate chips with a rubber spatula.
    4. Divide the dough into 12 even pieces. Shape the dough roughly into a ball, but do not roll it. Place on the prepared baking sheet, spacing 2 inches apart. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes but up to 12 hours before baking.
    5. Preheat oven to 375°F. Bake cookies for 15-20 minutes, until light golden brown. When in doubt, take your cookies out early. The cookies will continue to cook as they cool. There’s nothing that ruins them more than being overcooked. I can’t stress this enough! Cool on a wire rack, then serve!

Notes

This recipe works best if:
-You undercook the cookie. It keeps baking as it cools, so be sure to take it out of the oven early.
-Use large chocolate chips. They create those beautiful melted chocolate puddles inside your cookie!

More easy cookie recipes from Broma Bakery:

The BEST Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Sea Salted Chocolate Chip Olive Oil Cookies

White Chocolate Ginger Oatmeal Cookies

Soft Batch Brown Butter Snickerdoodles

Brownie-Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

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  1. I live in D.C. and have frequented Levain, and I have to say that your recipe is my absolutely my favorite!! I absolutely love these cookies, and everyone that has had them has asked me to make them time and time again!

  2. these did not turn out for me. made recipe as written but halved. i wish there were gram measurements for the flour because i think even spooned and leveled i got too much. they tasted good because they were a cookie but spread even after a few hours’ chill and didn’t get any real color on the top before i needed to pull them.






  3. Yum! These came out so delicious! I mixed the chips using chocolate, white chocolate and butterscotch. These are perfect!

  4. This has become my new favorite cookie! I used to make a cookie similar to this when i was younger, but this is definitely the thirty-flirty-and thriving version of it! LOVE IT!