Copycat Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

I DID IT!!! Seriously I’m so happy I have that ‘Dora the Explorer’ song stuck in my head. Oh don’t act like you don’t know which one I’m talking about–“We did it, we did it, we did it, YAY!” You guy have no idea how many bags of flour, cups of sugar, & sticks of butter I went through to get this recipe just right. 3 trips to the grocery store [to restock on ingredients] later I finally got it just right & I couldn’t be happier! You should be pretty happy too as all the hard work is now done & you can celebrate with a fairly simple, absolutely incredible cookie recipe. Woo hoo!

Levain Bakery, located in NYC, is known for their super gooey inside & tough on the outside cookies. They make the cookies 6 oz. each. Feel free to do so with the recipe below! We updated our own recipe a bit because if you’re anything like us you want those cookies super undercooked. If you prefer them a little browner on the outside a la Levain, go ahead & switch that temperate from 350 F to 375 F & add on roughly 6-8 more minutes than you normally would. Make sure to watch them towards the end though.

A few important notes when making these bad boys. 1. Guittard has been rumored to be the actual Levain Bakery chocolate chip brand of choice. They can be found in most supermarkets & melt perfectly. Just look at the pictures & you’ll never use a different brand again. 2. Screw something up along the way & not sure what to do? Just try baking your cookies–they may not taste or look like Levain but a ton of my trial cookies were actually really tasty! 3. Pro Tip: don’t invite friends over after making these cookies. You’re going to want them all to yourself. Every single one of ’em. At least I did… ?

Print Recipe

Copycat Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

Cuisine: Dessert

Servings: 6 cookies

Author: Public Lives, Secret Recipes

Ingredients

1.5 tbsp corn starch
½ cup chopped walnuts, toasted (to do this just line baking sheet with parchment paper, preheat oven to 350F, & toast chopped walnuts for 10 minutes)
¾ cup brown sugar½ cup granulated sugar
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
¾ tsp salt
2 tbsp eggs (if dough isn't stick enough you can add one more tbsp but no more! you want your dough to be stuck together not stuck to your hands)
½ tbsp pure vanilla extract2 sticks of butter, sliced into cold 1 inch pieces
2¾ cups & 6 tbsp all purpose flour
1.5 cup Guittard semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
In mixing bowl, combine corn starch, brown sugar, salt, granulated sugar, baking soda, baking powder, & walnuts. Mix together with your hands to combine.
Add eggs, vanilla, & butter to the mixture. Knead with your hands to incorporate.
Add flour & chocolate chips to the mixture. Continuing mixing together with your hands until it forms a thick dough. (tip: it will not easily come together at first--keep working the dough together until it forms a ball)
Separate dough into 6-8 even balls (you can make more or less depending on the size of cookie you desire). Gently press dough into ball shape & flatten the bottom with your hands.
Place cookie balls on baking sheet & place in fridge for 1 hour. (tip: you want to make sure the baking sheet you place in the fridge is the one you'll be using to cook the cookies. also, don't skip this step--it's essential to getting the dough to remain fluffy.)
Preheat oven to 350F. Bake cookies for 10-14 minutes. Let cool on cooling rack, serve, & enjoy!