These cookies are a copycat of the famous Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies. The tiny bakery in New York City almost always has a line of New Yorkers and tourists waiting to buy their monstrous cookies. I think my version tastes very similar to the real thing, allowing you to recreate the famed New York City cookies in your own home.
After several dozen batches of cookies and having to make a grocery run to restock on butter, walnuts and chocolate chips, I finally have a cookie recipe to share that tastes like the ones I ate at Levain Bakery.
As you may recall, I went to Levain Bakery last fall for the first time. I stood in that long line, doubting that the wait could possibly be worth it, only to completely fall in love with their thick, gooey, melty cookies.
Each cookie weighs in at a whopping 6 ounces. In the last week, I made about 10 pounds of cookies. I don’t want to calculate how many pounds of cookies I ate while recipe testing. The cookies have crispy edges and a soft, slightly underbaked interior. When you break open the cookie, it falls open, revealing a gooey center with melted chocolate mixed in.
While Levain Bakery is most famous for their chocolate chip walnut cookie, my favorite is actually the Dark Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookie, which I recreated with this recipe.
It took me a little longer to recreate their signature chocolate chip walnut cookie, but after many tweaks and watching a video of the owners making the cookies, I think these taste and look pretty darn close to the original. You can watch the video here. Now I no longer have to plan a trip back to NYC just for these cookies.
You can also check out my copycat recipe for the Levain Bakery Dark Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies here.
Recipe now updated with video! You can also find all my recipe videos on my youtube channel.
Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup cold unsalted butter cut into small cubes
- ¾ cup lightly packed light brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated white sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup cake flour
- 1¾ cup all purpose flour
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp table salt
- 2 cups roughly chopped walnuts
- 2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 410°F. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, add butter and sugars. Cream until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Since you are dealing with cold butter, start on low speed for about 30 seconds. Switch to medium speed for another 30 seconds and then high speed for 1 minute.
- Scrape down sides and bottom of bowl. Add in eggs. Mix on medium speed until incorporated.
- Add in cake flour, all purpose flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. Mix on the lowest speed ("stir" function on my Kitchen Aid) until all the flour is just incorporated. Careful not to overmix.
- Add in walnuts and mix on the lowest speed for about 5 revolutions until walnuts are evenly incorporated into the dough.
- Add in chocolate chips and mix on the lowest speed for about 5 revolutions until chocolate chips are evenly incorporated into the dough.
- Remove dough from bowl and mix with hands a few times to make sure chocolate chips and walnuts are evenly distributed. Dough should be quite sticky.
- You can either divide dough into 8 equal pieces, or I prefer weigh out the dough. Each dough ball should weigh 6 ounces. You should grab the dough by the handful until you reach 6 ounces and lightly form a very loose ball. Make sure to keep it loose as the cookies should be airy and not compacted (like the owners demonstrate in their video).
- Place only four cookies on each baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart, so that they don't spread onto each other. (Please see my photo above for how I spaced them.)
- Bake only one sheet at a time in the middle row of the oven, for about 12-13 minutes. The tops of the cookies should be a light brown and the dough should look cooked, but the cookies should not be fully set. Let cookies cool at least 15 minutes. This gives them a chance to set so that you can remove the cookies without them breaking and will also allow inside of the dough to cook a little more. Make sure you don't move the cookies before they are set. They should still be gooey inside even after you wait 15 minutes. Cookies are best eaten warm.
Video
Notes
- Recipe adapted from A Bountiful Kitchen
- I used Nordic Ware aluminum baking sheet pans* to bake these cookies.
- *This product link is an affiliate link. This means I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
Related Recipes
Check out all my cookie recipes here!
Do you use raw walnuts or should it be toasted walnuts?
raw walnuts
I’m pretty sure I followed the recipe but the cookies had a chalky texture. What could have went wrong?
We’re sorry they didn’t turn out great for you! The dough should not be crumbly. You may want to make sure you used the correct amount of butter. Also it may be your flour. Make sure you are using an all purpose flour with a regular amount of protein (3g per 1/4 cup) and not a high protein all purpose flour (like King Arthur or Bob’s Red Mill brand) which can make the dough too dry.
Did you turn the oven top and bottom at the same time ? ?
These cookies are baked at 410°F and bake only one sheet at a time in the middle row of the oven, for about 12-13 minutes.
Should the oven used have a convection option? And should it be turned on from up and down at the same time?
We used a non-convection oven for this recipe. We haven’t tested it in a convection oven.
Best cookies ever!
We’re so glad you loved them!
Ok these are now my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe ..I followed the recipe as written. I noticed there wasn’t vanilla extract so I added 2 teaspoons. I substituted toasted pecans instead of walnuts.They turned out perfect. Large and chunky. They are just as good once they are room temperature.
We’re glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Isn’t vanilla needed for the Levian chocolate chip recipe?
Nope! They don’t include vanilla in their recipe.
Followed the recipe to a T (except added vanilla) the cookies came out flat… all ingredients are fresh. I even tried adding fridge time for the batter for 15 min.. and still spread like crazy. Not an amateur baker so I’m a little confused!
Sorry to hear you had issues. I’m not sure why your cookies would turn out flat. The only thing I can think of is if you didn’t add all the chocolate chips and walnuts because those mix-ins keep the cookies very thick, so if you reduced either of those then the cookies would be flat.
Tried this today with my kid. It was the bomb! I didn’t have cake flour so made my own through substitution and the result was fab-tastic!!! Made the balls at around 4oz cookie and yielded 10. Thank you for sharing!
We’re glad it worked for you!
I tried this recipe 3x. The bottom of the cookie was horribly burnt each time and the middle extremely raw.
the first time I followed the recipe to a T and came out with black bottoms and an extremely raw center.
the second time I chilled the dough for 30min before baking and decreased baking time and still was left with a burnt bottom and very raw center (* just a bit better than the last time)
the 3rd time I weighed it out to 4oz instead of 6, decreases oven time and used chilled dough and STILL it burned on the bottom
the conclusion I draw is that it is the recipe
** for context I bake for a living and have followed many recipes and during that time I have NEVER burned a single thing.
very disappointed
There are hundreds of comments from others on this post and most of them made this successfully, so it’ snot the recipe. It might be your oven – have you calibrated the temperature? You can get oven thermometers to see if your oven is actually heated to the temperature that it says. You may not have noticed before because most baking recipes don’t require such a high temperature so you may not have realized your oven is running hotter than it should. Cookies that burn on the bottom but are not all the way cooked usually happen because the oven temperature is too high. Also, the center of the cookies are supposed to be a little underbaked – if you are trying to bake them all the way through they could end up burned/overbaked on the bottom. Also it could be your baking pan. I recommend aluminum baking pans. Some of the dark metal baking pans and black baking pans don’t distribute heat as well and you will end up with cookies that will burn/overcook at the bottom.
This is the BOMB!!! Hits all the spots. I dunked it in milk, it made me so happy!
We’re so glad you love the recipe!
Great recipe, best I’ve tried. I did add 2 tsp of Mexican vanilla extract.
To my taste, it just needs a couple of tsp of salt, I added 1 tsp and it was still a bit flat.
We’re glad you loved it!
I’ve made these a few times without walnuts and they’re amazing every time! I’m going to make them for a work gathering however want to make smaller ones as they’re quite decadent in their larger size. Do you think this would require a big alteration in cooking and resting time?
Smaller cookies will take less time to bake, but we can’t say how long. You would need to keep an eye on them in the oven and take them out when the tops are light brown.
So good!!!
We’re glad you loved the recipe!
Amazing, delicious, perfect. I’m always on the hunt for a good cookie recipe & this one does not disappoint. It may be my new go-to. The cookies turn out crispy on the outside & slightly gooey in the middle. Don’t leave out the walnuts, they make these cookies taste extra special.
Thank you for the nice review!
Is it possible to add metric conversion on this recipe for grams?
Sorry, we don’t have that info.
Bonjour, je n’arrive pas à comprendre, si 1.3/4cup all purpose farine, est ce que la cuo existe ou bien c’est une mesure qu’il faut faire nous même ?
Merci a vous
Emilie
The best way to measure the flour is with a 1 cup dry measuring cup and then measure out three 1/4 cup dry measuring cups of flour. This will total 1 3/4 cup.
Mine didn’t turn out anything like these and not sure why. They were more cakelike than chewy gooey. I was making a huge batch for a bake sale and was hoping for perfect cookies.
We’re sorry you had issues – the cakey texture can happen if too much flour is added or if they’re over baked. Also, it sounds like you might have doubled the recipe (or more?). With baking recipes, it’s not always as easy as doubling the ingredients to make a bigger batch. Without testing it, we can’t say for sure what adjustments would need to be made.
Is there any way to make these cookies smaller? Half the size?
We haven’t tried making smaller cookies – if you try it, keep in mind the baking time will be different.
Hi Kirbie, any idea if the dough can be frozen and cooked later when we need a warm cookie fix? 🙂
We haven’t tried freezing the dough, but if you do you will want to thaw the dough balls before you bake them.
Excited to try this recipe. Are there any adjustments needed if the nuts are eliminated? I was searching for just chocolate chip levain bakery recipe and this came up. Thank you!
the cookies will not be as thick/puffy without the nuts. You can try substituting the nuts with more chocolate chips for an only chocolate chip version but the cookies will be quite sweet.
Hola, en la receta habla de dos harinas. Una para pastel y la otra harina todo uso. Cual es la harina para pastel. Muchas gracias
You need all-purpose flour and cake flour for this recipe. Cake flour is also called pastry flour and is a finer texture. Hope that helps!
My partner LOVES these. I make the dough and then make loaded versions (eg Nutella, caramilk, macadamia etc.) he cannot get enough of them. The dough is fantastic, he asks me to make them every week :)!
That’s great to know! So glad you are both loving the recipe.
Can the dough be frozen?
We haven’t tried freezing the dough.
Does dough balls need to be in fridge for some time before baking it ? To avoid spreading
The dough doesn’t need to be chilled.
These are my family’s favorite chocolate chip cookie! Stay very delicious after a couple of days. Wrap one in a paper towel and pop in the microwave for 20 seconds… just like fresh from the oven!
I’m so glad these are your family’s favorite!
I’ve made these several times and they usually come out perfect but today they came out flat. Any idea why?
Have you checked the expiration date for your baking soda? If it’s expired it the cookies won’t puff up.
This is a great go to cookie. Whatever type of chips and nuts I have is what goes in!!! They always turn out great!! Thanks ?
That’s great! Thanks for letting us know.
Hi Kirby, my cookies keep burning but I think that is happening because I am using parchment paper because I don’t have silicone mats. Anything I can use instead of a silicone mat.
If your cookies are burning, you might want to check your oven temperature and that it’s calibrated.
Hi,
I tried these out but for some reason the consistency was really crumbly so had to add some water. The dough became a bit sticky and when baked it turned out to be like a cake/scone texture. Do you have any advice on what I should/shouldn’t do!
If your dough was very dry it could be because there was too much flour. That can definitely change the texture of the cookies, as well as adding water.
I have tried this recipe several time using different oven with different temperatures
It keeps burning and still raw in the inside
Do you have any suggestions?
And do use us or us measurement cup?
Thank you
We use US measuring cups. As far as the baking issues, we’re sorry you’re having trouble. If the cookies are burning on the bottom it could be the placement of the pan. It should be in the middle of the oven so the cookies bake evenly. Other than that it’s hard to know, but many readers have made this recipe with success – we hope you give them another try.
Just made this today and it’s super delicious! Plus, I think it looks really like the real thing. My hubby is normally on keto diet but he, too, can’t resist this. Thanks for this great recipe which is so detailed and easy to follow. Love it!
I’m so glad they worked out for you!
You mentioned cold butter in your recipe? Is it butter fresh from the fridge? If no, what shd be the temp of butter?
cold butter means straight from the fridge
My favorite, I like it with more walnut but its expensive in our area. Perfect paired with hot coffee.
I’m glad you like them!
Hi Kirbie, can I lessen the amount of suger if I dont want it too sweet? If not, what other alternative can I do to lessen the sweetness? Great recipe btw!
reducing the sugar may affect how much the cookies spread and their texture.
Can you tell me the recipe in gram please ?
sorry for previous comment with incorrect spelling.
Sorry I don’t have the recipe in grams
Nate – Joshua Weissman on YouTube has the recipe in grams.
I guess its easo go convert everything nowadays using google or any converter apps over there..
can you post the receipt in glam ?
Excellent!!! Just like the real thing!!
I’m so glad you liked them!
Just baked these today at the request of a colleague. Had to bake mine for 15 mins at 210 deg C. Gooey and yummy!
So glad they worked out well for you!
If you freeze the dough do you thaw dough first before baking or bake frozen?
I thaw the dough
Can I use self-rising cake flour?
I think that would work but you would need to adjust the amount of baking powder added to the cookies
Do you have recipe in grams? O made this cookie looking on Google convertion, but my dough was melt, not like vídeo.
Sorry I do not have the recipe in grams.
Dear Kirbie, should I buy and use “raw” walnuts instead of roasted one?
I used raw ones but either one should be fine
Hi Kirbie! Super love this recipe! I just want to share that I accidentally used just a 100grams of butter *silly me haha* and it turned out to be totally okay!!! These cookies are dangerously delicious yea!!!!! Thank you kirbie!!!!!
I’m glad they still worked out for you!
Hi! I’m about to start making these, without doubling the recipe, can I make more cookies within the batter? Would the cook time change if I made them smaller?
You can make them smaller. I don’t know what the cook time would be but it would definitely be less
Thanks for posting this recipe! I’ve seen several versions of Levain’s cookie recipe and this one is the best! I agree with previous comments. I tried parchment paper- the cookies spread more and got darker on the bottom, I tried silicone baking mats on two different cookie sheets. The “better” cookie sheet produced perfect cookies while the lower grade sheet made them a little darker. I also substituted half the walnuts with pecans because – why not? This dough is supposed to be wet, sticky and full of goodies. That makes them stay thick. Folks, stick to the recipe for all ingredients except chocolate chips and nuts- swap those as desired but use the recipe called for amounts and your cookies will be great. Also stick to the bake time and trust the directions, these cookies look under baked when they are “done”. No worries- they’ll be the perfect copy.
I forgot my question! I’d like to freeze some of the cookies for later. What’s your recommendation for thawing? I don’t want a soggy cookie later.
Thanks!
I usually recommend freezing the dough and baking the cookies so you have that nice gooey melty center
thank you for sharing your experience!
Hi,
I tried your recipe and loved the flavour ??, but my cookie looks abit undone in the middle after cooling down, any tips for making the cookie cooked throughout without burning the top?
you should be able to bake them longer without the tops burning
Hi! Im definitely making these this Week. I have all the ingredients. Although I have one question? One cup of cold butter equals 2 butter sticks? Am I right? Thats what I read in google 🙂
yes but it should also say on the sticks how much each stick is
Hello! Thanks for share the recipe! I love levain’s cookies. I’ll Would like know… how many grams is one cup of butter, sugar and flour? becouse i don’t know that class of cup to need to use. (i’m sorry for my english… ?) kisses!
the recipe is in US cups. sorry I don’t have gram measurements
I’m vegetarian, how can I replace the eggs
I have not tested this with an egg replacement
Hi! I sub for vegan butter and red mills egg replacement and the cookies came out great!
thanks for sharing!
Hi Kirbie 🙂
Just wondering if I need to add more flour to the cookies if I omit the walnuts ?
Thanks! X
you do not need to add more flour. However your cookies may not be as thick and may spread more without the walnuts
Can this dough be made ahead of time and kept in the fridge/freezer until baking?
yes
Hi! What temperature did you bake the cookies? Also, What if I don’t want to put walnuts in it? Can I just add extra chocolate chips or just leave it as is and just not include the walnuts?
You bake it at the same temperature the oven is preheated to,410F
Mine came out dry.. i used electric oven with top and down heat. 180 c.
You may need to adjust baking time
I love it but why my chocolate chip in cookies not melted? Any suggestion?
You may have baked them too long
These were dangerously delicious. One of the best cookies I’ve eaten. This is a sure keeper!
I’m so glad you enjoyed!
Can I use parchment paper instead of silicone mats?
I have only used silicone mats. i think it can work with parchment paper but some people have told me they have trouble with the cookies spreading too much with parchment paper
I used both the silicone mat and the parchment paper, 4 on one and 4 on the other. As stated in previous comments, the quality of the baking sheet is key. Both batches of cookies turned out the same. Delicious!
thanks for sharing!
Hi I made these for my boys and they loved it. Thanks for sharing. Now they want all choc chip for a change they don’t want walnuts or any nuts in it. How many cups of chocolate chips will I put in in place of the walnuts or do you have a separate recipe for all chocolate chip Levain cookies. Thanks and more power to you.
You can replace walnuts with choc chips if you want the cookies to have the same height and structure (though it will make your cookies quite sweet). You can also leave out the walnuts but your cookies won’t be as thick
Hi Kirbie, I’m glad to have found your blog again. I used to bake cookies and brownies often in High School and I liked using your recipes as a reference. Sadly, I lost the drive to bake.
Fast forward to present day, I’m an adult in the work field now and I wanted to go back to making desserts again. I was looking up recipes and when I saw “Kirbie’s Cravings”, I feel like I was welcomed back!
I can’t wait to try this but my stand mixer isn’t working so I might have to explore manually mixing or using a hand mixer to Cream the sugars. Also, I don’t have a silicone sheet so parchment paper should be fine, right?
this is such a great story, thank you for letting me know! I haven’t tried with parchment paper. some people have told me it causes the cookies to spread more, but i think it’ll depend on your baking pan
This recipe looks amazing I was wondering what brand of semi sweet chocolate do you use, I love how they look melted inside, I tried another recipe with milk chocolate chips and they did not melt. Any suggestions of brands for semi sweet chocolate?
I used Kirkland brand and also Nestle and both of them melted well.
Love these cookies!! Sooo gooey and yummy! Whole family enjoys these cookies, and they are super easy to make.
So happy to hear that!
Any suggestions for making these at high altitude, where cookies tend to flatten?
Sorry I don’t have any suggestions
Hi Kirbie, I’m confused by cup measurements as I’m from the UK and used to metrics. I have tried to look up conversions but there are many variances between different websites and bakers that I’m confused. Seriously would love to try these out as these look incredulous! An absolute delight I must say. Do you have a conversion table for metrics that I could follow? We have cups in the UK, although they are very much different in terms of weight etc. Thank you 🙂
My measurements are in US cups. I do not have metric conversion
I’m in Canada and we have both measurements on our butter. 1 cup of butter is half a pound, so 227g
•125g Butter (or margarine)= 1/2 Cup Butter •175g Brown sugar= 1 Cup brown sugar
•280g Flour= 2 1/4 Cups Flour
•300g Chocolate chips/chunks= 1 1/2Cups Chocolate chips/chunks
Holy crap, these cookies are AMAZING. I am in love! Is there a way to freeze the baked cookies for later? Thanks!
yes you can freeze the cookies or the dough for later
Why is my dough so sticky? I used the exact same ingredients and even the same kitcehn aid ?? its very buttery , should i just add more flour?
the dough is sticky but you can try adding a touch more flour if you are having issues with it
Hello there thank you for sharing this recipe. Was wondering if the walnuts need to be toasted and if the walnuts will need to be chopped too?
No they dont need to be toasted. Just add them in and the mixer will break them down.
Just made the cookies and they taste great but if I compare the dough I made with yours on the video, mine looks more wet and sticky. Any idea what am I doing wrong? I used only all purpose flour plus extra cornstarch (found a website that explains to replace 2 tbs of all purpose flour with 2 tbs of cornstarch to transform it to Cake flour) and in order to work with the dough I had to add extra flour cause it was so sticky but the butter and the sugar are accurate
Sorry, I’m not sure why your dough is more wet and sticky. When you do your cake flour substitute, are you making sure you add the right amount?
Can i half this recipe?
yes
Tried Baking but it seems like the cookie is half done. Outside is crisp, but when I break the cookie into half I can see under the crust is still (like) uncook, is that the way it should be or should I bake it longer, as I thought the longer I bake the crust will turn more brown and burn.
The cookie should not be fully set in the middle when they are done. They will set as they cool.
kirbie mine came out all flat but i don’t know why 🙁 i have some dough left over i am chilling where did i go wrong? was the oven too hot?
did you add all the walnuts and chocolate chips the recipe calls for? While you can make the recipe with less, Levain’s version is packed with a lot of walnuts and choc chips which helps the cookies keep their thick form.
Hey Kirby do you have any suggestions on a replacement for the all purpose flour + cake flour that is gluten free?
Thanks!!!
Sorry I have not tried with gluten free flours.
This is my second time making these cookies. The first time they just melted all over the pan. The second time I made them I put them in fridge before baking. Same thing, melted all over sheet pan. This is frustrating as I followed directions to a T!
I’m really sorry to hear that. I have not heard of the cookies completely melting before. The only thing I can think of is that you aren’t using enough flour or too much butter.
Hi, I went through your comments and noticed a couple of other people talked about the bottoms being burned. This is the 2nd time I’ve made them and it happened again. I used an over thermometer, so I know the temp is right and I moved the rack up. I am wondering if it has anything to do with using parchment paper? What do you use? Usually the parchment paper remains the same color, but with these cookies it turns a toasty brown. I even bought another brand to try. I would love to hear any thoughts you might have. (Qualified to say, though, they are still delicious!)
It could possibly be parchment paper but I am wondering if it is your baking pan. Some baking pans don’t have even heat distribution and will overcook the bottom of the cookies too fast. As a general rule, I avoid dark colored baking pans and the ones I buy are aluminum baking pans by Nordicware. I also use silicone baking mats. I would recommend trying them instead of parchment paper.
I made this today following recipe, and they turned out so good! I did not have cake flour so looked up for 1 cup regular flour, take out 2Tbsp of flour replace with 2Tbsp cornstarch, only thing I changed.
So glad it worked out for you!
I have walked 4 miles through Central Park to buy levain bakery cookies. I live in south Florida so naturally I can’t buy them here so resorted to your recipe and Mannnn did these pull through! Your recipe is pretty darn spot on and my cookies came out delish! I am not a baker by any means but your recipe was very easy to follow!
I’m so glad you liked the recipe! I love the cookies too but I can’t get them often since I live in San Diego.
My cookies went flat but still were devoured because they tasted just fine. Do you think I didn’t use enough flour? I did follow the ingredients exactly and spooned the flour like you had said but not sure what else could have gone wrong. thanks
I’m not sure why your cookies would spread too much. Make sure when you pick up the dough balls, you keep them very loose, unlike other cookie dough which is compacted tightly. Also if your kitchen is running hot/warm, you can try briefly refrigerating the dough balls before baking. Also did you by chance reduce the walnuts or chocolate? The packed amount of those two ingredients also is what gives the cookies their height. Hope this helps!
This recipe was great!! I will definitely make these again. It turned out perfectly. I baked two cookies (since they were big) and froze the remainder dough for future use. I’m debating if I should thaw them first before putting them in the oven. I’m worried that if it’s frozen, the insides won’t cook enough. Any suggestions??
I recommend thawing the dough before baking.
This is the THE best cookies I ever made! Although they got burnt a little bit, absolutely amazing!
So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Awesome recipe! Usually I get good ratings on taste but my cookies tend to flatten too much… the cornstarch made all the difference! Thank you for researching and publishing this amazing recipe! My family thought they were the best Id ever made. Interesting higher temp makes such a difference as well! Thanks again!
cornstarch is great for making cookies extra thick. So glad your family enjoyed!
OMG!! I love this recipe! I made them last night and it came out just like the Levain bakery cookie that I absolutely love! Thank you thank you thank you for saving me of the long wait until my next NYC trip. With four boys, a hubby, and a busy schedule, it makes it challenging to get to the city as much as I’d like to. These cookies are so close to the real thing and definitely satisfies my tastebuds in the meantime. You are awesome!
Yay! So glad you tried the recipe and love it so much!
So good!
So happy you liked them!
Hi Kirbie! Thanks for sharing this recipe.
I used crystal brown sugar, which gives a “crunchy” effect to the cookie. I could taste the sugar crystals, so it wasn’t so good.
I can see that you use soft brown sugar (the one that resembles wet sand). In the part of the world where I’m from, the soft brown (light or dark) isn’t very common.
So, in order to lose that crunchy crystal effect, what would you recommend I should do?
Thank you in advance!
Sorry I am not sure what would be a good substitute for soft brown sugar. Soft brown sugar is used in almost all chocolate chip cookie recipes. Is there a substitute used in your part of the world for brown sugar in regular chocolate chip cookies?
Can I use the same cookie base to make white chocolate macadamia cookies?
I think that should be fine.
I made these during holidays and called them to my different departments. Everyone raved about them and is now looking for them again! I did several batches at the 6 oz weight for about 12 minutes each, and a few batches of around 3 oz for about 8 minutes. Both came out delicious! I’ve never been to Levain, so I can’t compare, but these cookies are to die for! (And nowwe it is on my list of must eats next time I’m in NYC!) I also tried the Dark chocolate cookie recipe and loved it as well. Thanks for sharing!
I love making these cookies for the holidays! I’m glad your coworkers enjoyed them! And I hope you get to visit the bakery in NYC
Hi. Can’t wait to try these but am curious why you leave out vanilla. Could you explain?
because Levain Bakery stated in one of their features that they don’t use vanilla in their chocolate chip cookies
These are light as air! What a cool cookie, thank you! Mine didn’t spread much at all and look like little mountains. I notice yours are perfectly cookie shaped, did you shape or flatten them before baking? Thanks!
I did not flatten or shape. I used the method described in the instructions. If your cookies aren’t spreading, check to make sure your baking soda is fresh. Also if you reduced the sugar or butter amount that will also cause the cookies to not spread as much.
I just made this humongous cookie and it was delicious. I had to bake it a little longer because after I rested/cooled the cookies, I split it in half and seems that dough was still raw inside. I put the halves back together and baked at 350 degrees F for 3 mins, turned off the oven and left them there for another 2 mins. and it was perfect. Question though, did you flatten the cookies a bit before baking?
Also, the bottom is not burnt, but seems a little darker than the top….is that normal? Any tips? I plugged it in MFP and a 3 oz (I only ate half of the cookie) was a whooping 600 calories! WOW! lol…it was worth it. though..haven’t indulged in awhile. Thank you for sharing your recipe. I can’t wait to try the Dark chocolate chip cookie 😀
So glad you enjoyed these! I do not flatten the cookies before baking. Make sure your cookies are baking closer to the middle of the oven if you are worried about the bottom getting too dark.
Thanks for this recipe, I’ve made it once before and it was spot on!
Quick question – can I make the dough ahead of time, refrigerate and then bake a few days later? I want to prep them as thanksgiving treats!
yes!
Thanks for the recipe this is so yummy. However, it’s burned at the bottom. I think I have to adjust the time and will buy thermometer to ensure that heat is well regulated. But so far sooo good! By the way I ran out of walnuts so I added a cup of almonds and it turned out well. 🙂
You may want to try moving your cookies to a higher spot in your oven if the bottoms are burning. Using a thermometer should help too.
SOLID recipe and very damn close. GREAT JOB figuring it out. Issue I had was the middle was still raw. Edges were nice and crisp. Any tips on what I might be doing wrong?
Thanks, Gonzo
You may just need to cook a little longer so that it cooks inside. If you refrigerated the dough first, it may take longer to cook.
Omg! These were to die for. I didn’t have cake flour or corn starch the first time I made them, so I subbed with all purpose flour and a little powdered sugar. They were still one of the best cookies I’d ever had, but the second time around I followed your recipe exactly and – wow! The cake flour and corn starch really do create the perfect texture. For those who don’t like nuts in their cookies, I have made them without and they are SUPER sweet. If you omit the nuts, I recommend sprinkling coarse sea salt on top to balance it out. Thank you for the delicious recipe!
I made your chocolate cookie recipe Thursday and they were to die for! Getting ready to make this recipe, but we aren’t fans of nuts so I’m going to try subbing in toffee pieces. I’ll let you know how they turn out!
I hope you enjoy this one too! I usually hate nuts in cookies, but this is the one exception. I think the nuts keep it from being too sweet, but I’ll be interested in how your toffee version comes out
They turned out SCRUMPTIOUS! I used about 1 cup of toffee pieces and sprinkled some coarse salt on top when they came out…perfect balance of sweet and salty!
My first batch spread more than I would have liked, so I chilled the second tray before baking and they came out perfectly ?
So glad they turned out well for you and thanks for updating me with the toffee!
Hi Kirbie! did you sifted the AP flour and cake flour?
No need to sift the flours
I ADORE Levain cookies – I’ve bought cookies at the bakery and I’ve had them shipped to me twice. I’ve wanted to try a copycat recipe for some time! I am going to try your recipe today and am so excited!
I hope you enjoy these!
I LOVED these! They weren’t hard to make at all and they are a very good replica of a Levain cookie. Thanks so much for this recipe! I can’t wait to make them again!!
So glad they turned out well for you!
Hi! I made these cookies today and they are great. I did not use walnuts so I only ended up with 6.5 cookies 🙂 My husband and kids are going to love them!!!
I’m glad these turned out well for you!
Are these still good the next day if I won’t be serving them warm?
yes definitely! You can also briefly reheat them for a few seconds in the microwave
Hi! I tried these and I felt like they just burned because of the oven temp. I lowered the temp and baked them but they weren’t gooey on the inside 🙁 any tips? Thanks!
The cookies need to be cooked at a high temp, so I think lowering the temp caused them to cook all the way through so they are no longer gooey. I’m not sure why your cookies were burning. You may want to try refrigerating the dough before putting them into the oven
I am not a fan of nuts (especially walnuts) in cookies, can I leave them out or would you suggest maybe adding a little extra flour and chocolate chips to make dough the right texture/density?
I usually hate nuts in my cookies and brownies, but I think it really works with this recipe and without them it does change the texture and they are a bit too sweet without them as well. I’d recommend maybe trying the cookies with the nuts first and then you can try tweaking the recipe if you still don’t like the nuts in there
I tried your Le Vain dark choc cookies last weekend and this choc chip cookies today.
I love both of them and def will try more of these recipes again and again. Thank you so much!
I have a question – you don’t put the batch in the fridge before baking for this cookie, but when i do that my cookie spread too much so i put them in the fridge and then it worked. so i wonder why you don’t.
And I have one more question – If I can cut down the amount of sugar, how much of the sugar would be the minimum but still good in taste and shape? Because I want to feel less guilty indulging myself into this wonderful cookie.
Thank you!
I have not had issues with the cookies spreading too much but if that is an issue, then yes, you can refrigerate the dough first. There are many factors that can affect the dough spreading too much including weather and baking pan material. Unfortunately, I do not know the minimum amount of sugar for the recipe to still work.
i tried it yesterday but the cookies went flat as they cooked in the oven, anything i could’ve done wrong?
You might want to try refrigerating the cookie dough first if you are having issues with them spreading too much. I haven’t had that issue but it should help. You may also want to double check the amount of butter and flours. too much spreading is usually caused by not enough flour and too much butter. Also make sure each cookie ball is a giant lump rather than shaping them like you normally would for cookies.
Tried this yesterday and wow, great work, thanks so much for this revipe, followed it exactly and super happy with bow closely they resemble the Levain cookies. Great work!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed!
Can this recipe be completed without the walnuts? And what would be the temperature required for a fan forced oven?
Thanks! I’m very excited to try this!
I don’t recommend leaving out the walnuts. The cookies will be very sweet without them. You would also have to adjust the cookie weight and baking time without walnuts as well. Unfortunately I do not have a fan forced oven so I don’t know the answer to that.
I left the walnuts out only because my son has an allergy (otherwise, I do love walnuts). So I used 1 cup of semi-sweet and 1 cup bittersweet chocolate. Everything else following your recipe (12min at 410*) and they turned out amaaazing. Not overly sweet at all. Making several batches right now for Christmas 🙂 Thanks for this great recipe!!
So glad these turned out well for you!
Hello! I saw a bountiful kitchen’s recipe and her recipe has baking powder. What difference does it make and why did you omit the baking powder? Tried your version though and it’s uber yummy!
The baking powder will help the cookies have more rise but will also change the texture of the cookies. I think bountiful kitchen’s recipe is great but when I tested it with cornstarch instead of baking powder, I thought they tasted more like the version I had at Levain’s. Cornstarch helps makes cookies thick and fluffy.
Hello! How do you measure your flour? Do you use the spoon or the scoop method?
You should definitely be spooning the flour into the measuring cup and leveling off for accurate flour measurement. This applies for all my baking recipes unless some other method is specified.
Can you post the equivalence of this recipe in grams? It’s partifularly helpful for the flour measurements, but also great for us New Yorkers living in Europe and missing these cookies! 🙂
I’m sorry I do not have those conversions at this time
I’m having people over Saturday and wanted to try and make the dough ahead of time. Can I do that and freeze it?
yes!
Wow, what a great cookie! I made these yesterday and gave a few to friends, the messages started shortly after. Everyone loved them, wanted more and they told more people who then messaged asking where their cookies were. These will be my something special when I need a little gift. Thank you for the time you spent researching this recipe, it will be appreciated by everyone lucky enough to try it..
Thank you for your comment! I love hearing stories like this!
Would I be able to freeze the dough and bake the other half in a week? Amazing recipe! They turned out great!
I think that should be fine!
Do i need to sift the flour?
no
I just made these and they taste heavy, like a lot of flour or something. And they are not gooey inside =/ Any ideas or suggestiond? I did double the recipe, and this is my first time making cookies from scratch…
it sounds like you may have added too much flour. When measuring flour, you need to make sure that you spoon the flour into the measuring cup and then level it off. You should not directly scoop flour into the measuring cup because this leads to overpacking the flour.
I tried your Dark Chocolate Chip cookies first and they were amazing! I will definitely make the regular Chocolate Chip cookies this weekend. The cookies are huge and I can fool myself by saying that I just ate one. Thank you!
haha, love your way of thinking! so glad you enjoyed the dark choc chip ones!
Can I substitute anything for the cake flour I have a bunch of kids here and would like to make them I have everything except the cake flour. However I do have a box of white cake mix would that work.
Thank you
Josephine
You can create your own cake flour with all purpose and cornstarch. There are several websites that provide the conversion. boxed cake mix won’t work because it has other ingredients added into it. Cake flour is a finer flour with less proteins which helps produce the right texture for these cookies.
Does this recipe require any chillig for the dough before bakong??
no
Thanks for your diligent journey. I used se salt because we like the coarseness and flavour. I also added vanilla. Mmm…
glad these turned out well for you!
These cookies look amazing. i was just in NYC and went to Levain’s Bakery those were the best cookies. Can’t wait to try this recipe. Thank you!!!
I hope you enjoy the recipe! Those cookies at Levain really are something
I baked this with great success! Thank you so much for the recipe, I couldn’t be happier.
yay!! so happy to hear that!
Kirbie, this is my first time meeting you but I’m in love. Just made these and I’m now scouring your blog.
awww, you’re making me blush! Hope you found some other recipes you love. I’ve got a ton of decadent cookies, brownies, and more 😉
These turned out absolutely amazing!!! Here in toronto we have a place called Le Gourmand which makes similar cookies and taste much better than the Levian ones to me atleast but these were SO close . I wonder have you tried this with browned melted butter ?? They didnt spread as much as I thought they would. But a hit nonetheless. Yum yum I’m saving this recipe forever.
I have not tried with browned butter. I’m glad you enjoyed the cookies!
These look like the cookies from my favorite Atlanta food truck (although much bigger.) I can’t wait to try these cookies and see how they compare! Thank you so much for this recipe!!
hope you enjoy!
Damn, girl. LOVE it.
haha, thanks!
These were amazing! I added an extra tsp of cornstarch but it turned out so well. I usually don’t comment on recipes but people NEED to make this!!! one of the best cookies I ever made.
I’m so glad you enjoyed and took the time to leave a comment!
I made them today! Except I really couldn’t stomach the idea of 6 oz of dough in one cookie…so I made them almost half the size (~3.5oz per cookie). They were still generously portioned and I got 13 cookies out of it. They do taste quite close to the ones I’ve had from Levain. Thanks for the recipe!
I’m glad these turned out well for you!
Did you decrease the cooking time with the smaller cookies? How much time do you recommend?
I set the timer for ~10 minutes, but every oven is different so I would keep an eye on batch and take them out when they are golden/light brown on top. Kirbie is absolutely right about not touching these cookies until they are set – it is essential for getting the right texture.
Oh dear ! Great photos ! So juicy, comforting, must do cookies ! thank you so much !
thanks!
GORGEOUSNESS!!!!!! Gonna try this recipe tomorrow and surprise kids after school:)
enjoy!
This is not exactly the same recipe, I just give you a hint and its to much flour and there a trick of making it. These cookies are way to light in texture.
I think it would be quite hard to get their recipe exactly right, but this one tastes pretty similar and since I don’t have access to Levain’s cookies everyday, this one works for me right now.