Levain Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
This Levain bakery copycat is the real deal – huge gooey chocolate chip cookies that are sure to leave you drooling.
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The best copycat Levain Bakery Cookie Recipe
Levain Bakery is famous for ginormous gooey gourmet cookies. Ie: it’s pretty much my love language? However, if I’m being honest, the first time I ever had Levain bakery cookies (in Chicago), I was less than impressed. They were over-baked, dry, and burnt on the bottom. So sad, right? Anyway, I knew that I could make it better. And spoiler alert! I did.
What is a Levain cookie?
This recipe is a copycat for the Levain Two Chip Chocolate Chip Cookie and it is delectable! This cookie has it all – the trademark melty semi-sweet and dark chocolate chips, the crunchy exterior and of course the absolutely gooey inside that make the Levain name proud.
You’re going to get all of the goodness of Levain cookies without buying an expensive plane ticket (and your house is going to smell amazing!)
Copycat Levain Cookie Recipe ingredients
- Salted butter, cold – I use salted butter so that you don’t have to go buy a separate kind of butter just to make this recipe.
- Brown sugar – This makes sure the cookies stay soft and chewy for days.
- Granulated sugar
- Eggs – Lots of eggs because we want that gooey texture Levain is known for.
- Vanilla extract – This is a lot of vanilla. Trust me, you want it! It makes all the difference.
- Flour – Plain old all purpose flour does the trick here!
- Cornstarch – This also helps keep the cookies soft!
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Semi sweet Chocolate chips
- Dark chocolate chips – Top secret: I always use milk chocolate haha. But Levain uses dark, so feel free to choose according to your preferences!
How to Make Levain Bakery Cookies
- Preheat your oven to 400°. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or with a silicone baking mat. Set it inside of another cookie sheet (you’ll be baking on a stack of 2 cookie sheets) and then set aside.
- Cut the cold butter into small portions
- To the bowl of a stand mixer, add the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar.
- Turn the mixer on with the paddle attachment, mixing until there are no pieces of butter left and everything is incorporated. This will take about 5 minutes.
- Scrape the sides of the bowl and add in the eggs and vanilla. Mix until the egg has been completely combined.
- Add the flour, corn starch, baking powder and salt. Mix until a soft dough forms.
- Add in the chocolate chips, mixing until evenly distributed.
- Use a food scale to weigh out 6 oz of dough for each cookie. You can use a generous scoop from a #12 cookie scoop or about 3/4 cup of cookie dough if you do not have a food scale.
- Roll into a ball and then pinch and squish the dough so there are large dimples in the dough.
- Arrange 5 on the prepared cookie sheet (remember, double layer of cookie sheets) and then bake.
- Bake at 400° for 10-13 minutes or until the tops of the cookies are golden brown. The cookies should spread and expand slightly while baking.
- Remove from the oven and allow the cookies to cool on the hot pan for at least 25 minutes before enjoying.
- Repeat with remaining dough and enjoy!
Levain Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe variations
Yes, Levain Bakery is really into walnuts, so you can definitely give those a try! You can also play around with the types of chocolate chips you add – white, dark, milk, semi-sweet or even peanut butter to see what your favorite flavor combos are!
How do you form Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe dough?
I’m so glad you asked! Once you’ve weighed out your dough and formed it into a ball, all you need to do is squish the ball, creating large dimples, lumps and bumps in the cookie dough. (see photo above) Arrange on the cookie sheet and then bake!
How to store Levain Bakery Cookies
Whether you’re enjoying Levain Bakery’s famous chocolate chip cookies right away or planning to savor them over time, proper storage is key. To keep your cookies at their best, store them in an airtight container at room temperature. You can also wrap them individually in plastic wrap before placing them in the container to maintain freshness and prevent them from drying out.
How long do Levain Cookies last?
Levain Bakery cookies are known for their freshness and indulgence. When stored properly in an airtight container at room temperature, these cookies can last for about 3 to 5 days. If you’d like to enjoy them beyond that time frame, consider freezing them. Wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and placed in a resealable bag, Levain cookies can last in the freezer for up to a month.
Serving this Levain Cookie Recipe
Serving these delectable Levain-style cookies is a treat in itself. While they can certainly be enjoyed as is, some people love to slightly warm them for that “fresh from the bakery” experience. A quick 10 to 15 seconds in the microwave or a brief moment in a preheated oven at 350°F (180°C) can soften them up and enhance the chocolatey goodness.
Are Levain Cookies undercooked?
Levain Bakery-style cookies are intentionally crafted to have a soft and gooey interior. The texture might resemble a slightly undercooked cookie, but it’s a result of the baking technique used to achieve that irresistibly melty center while maintaining a crispy exterior.
Are Levain Cookies served warm?
At Levain Bakery, cookies are often served warm, but not always. It just depends on when you purchase them and how long ago the batch of cookies finished baking.
Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe FAQs
Levain cookies are renowned for their impressive size, rich flavor, and unique texture that strikes a balance between crispy edges and a soft, gooey center. The generous mix of high-quality ingredients, including chocolate chunks and nuts, contributes to their indulgent taste.
“Levain” is pronounced as “luh-VANE,” with the emphasis on the second syllable.
Levain Bakery was established in 1994 on New York City’s Upper West Side.
More like this Levain Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe:
Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup salted butter, cold
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 3 cups flour
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup dark (or milk) chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400°. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or with a silicone baking mat. Set it inside of another cookie sheet (you’ll be baking on a stack of 2 cookie sheets) and then set aside.
- Cut the cold butter into small portions and add it to the bowl of a stand mixer along with the brown sugar and granulated sugar. Turn the mixer on with the paddle attachment, mixing until there are no pieces of butter left and everything is incorporated. This will take about 5 minutes.
- Scrape the sides of the bowl and add in the eggs and vanilla. Mix until the egg has been completely combined.
- Add the flour, corn starch, baking powder and salt. Mix until a soft dough forms.
- Add in the chocolate chips, mixing until evenly distributed.
- Use a food scale to weigh out 6 oz of dough for each cookie. You can use a generous scoop from a #12 cookie scoop or about 3/4 cup of cookie dough if you do not have a food scale.
- Roll into a ball and then pinch and squish the dough so there are large dimples in the dough.
- Arrange 5 on the prepared cookie sheet (remember, double layer of cookie sheets) and then bake.
- Bake at 400° for 10-13 minutes or until the tops of the cookies are golden brown. The cookies should spread and expand slightly while baking.
- Remove from the oven and allow the cookies to cool on the hot pan for at least 25 minutes before enjoying.
- Repeat with remaining dough and enjoy!
The true, authentic Lavain cookies do not have vanilla. Lavain has said that they opt out of using vanilla for their cookies.
You can add it to a recipe, but it is not in the authentic Lavain Bakery recipes.
Hi Bre! You’re right! I’ve noted that I like the flavor of the vanilla so I added it to my version of the recipe.
Can I freeze the dough?
Yes, you can. I would portion the dough into balls and then freeze in a ziptop bag for up to 3 months.
It spreads out a lot but taste very good!
Hey Melanie – if the cookies are spreading too much, you can add up to 1/4 cup of flour to the dough.
Which chocolate is the best? Or which chocolate does Levain use in the cookies? Thx
I agree with you the flavor of Levain cookies is not tasty, the cookies are flavorless 🙈🙈🙈🙈
I typically use Ghirardelli chocolate chips in these cookies!
They are sooo GOOOD! Everyone was asking to make more, I added M&M and peanut butter on the inside. Will use this recipe from now on!
Fatyma – how much peanut butter did you add? I would like to do this with a peanut butter chip sometime and wondered about adding pb to the mix as well. Thanks!
These are delicious, came out perfect- except the gooey middle.. they are more cakey but still delicious. Maybe next time I’ll reduce the cookie time? Or temp?
I would start by reducing the baking time by a few minutes and let them finish baking by letting them sit on the pan outside of the oven for 25 minutes. If the cookies feel too fluffy, you can bang the pan onto the counter a few times to help them fall and settle into their ooey-gooeyness.
Does it matter if the eggs are room temp or cold? Thank you!
Egg temperature doesn’t matter in this recipe.
So so good! Followed recipe to a T and was amazing!