Giant, gooey, cookies loaded with walnuts and chocolate chips. Inspired by the famous bakery, our copycat Levain chocolate chip cookies are decadent and delicious.
You might also like our $250 Neiman Marcus cookies, our copycat Chick-fil-a chocolate chip cookies, or Disney's Grand Floridian Chocolate Chip Cookies.
Watch our step by step video!
Levain Bakery is known for its GIANT gooey chocolate chip cookies. The texture and density are what truly set these cookies apart. They are baked at a higher temperature which creates a golden cookie with a gooey center, unlike ANY other chocolate chip cookie. Each big cookie is a 6-ounce treat loaded with walnuts and chocolate chips. We won't talk about the calories this early in the post, but I will include them at the end of the post for inquiring minds.
Levain Chocolate Chip Cookies
I found this video which shows the founders, Pam Weekes and Connie McDonald, showing how they make their signature cookies. I love that it was no-nonsense and pretty straightforward without any fancy ingredients or extra steps.
I took notes and altered my classic chocolate chip cookie recipe to make a home version that our family loves! I love how the edges have a crisp texture with bits of walnut and cookie dough giving them a chunky texture, but once you break the cookie in half the inside is gooey and soft. It's almost like having two cookies in one---basically, the best of both worlds. With a retail price of $5.25/cookie, this batch of 10 cookies would run you over $50 at the bakery. They aren't hard to make and you can now enjoy them at home for a fraction of the price.
What Sets Levain Cookies Apart
- No vanilla extract: I know, right? I thought that was odd too, but watch that video and you'll see that they don't add vanilla extract.
- Cold butter: make sure that the butter is slightly soft and still cold. It does not need to come completely to room temperature. I let it sit on the counter for 15-20 minutes. You can cut it into small pieces or use solid sticks.
- Walnuts and chocolate chips: 2 cups of each and the walnuts are not chopped into tiny pieces. The video shows walnut halves and pieces so that’s what I used too which gives them great flavor and texture.
- They are large: I mentioned it before, but these are 6-ounce cookies that are huge! My sister makes a 3-ounce version that she said is a big hit. I'll include baking instructions for making a smaller version.
- They are portioned into rustic balls of dough: No cookie dough scoop needed! Just grab the dough by your hands and place it on the scale. Then transfer the balls of dough onto a baking sheet.
- No chilling required: As you can see in the video, Pam and Connie baked the cookies immediately without chilling the dough.
- Baked at a higher temperature. This is KEY. The higher temperature allows the outer edge to bake quickly, keeping its shape and holding the moisture inside.
- They finish baking AFTER they come out of the oven: The time spent in the oven cooks the outer edge of the cookie and creates the signature golden color. The cookies will look raw on the inside, but trust the process! Let the cookies cool COMPLETELY on the baking sheet. As the cookies cool they will continue to set up.
Copycat Levain Bakery Cookie Ingredients
Butter: cold salted butter. You can use unsalted butter if you prefer, but I always bake with salted butter.
Sugar: a combination of white and brown sugar, with a higher portion of brown sugar, creates a softer cookie that doesn't spread as much.
Eggs: for richness and texture.
Baking soda, baking powder, and salt: for leavening and texture.
Flour: most copycat recipes call for cake flour, so I'm assuming that Levain uses a combination of cake flour and all-purpose flour. I use a combination when I make Jacques Torres chocolate chip cookies, but when I made these I used all-purpose flour and was completely happy with the results. Soft, gooey cookies, that baked up beautifully. That being said IF you would like to try a combination of all-purpose flour and cake flour, remove 3 Tablespoons of the all-purpose flour in this recipe and replace it with cornstarch. Cornstarch + all purpose flour is a simple substitute for cake flour.
Walnuts: no need to finely chop, simply pour a bag of walnut halves and pieces into the dough.
Chocolate Chips: semisweet chocolate chips work perfectly to cut the sweetness of the cookie, but you can use milk chocolate chips.
How To Make Levain-Inspired Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies
- Cream butter and sugar together in the bowl of a stand mixer at medium speed with a paddle attachment.
- Mix in eggs and beat until creamy and smooth.
- Add baking powder, baking soda, salt, and flour and mix until dough forms.
- Add walnuts and chocolate chips.
- The dough will be CHUNKY. Remove the bowl from the stand mixer and continue to mix the nuts and chocolate chips into the dough by hand until fully incorporated.
- Portion the dough into 6-ounce balls.
- Place the cookie dough balls on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
Note: As you can see in my photos, I bake with LIGHT colored baking sheets. I prefer light baking sheets to dark because they bake more evenly and the bottoms of the cookies don't brown as quickly.
- The recipe makes 10 cookies so you can bake 5 per sheet.
Bake the cookies at 400 degrees for 11-13 minutes*. The tops should be golden, but the centers should look gooey.
Allow cookies to cool completely on the baking sheet.
The cookies will continue to set up as they cool. Let them sit for 30-45 minutes before eating. Your patience will pay off!
Store cookies in an airtight container or wrap them individually in plastic. Cookies are delicious the next day and can be reheated in the microwave for 10 seconds.
*If you'd like to make smaller (but still large) 3-ounce cookies, bake 9-10 cookies per cookie sheet for 6-8 minutes.
Copycat Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe
Levain Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter slightly chilled
- 1 ¼ cups light brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 3 ½ cups all purpose flour 473 grams
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips 12 ounces
- 2 cups walnuts 8 ounces
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a light-colored baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat, if desired.
- Cream butter and sugars together until creamy.* Since the butter is still cool it might take a few minutes for the butter and sugar to fully mix together. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. *You can cut the butter into small pieces if you'd like to speed up this process.
- Add baking soda, baking powder, salt and flour. Mix until dough forms.
- Add walnuts and chocolate chips. Mix.Note: it might be easier to mix the nuts and chocolate chips in by hand.
- Portion the dough into 6-ounce balls. Bake 5 cookies on each sheet for 11-13 minutes. The outside of the cookie should be golden and the inside gooey.
- Allow cookies to cool completely on the baking sheet.
Matilda says
Can these be frozen?
Brandy says
Yes, they freeze well! I wrap them individually in plastic then place in a freezer bag.