A couple of years ago, we visited Levain Bakery in NYC and were WOWed by their take on a chocolate chip cookie (and I’m living with Omer, who’s a Chocolate Chip Cookies expert). So I searched for a copy-cat recipe online and found a really good one. I’ve adapted it, and I’m using to bake these monstrous cookies every time they run out (I get a gentle reminder by Omer that it’s time). I usually make a double batch so that half goes into the classic 6oz cookies, and half goes into a huge cookie cake to cut up and freeze. This way, we can slowly enjoy it in perfect bite-size. In times like these, when we’re stuck at home and looking for the ultimate comfort – this is definitely it.
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What makes these cookies so special is a combination of things:
- Using cake flour and being careful not to over mix the dough makes these cookies caky (in a good way).
- Adding a very good amount of good quality chocolate chips AND roasted walnuts give extra texture and good chocolaty balance.
- Sprinkle with some coarse salt before baking enhances the flavor and gives balance to the butter and sugar.
- Baking them big like a pile and using cold butter that’s keeping the tall shape.
- Being careful not to over-bake these cookies keeps them gooey and doughy inside.
We’re using cold butter cut into little cubes. If the butter gets warm, once it’s cut, you can put it back in the freezer for a few minutes to harden a bit.
We’re mixing the butter with white and brown sugar using a stand mixer, but you can also use a handheld mixer. I haven’t tried mixing by hand.
I suggest mixing all the dry ingredients in a separate bowl before adding to the butter-sugar mix. That way, we make sure the salt and baking powder is well distributed since we want to mix the dough as little as possible.
What makes these cookies so unique is using cake flour. I adapted the recipe to use all-purpose flour mixed with corn starch instead, for quick and easy measuring.
It’s Omer’s favorite. It’s essential that you bake them big like that (probably a bit smaller is fine too, but make sure you keep from over-baking them). That way, the center is soft and moist as a cake, and the outside is crispy and crunchy. These cookies are 6 oz each – too big to eat as a personal snack. This big cookie is enough for 2-4 people, and I usually cut them in quarters to get a not-so-ridiculous-size-cookie. We love making big batches and freezing these, so I started making the cookie cake.
A much easier way to portion out these cookies for the freezer. I have a rectangular mold that I use to bake this dough. It takes 2-3 more minutes to bake, but it should still be very soft inside when it’s done. The easiest way to portion it is to chill it to room temp after it’s out of the oven and then put it in the fridge for a couple of extra hours. Then slice with a sharp, long knife to little cubes.
Cutting to cubes is also a perfect way to serve these cookies at a party. Cutting into cubes makes every bite like the center-of-the-cookie bite, and you’re getting more gooey-cakey than crunchy-crispy.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, I baked a batch of these and sent it out to all the friends that we hadn’t seen for a while.
The big cookies can be frozen as-is in a freezer ziplock bag. For the cubed cookies, freeze them spaced out on a tray for at least 3 hours or overnight. When they’re frozen – transfer into a big ziplock bag and store in the freezer for up to 3 months (but it won’t stay there for that long, believe me).
When it’s time to eat, take out as many pieces you’d like (or a whole big cookie) from the freezer. Place on a microwave-safe plate, reheat for 20-40 seconds (after 20 seconds, check every 10 seconds until warm but before it’s like lava).
Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookie - Levain Bakery Style
What I love about this recipe that it's the easiest chocolate chip cookie recipe but also the best ever. It's also really hard to mess it up, so you really need to give it a try.
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
- 2¾ cup all purpose flour
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp table salt
- 2 cups roughly chopped walnuts
- 2 cups chocolate chips (can be a mix of dark, bitter sweet, milk or even white chocolate)
- a pinch of Maldon Salt (or another type of flaky finishing salt)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 410°F. Line a baking sheet (or 2 half sheets) with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, add butter and sugars. Cream until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes (start on low speed, and increase gradually).
- Scrape down sides and bottom of bowl. Add in eggs. Mix on medium speed until incorporated.
- Add in flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. Mix on the lowest speed until all the flour is just incorporated. Careful not to over-mix.
- Add in walnuts and chocolate chips and mix on the lowest speed for about 5 revolutions until incorporated into the dough. Dough should be quite sticky.
- Divide dough into 8 equal pieces. Each dough ball should weigh about 6 ounces. Make sure to keep it loose as the cookies should be airy and not compacted.
- Place dough on the baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart, so that they don’t spread onto each other.
- Bake only one sheet at a time in the middle row of the oven, for about 11-13 minutes. The tops of the cookies should be a light brown and the cookies should not be fully set.
- Do not move or try to transfer cookies from the sheet for at least 15 minutes. This gives them a chance to cool down and set so that you can remove the cookies without them breaking and will also allow inside of the dough to cook a little more. They should still be gooey inside.
Notes
- These cookies are so big, I like to cut them in half (or even quarters) to enjoy together.
- Same recipe can be made into a big rectangle mold and cut into small cubes
- These cookies freeze extremely well. After cooling completely, place cookies in a large ziplock bag or small sandwich size bags. Place in freezer. When ready to eat, either let thaw, or wrap in paper towel and microwave for about 30-45 seconds.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 904Total Fat: 57gSaturated Fat: 24gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 30gCholesterol: 108mgSodium: 351mgCarbohydrates: 96gFiber: 6gSugar: 54gProtein: 13g
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators.
Thanks for the recipe.
You’re welcome 🙂 Did you give it a try?