If you've been lucky enough to experience a Levain Bakery Cookie firsthand, you understand what all the hype is about. But if you've ever wanted to make New York's most famous cookie yourself, you're in the right place! My oversized copycat Levain Bakery Two Chip Cookies are the real deal....and you wouldn't believe how easy they are to make!
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Levain Bakery Two Chip Cookies
Last November I travelled to the USA for the New York Marathon. Now let's not get too excited, I only ran the 5km! My husband and one of my sons ran the Marathon (and were awesome!). My Marathon was more in the form of hunting out desserts...and I was prepared to walk the full 42kms! Being the chocolate chip cookie lover that I am, I had to check out Levain Bakery Cookies and they did not disappoint!
what is a Levain Cookie?
In 1995 two triathlete friends opened a bakery in Manhattan and wanted to create a kick-ass chocolate chip cookie to satisfy their post-training hunger. Pam and Connie came up with what is now New York City's most famous cookie. So what makes Levain Cookies so popular? Well first of all, they're HUGE! These cookies are famously big, with the cookie dough balls weighing in at 6oz (170g) each! The flavours are simple, with the girls focused on creating a classic cookie without the fuss. And the texture....oh my lord! The texture is to die for! They're golden and crispy on the outside, with the most deliciously gooey centre. Loaded with two different chocolate chips, you'll seriously go gaga over these copycat Levain Bakery Two Chip Cookies!
How I came up with this Levain Cookie Recipe
One of the greatest things in life is a classic chocolate chip cookie...and I have my fair share of CCC recipes! And don't think I wasn't taking notes while I was dissecting that cookie in NYC! I wanted to emulate that golden crispy outside, while still keeping the centre ooey and gooey. Levain have a Youtube video that I've watched over and over, where you can see how simple their cookie recipe is. I took everything I love from my No Chill Chocolate Chip Cookies and my Giant Chocolate Chip Cookies (along with my notes) and created this copycat Levain Cookie recipe. And they are seriously goooood!
Why you'll love this Levain Cookie Recipe
- It's super simple, with just a handful of everyday ingredients
- You don't refrigerate your dough! A lot of people think the dough is refrigerated, but you can see on their video that they just bang it straight into the oven!
- The cookies are baked at a high heat, making the edges super crispy, but keeping the inside gooey and smooshy
- These cookies keep their shape, so there's no need to neaten them up when they come out of the oven
- Did I say they were huge? Seriously, they're a meal!
Ingredients for Two Chip Cookies
Butter: use unsalted butter that is just at room temperature and not too soft
Sugars: both white and brown for super delicious, golden cookies
Salt: just a pinch is perfect!
Eggs: free-range, room temperature for the ultimate flavour
Flours: I use plain (all purpose) flour with cornflour (cornstarch) to help keep these cookies super soft
Baking powder and Baking (bicarb) soda: are both rising agents
Two types of chocolate chips: I use semi sweet chocolate chips, which are fabulous at holding their shape, as well as dark couverture chocolate that melts beautifully to create those deliciously gooey centres. I find the semi sweet baking chips help to bulk up the cookies and keep them chunky.
Tips for recreating Levain Two Chip Cookies
- Did you notice these Chocolate Chip Cookies don't contain vanilla? I love vanilla more than most people, so I struggled to not include it, but Levain Cookies don't appear to contain vanilla. Try it and see what you think, but I'm totally onboard!
- Don't aerate the mixture. These cookies aren't meant to be light and fluffy, so everything is mixed until just combined
- Scoop out the dough with your hands, rather than using (my favourite!) cookie scoop. I wear food gloves and just scoop out a hunk of dough
- Weigh your dough (not just your ingredients!). Each of the cookie balls should weigh 170g or 6oz, giving you uniform cookies
- Don't refrigerate your dough, it's honestly not necessary! These copycat Levain Cookies will bake perfectly, with just as much flavour.
- Bake at a higher temperature for golden crispy edges and gooey centres.
- Let your cookies cool before devouring. They're going to be pretty gooey when they come out of the oven, so give them some time to set up.
How long do these Levain Cookies last?
Most people will tell you that Levain cookies should be eaten on the day they are made. Yes, they are seriously delicious and super gooey on the day they are made, but they will still be delicious a few days later. I wrote this post 3 days after baking them, while enjoying half a cookie. The centre was still fudgy and delicious, it just wasn't as crisp as the day it was made. Store them in an airtight container and, if you'd prefer, pop them in a medium oven for about 5 minutes, just to crisp them up again.
Copycat Levain Bakery Two Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 150 g unsalted butter room temperature (just) cubed
- 100 g white sugar
- 140 g light brown sugar
- 2 XL eggs room temperature
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 270 g plain (all purpose) flour
- 30 g cornflour (cornstarch)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking (bi-carb) soda
- 400 g semi sweet chocolate chips see notes
- 200 g dark chocolate chips see notes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200°C/395°F fan-forced (or 220° without fan) and line 2 cookie sheets with baking paper
- In a bowl, combine the flour, cornflour, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Use a whisk to ensure they are completely combined (or you can sift the ingredients). Set aside
- In the bowl of a stand mixer and using the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugars on medium, until well blended
- Add the eggs, one by one and continue to mix on low until combined *see notes
- Turn the mixer off, then add the combined flour ingredients. Turn the mixer on low and mix until almost combined
- Add both chocolate chips and mix on low until almost combined. Remove the bowl and use a rubber spatula to mix the ingredients, ensuring the chips are distributed throughout the dough
- (I use food gloves for this) pull out mounds of dough and place each mound onto lined scales. You want each dough ball to weigh 170g (6oz). Without rolling the dough (see notes), place it onto a lined cookie sheet, 4 cookies per sheet.
- Bake both trays in the preheated oven for 8 minutes *see notes
- Once cookies are ready, remove the trays from the oven and slide the cookies and baking paper off the tray. Cookies will be soft in the middle, so leave them to cool before lifting them
Notes
- I use semi sweet baking chocolate chips, as they hold their shape and contribute to the chunkiness of these cookies. Dark chocolate callets (or couverture chocolate chips) add a depth of flavour and will melt more, giving the centres their gooeyness
- Don't overmix the ingredients. You don't want the mixture to be too aerated, which is why we only just combine the ingredients
- You want to keep the dough loose and not compress it into a ball. This will help the cookie to keep it's high dome when baking
- Because you're using the fan setting, you can bake both trays at the same time. If using the conventional setting, bake one tray at a time
- For gooey centres, bake for 8 minutes. If you prefer the centre fudgy, bake for 9-10 minutes instead
- Cookies are best eaten on the day, but can be stored in a container for up to 3 days. They will stay fudgy, but won't keep their crispy edges. Cookies and cookie dough can be frozen for up to 3 months
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