Introducing my favourite thick and chewy Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookies. These big, buttery chocolate chip cookies are soft and chewy and filled to the brim with chocolate.
I am obsessed with these cookies.
And rightly so. These thick and chewy Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookies are what my sugar-coated dreams are made of. They’re big, buttery and completely irresistible.
If you love cookies with crispy, golden edges and a melty centre filled with chocolate, these cookies have your name on them ❤️
I just returned home from a holiday in New York two weeks ago. And one of the first recipes I wanted to try to develop when I got back was a copycat Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookie.
I finally had the chance to try their legendary – and ridiculously big – cookies. They are famous, not just for their taste, but for their size – 6 ounce each apparently. They have a rustic, golden brown exterior, and buttery middle that’s filled with chocolate chunks and crunchy walnuts.
And yes they were as delicious as they sound and look.
(Finally trying the Chocolate Chip Cookie from Levain Bakery in New York)
I love my Classic Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe but I knew to achieve the thickness of a Levain Bakery style cookie, it was going to need some tweaking. But the results ARE IN.
A few adjustments to the ingredients and the method and you have a big, fat Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookie that you can make at home. BOOM.
You don’t need any special equipment to make these cookies. In fact, you only need all the basic ingredients of a regular Chocolate Chip Cookie, but you need to follow the instructions carefully for best results.
A big part of the cookie magic has to do with the temperature of the butter. While most cookie recipes rely on softened butter or melted butter, but this recipe calls for cold butter. It helps the cookies not to spread too much in the oven.
Another key is the amount of fix-in’s. There’s alot of chocolate AND nuts in this recipe, just like Levain Bakery’s cookie. It also helps the cookies stay thick and lumpy.
I know everyone has their favourite chocolate chip cookie recipe, but I stand by this recipe. It is legit one of the best cookies I’ve tasted at home!
YOU WILL LOVE THESE LEVAIN BAKERY CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES BECAUSE:
- They’re extra thick and chewy, with crispy edges.
- They’re filled with good things, like loads of chocolate and chopped walnuts.
- You don’t need to chill the dough so they could be on your table in less than an hour.
- Everyone always loves them!
TIPS FOR MAKING THICK CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
- This recipe calls for COLD butter – straight from the fridge. Not softened or melted.
- Use brown sugar for this recipe for maximum flavour. Brown sugar will also help the cookies spread less in the oven than white sugar.
- These cookie use a little more flour than regular cookies for extra body. You also need to add 1 tablespoon of cornflour (or corn starch) to help keep the cookies soft. If you don’t have any cornflour, you can add an extra tablespoon of plain flour.
- These cookies call for lots of chocolate. I recommend chopping a block of chocolate by hand, instead of using chocolate chips. You can use milk chocolate or dark chocolate or a mix of both.
- Levain Bakery cookies have walnuts in them. I have included walnuts in this recipe, but have tried these cookies with other nuts, such as pecans and almonds. The nuts also help the cookies not to spread. If you don’t want to add nuts, you will need to add extra chocolate to help the cookies from spreading.
- I recommend using 2 tablespoons of cookie dough per cookie. Because these cookies are very thick, they need a few more minutes in the oven, until they are golden brown.
- Test one cookie to see if the cookies are thick enough. If it spreads too much, you might want to chill the dough for an extra 30 minutes and then try baking them again.
MORE COOKIE RECIPES TO TRY:
- Chocolate Oreo Cookies
- Cornflake Marshmallow Cookies
- White Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Honey Cookies
- Lemon Cookies
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. Hungry for more? Join me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter for more amazing recipe ideas.
Let’s Bake
Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookies
Super thick and chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies made from scratch.
Ingredients
- 115 grams (1/2 cup or 1 stick) unsalted butter, COLD (straight from the fridge), roughly chopped
- 190 grams (1 cup) brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg, cold
- 245 grams (1 and 3/4 cup) plain flour or all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon cornflour or cornstarch*
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- Pinch of salt, optional
- 225 grams (1 and 1/2 cups) dark or milk chocolate, chopped by hand
- 50 grams (1/2 cup) walnuts, roughly chopped*
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F) standard / 160 C (320 F) fan-forced. Line two baking trays with baking or parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, add cold butter and sugar. Beat with an electric mixer until combined. Add vanilla and egg. Beat again until combined – but try not to over mix.
- Add flour, cornflour, baking soda and salt, if using, and beat on a low speed until soft cookie dough forms. Add chocolate and walnuts and beat briefly.
- Scoop out cookie dough, roughly 2 tablespoons per cookie, and place on prepared oven trays, leaving room for the cookie to spread.
- Bake cookies for 12-14 minutes or until golden brown. Leave cookies to cool completely.
Notes
*Cornflour: If you don’t have any cornflour (or cornstarch), add an extra tablespoon of flour.
*Nuts: You can use any nut you like (e.g. pecans or macadamias). If you want to leave out the nuts, add extra chocolate. The generous amount of fix-in’s help the cookies stay thick.
Shaping the dough: Instead of rolling the cookie dough smooth with your hands, leave it rough and pieced together for a more rustic look as pictured below.
Thickness: Try baking one cookie initially. If it’s not thick enough, place the cookie dough in the fridge for at least 30 minutes and try again.
Nutrition Information
Miriam says
Best Cookies ever ! I absolutely love them, the first ones that stayed thick and chewy as promised …
Did you ever bake those with baking powder instead of baking soda ? Or a combination of both ? And did it change the results ?
I have read that baking powder will make the cookies stay thicker but less chewy ? Is that true?
Greetings from Germany
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Miriam, so glad you love these as much as I do! Yes typically baking powder will result in slightly less spreading but the cookies tend to have a more fluffy or cake-like texture. Baking soda is the way to go for chewiness. Personally I prefer baking soda in chocolate chip cookies like these. This article by Handle the Heat might be interesting to you!
Holly says
Absolute perfection. Crispy on the outside soft in the middle delicious
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
So glad to hear that Holly!
AT says
I am so excited to have found these and am looking forward to trying them! I am totally new to baking and am learning, I need to use a friends oven so my question is if I make the dough and form the balls and put them in refrigerator the day before, how long would I need to let them sit out before baking them once I get them to her house? Will they still turn out the same? Thank you so much for your recipes and helpful tips! 🙂
Jessica Holmes says
That will work just fine! You can absolutely refrigerate the dough and bake them the next day. You can bake them cold which will prevent spreading and make them quite thick, or bring them to room temperature first. You could also bake one cookie to test and see how it goes. If it’s too thick, them let the dough sit for a bit first. I hope you enjoy them!
Rebecca Hunter says
Superb – my family ask me to bake these allllllllll the time
Dangerously good
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
Love that! So do mine! 😉
Shannan Martin says
Would this work the same if I used softened butter but then chilled the dough? I had a very hard time mixing cold chunks of butter with sugar, bits flew out of the bowl everywhere! Took a good 10 minutes and hurt my hand.
Other than overcooking them though, they are great! Thick and delicious 😍
Jessica Holmes says
Absolutely! You can definitely do it that way Shannan!
Shannan Martin says
Fantastic, thank you! I’m obsessed now and want to try all of your recipes for these delicious chewy cookies!
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
Yay! This is amazing!