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
- 1 tablespoon cornflour (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
*If you don’t have any cornflour (or cornstarch), add an extra tablespoon of flour.
**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.
***Instead of rolling the cookie dough smooth, leave it rough and pieced together for a more rustic look.
****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.
Diti says
Amazing recipe ❤️
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
Yay! So glad you love them!
Mica says
Thank you for this!! I mixed up dark, milk, and white chocolate though! 🙂
Jessica Holmes says
Sounds amazing!
Mariam says
I have literally never baked cookies in my life – but this recipe was so super easy to follow and they turned out perfectly!! Chewy centers and crispy edges and filled with chocolatey yumminess!!I will definitely be trying heaps more of your recipes!!
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
Yaaay! So happy to hear that Mariam!
Hannah says
Hey Jess!
These look delicious. Is it possible to stuff them with nutella? If it is how would I go about doing it?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Hannah, yes you could. Just freeze teaspoons of Nutella and then attempt to wrap the cookie dough around the Nutella.
Maeve says
These were seriously delicious ! The texture was on point and they were the perfect shape!! 10/10 highly recommend
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
Yay! So glad you loved them Maeve!
Jessie says
Can you make these with white chocolate as well?
Jessica Holmes says
Yes!
Carys says
WOW. I haven’t had a cookie like this in over a decade. I altered the ingredients so it could be gluten and dairy free (different flour, butter and extra cornflour). Made them slightly smaller so the texture didn’t change too much with the changes I made… and OMG. Crispy on the outside, chewy and gooey on the inside. Blown away. Thank you so much this has improved my life 🥰🥰🥰
Jessica Holmes says
Yes yes yes! Love hearing that Carys! Awesome to hear about the great result even with the changes.
@bakewithliz says
These cookies are amazing! Thick, full of mixins, and soft on the inside, just like the recipe says. Follow the instructions (and Jess’s helpful story highlight video on instagram!) and you won’t be disappointed!
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
Yay! Love hearing that!
Iara says
Jess, I totally trust your recipes, so when i found this one on ig i know i had to give it a try. this were AMAZING, thick enough and so easy to make. i didn’t use the walnuts because here in argentina they are REALLY expensive, but my family still loved them.
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
I am SO happy to hear that Lara! So glad you enjoyed them. And thanks for letting me know about the walnuts. You could try another nut next time if they’re more accessible. I’ve made them with almonds and macadamias too!
Parveen Haider says
I am new to baking and after 5 failed attempts(spreading) with random recipies , I stumbled accross yours and thought I could give this recipie a try and if I fail will never bake cookies again.
And they turned out perfect. Soft goey. I added walnuts and chocolate more than what your recipie said. I could see my daughters eyes sparkle as I got them out from oven..Yaay.
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
YAY! So happy to hear that Parveen!
Jen says
Well bummer. Just made these. The hard part was mixing cold butter with brown sugar didn’t work well. By the time all ingredients were incorporated it was way too dry. Thankfully I had room temp butter ready first another recipe. I added 1/4 cup of butter and mixed well
They were good – the extra butter saved them, but not sure what happened… was confused there was no regular sugar in this recipe.
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Jen, yes you’ve got to give it some elbow grease for the cold butter and sugar to go creamy. But it doesn’t take long if you’re using a stand mixer. I’ve used all brown sugar in my recipe as white sugar can cause cookies to spread and I wanted these to be lovely and thick. Check out my Instagram Highlights for a step by step video of me making these cookies.
Helen says
Hey Jess hope you’re well 🙂 would it be weird and do you think it’ll work if I put chopped up pretzels in the cookie instead of nuts? Or do you think it might dry out the cookie?
Jessica Holmes says
I think that sounds awesome Helen!
J. Friesen says
I just made these cookies. They turned out beautifully. I started scooping before it was fully together. The scoop did the last bit. I can see why this is you favourite cookie 😉
Jessica Holmes says
Yay! So glad you enjoyed them!
Naznin says
Absolutely delicious! Just perfect texture and thickness. The only thing is i used brown cane sugar as recipe didnt specify which to use, i would use soft brown next time.
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you loved them!
Neha Anand says
I tried this recipe today and they are hands down the best thick cookies I have tasted. Although I did add 2 tbsp of milk as the dough wouldn’t come together and was crumbly.
Jessica Holmes says
Love hearing that Neha!
Amy Obrien says
Hi if I wanted to make this a triple chocolate how much coco Powder should I add?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Amy, try my Chocolate Cookies recipe.
Amy says
Hi,
Thanks for getting back to me. I tried them but they tasted a little different to usual. I did use a different brand of butter though!
I want to make the above recipe with mini eggs will I just add the mini eggs instead of chocolate?
Thank you!
Jessica Holmes says
Yes that would work! Or maybe half mini eggs and half chocolate? Yum!