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 ❤️
Why you will love this recipe
- Thick and chunky: These cookies are big and fat and won’t spread too much in the oven.
- Chewy texture: You can expect a chewy cookie with crispy edges.
- So many mix-in’s: They’re filled with good things, like loads of chocolate and chopped walnuts.
- No chilling: You don’t need to chill the dough so they could be on your table in less than an hour.
Watch how to make them
I followed the simple recipe (novice baker), and the results were identical to LEVAIN when I was in NY! Delicious and cannot wait to make more. THANK YOU FOR SHARING!
– Sarah
Recipe testing
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)
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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!
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
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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*
- Sea salt flakes
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. Sprinkle sea salt flakes on top.
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
Ellie says
Hey have you ever tried to recreate the banana and dark chocolate cookies? I’d love to make them!! Thank you x
Jessica Holmes says
Oh I haven’t but love that idea Ellie! Will put it on my list!
A says
I’ve made these sooo many times I’m so obsessed with them! I keep coming back to them, and need a constant supply of them stocked 😂 my family love them, they always come out perfect, they’re super easy to make and super quick too! I’ve even made them as gifts for people, they’re that good. Great recipe, thank you! I don’t even want to try any other recipes because I know they’ll never beat this one
Jessica Holmes says
I love hearing that! So glad you love them as much as I do!!
Shafaq says
Made these today and OMG they turned out soo ahhhmazing. Couldn’t stop eating 3 immediately😋my Lil one after eating 3 said why are they soo smaalll😁after trying God knows how many recipes I finally have a go to cookie recipe now❤️
Jessica Holmes says
Hooray! I love hearing that! So glad you loved them.
joanne says
delicious and easy!
Jessica Holmes says
Hooray!
Ali says
Absolutely the best chocolate chip cookies I have ever made. I always keep extra dough in the freezer because I need to know that I can have one at any time.
Jessica Holmes says
Yes! Love hearing that Ali!
Lucy says
Delish…mine came out like pancakes and the dough took forever to come together, but my gosh are they tasty
Jessica Holmes says
I’m glad you like them Lucy!
Melissa says
try putting them in the freezer after dividing the dough into pieces, and bake them after they’re nice and very firm.
Danielle says
These cookies came out amazing! I’m curious how many calories per cookie?
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed them Danielle! I’m sorry I don’t have the nutritional information handy (hoping to add it to all my recipes soon) but you could try entering the detailed into an online calculator.
liv says
When you say fan-forced for the oven, are you referring to using convection?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Liv, yes I believe so!
Kathy says
Try these
Sam says
Mine didnt come out thick but they sure were good!
Jessica Holmes says
Oh glad you enjoyed them Sam! You can always try chilling the dough if they were spreading?
KAREN says
I have made them five times and they were perfect each time. I would like to receive a reimbursement check for the last six visits I have made to Weight Watchers. Thank you very much!
Jessica Holmes says
Hahaha Karen! So glad you love them as much as I do!
Karen says
I wake up in the middle of the night and eat them. I’ll probably have to keep them in my car from now on.
Jessica Holmes says
Hahaha this made me laugh out loud!
Jennifer says
I’ve made these cookies 4x already. They are the best cookies I’ve ever made! I’ve even subbed the flour for GF flour (cup for cup) when I make batches for my husband and the recipe still works beautifully. I do add an extra minute or two for GF. I’m so happy I found this recipe, it’s definitely a family favorite!!
Jessica Holmes says
That’s awesome to hear Jennifer! Thank you for sharing that with us!
Ana Marques says
I JUST LOVED THIS RECIPE !!! IT’S AN AMAZING COOKIE .
Jessica Holmes says
Yaaay! 🙌🏻
Liliane says
So Easy to make and so rich in taste
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed them!
Hannah says
Very nice but didn’t turn out very fat just like a normal cookie
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Hannah, sorry to hear that. Did you use cold butter or make any changes to the recipe? Next time you can just chill the dough for 30 minutes after you do a tester cookie (see recipe notes).