It took five years and four trips to New York City for me to finally find the time to make it up to the Upper West Side to visit the famous Levain Bakery. There are few “best of” type shows on the Food Network or “best of” NYC lists that don’t mention how amazing and how unique these seemingly ordinary cookies are. The recipe is a secret, of course, and so the frenzy only grows for these softball-sized treasures.

The famous Levain Bakery chocolate chip walnut cookie.

 

Why do people flock to this shoebox of a bakery opened by two friends who aren’t even trained pastry chefs? No cookie I’ve ever tasted has been able to achieve the holy grail of cookie texture the way Levain does: a perfect crisp crust that protects a gooey, chewy middle. When I broke apart my cookie to see if it was true, it was a moment of shock and awe. How did they do this? How can I be eating this entire giant cookie? What will I do without access to the best cookie I’ve ever eaten, hands down?!?!

 

I do the next best thing. I scour the Internet for a copycat recipe and make do. As you can see, my copycats look nothing like the original. So…yeah, not much of a copycat in the looks department. The taste? Also not the same. BUT, they were pretty darn alright for a chocolate chip cookie. They did have a little of the crisp outside, gooey inside thing going on but nowhere near the perfect crust that Levain achieves. I must also say that I think I preferred Nigella’s cookies. And now I’m really wanting to try to make the also famous New York Times ultimate chocolate chip cookie. In time, in time.

Within the same few days, I had the pleasure of trying the excellent chocolate chip cookies of both Balthazar and Chikalicious, and Levain was definitely the best. (Have I told you yet that it was the best cookie I’ve ever eaten?) So, if you ever find yourself in New York City, don’t be silly and wait like I did. GO. Yes, there’s nothing really around to see except the Museum of Natural History and The Dakota, but it’s worth the trip.  You could also spend a fortune ordering them online, but that wouldn’t be as much fun, now, would it?

Copycat Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from Parsley, Sage, Dessert and Line Drives

I halved the recipe below and got four large (roughly a half cup each) and three medium-sized cookies. I also used half dark chocolate and half milk chocolate, which I got by chopping up chocolate bars, not chocolate chips. You might notice that there is no vanilla in this recipe. Strange, but true. I also have learned from cookie-powers-that-be that you should let your dough rest so that the ingredients fully integrate. So, I did that.

1 cups cold and cubed unsalted butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1  1/2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
2 3/4 to 3 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon table or fine sea salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 cups good quality semisweet chocolate chips or chunks

In bowl of electric mixer fitted with paddle, cream together butter and sugars until well blended and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time and beat until well incorporated. (I did this in a food processor, you could also do by hand.)
Add flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and cornstarch, and mix until just combined. Gently fold in chocolate. Transfer dough to clean work surface and gently mix dough by hand to ensure even distribution of ingredients. Divide into 10-12 equal portions on a parchment-lined plate or cutting board. Cover with plastic wrap and put in fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place each on sheet pan lined with parchment paper and flatten slightly (a step I forgot). Bake in the preheated oven 15-20 minutes depending on how gooey and raw-ish you like the interior, until very lightly browned, taking care not to overbake. Let cool on rack and store what you don’t immediately eat in an airtight container.

These are best eaten on the day they are made. To freshen them at a later time, give them a quick nuke in the microwave for 5-10 seconds or a few minutes in a warm oven.