The Famous Levain Bakery Copycat Cookies

If you've checked out the NYC foodie scene lately, it's likely you've heard of Levain Bakery. They're famous for their gigantic, gooey chocolate chip cookies. And when I say gigantic, I mean it. We're talking SIX ounces of dough per cookie! I think a cookie that size would give Cookie Monster a run for his money. 

If you're local to Utah, you have probably seen cookie bakeries like Chip, Goodly, and Crumbl popping up all over the place. These cookies are also a gourmet bakery style, meaning they're made with tons of dough and lots of chocolate chips. This is the kind of cookie we're talking about today. In general I'm not a big fan of these cookies because they lack the chewiness I love. But every once in a while, I want something melty and doughy.

So here's the deal... I've never actually tried a real Levain Bakery cookie. I know, it's sad! But my two sisters took a trip to the big apple in July and tried the genuine thing for themselves. I knew I wouldn't be making it out to the east coast any time soon (the only region of the US I have yet to visit! I need to get out there!), so when the craving for a big, crispy-on-the-outside-and-gooey-on-the-inside cookie hit, I figured it was my chance to try the famous copycat recipe.

This tried and true recipe is from Si of A Bountiful Kitchen. I love Si because she really does her homework when creating recipes, and can tell you exactly why you need to follow certain steps (like using cold butter, for instance). I've never made a recipe from ABK that didn't turn out amazing. This particular version of the Levain cookie is the chocolate chip with walnuts, which is just flawless in my book because I love walnuts. If you don't like nuts, be sure to follow Si's specific instructions for a nut-free cookie. If you just leave the nuts out, the cookies will spread way too much (and six oz. of flat cookie dough is basically the worst).

Now let's talk about the size of these bad boys. Pictured above is the full six oz. cookie, along with a three oz. cookie. The three oz. cookie is still really big, so you get the giant bakery cookie effect (crisp exterior, gooey interior), but in a smaller package. For my personal taste, the three oz. size was much more satisfying than the six oz. If you decide to make the cookies smaller, be sure to reduce the baking time by about half. I used a basic kitchen scale to measure out my dough. 

Six Ounce Cookie

Both my sisters and everyone else who tried the cookies agreed that they were super delicious. I found that chilling the dough mounds overnight before baking really made the cookies more flavorful, but it isn't required to get a nice, sturdy cookie. 

Three Ounce Cookie

So next time you're craving a $12 box of bakery cookies, try Si's recipe out instead. It's cheaper than a trip to NYC, that's for sure! :)

You can find the recipe here. Happy baking!