Can this pass for a Levain cookie?
It's that time of the year. Papers, presentations, and finals. Summer is SO CLOSE but still so far away. When stress hits, the procrastinator in me runs towards the kitchen and starts whipping something to loosen up. With the impending doom of three papers coming up, what did I end up making? I attempted a Levain cookie. I know, seriously, is that even possible?! I came close, but really, I would pay $4 in a heartbeat for one of their hefty mounds of cookie dough and chocolate goodness. I found this popular copycat recipe online and started preheating my oven.
What is a Levain cookie you ask? Please Google it! To make a long story short, the Levain Bakery is synonymous for their 1+ lb. chocolate chip cookie goodness. My favorite being their dark chocolate chocolate chip, but that's a whole other story. To me their cookies signify giddy afternoon sessions of Central Park picnics, voraciously gobbling them down, and wondering how I managed to eat it all in one sitting. If you can get to Levain's, go now. If not, give these a try.
Copycat Levain Bakery Cookies
adapted from lisamichele
2 sticks of butter (1 cup)
1 cup of brown sugar
1/2 cup of granulated sugar
2 eggs
3 1/4 cups of all purpose flour
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 package (12 oz.) of semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup of walnuts
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Arrange walnuts on a baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until lightly toasted.
3. Using a mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Incorporate eggs one at a time.
4. Add flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Mix until combined. Add chocolate chips and toasted walnuts.
5. Transfer dough to a flat surface and combine chocolate chips and toasted walnuts by hand.
6. Divide the dough into 12 equal portions. Place on parchment paper lined cookie sheet.
7. Depending on how "done" you would like your cookies, bake for 25 minutes for a well done cookie, less time for a more raw cookie. Personally, i like them slightly raw and gooey in the middle. :)
One last bite...
2 comments:
Thanks for sharing this recipe! I completely LOVE Levain cookies. They're over the top, ooey gooey deliciousness. These came surprisingly close. I think next time I might add a touch of vanilla. I don't know if it will make them taste any more like Levain, I'm just used to a little vanilla flavor in the cookie dough. Good call on baking them a few minutes less. Definitely worth it if you want to save a trip to the bakery!
May 18, 2010 at 1:50 PMHi Trish! I agree, Levain is amazing. The only reason I ommited the vanilla extract is because I heard that Levain didn't use it in their cookies. If you do try it again with extract, please let me know how it turns out!
May 19, 2010 at 1:28 PMPost a Comment