Mock-Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookies

Submitted by ghostlyvision

"If you saw Food Network's Throwdown with Bobby Flay and wanted to try that New York City bakery cookie, I couldn't find the actual recipe anywhere so I came up with this one that comes very close to it. Bake them the shorter amount of time if you like them slightly underdone and a little gooey in the center, or the longer time for a crisper, well-done cookie. Update (9/15/10): A week ago I made a batch of these substituting margarine for the butter and they came out very flat, so I strongly suggest using only well-chilled real butter when making this recipe. Enjoy!"

 

• Ready In: 35mins
• Ingredients: 10
• Yields: 14 cookies
• Serves: 14

ingredients

• 1 cup butter, cold (no substitutes)
• 2 1⁄2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2⁄3 cup light brown sugar
• 2⁄3 cup white sugar
• 2 large eggs, cold
• 12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 3⁄4 cup walnuts or 3/4 cup pecans, if desired

directions

1. In large mixing bowl add flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt, cut in cold butter until mixture resembles crumbs, add sugars and stir well (breaking up any brown sugar clumps), add eggs and mix until dough forms, stir in chocolate chips (and nuts, if desired).
2. Chill dough for one hour (and keep chilled while baking first batch).
3. Heat oven to 400 degrees.
4. Put half of the dough on an ungreased baking sheet in 7 large balls, bake for 8 -10 minutes, turn cookie sheet around back to front, bake until light golden brown on top, another 5 - 8 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on sheet for a few minutes, then place on wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with the rest of the dough after cookie sheet cools. This should give you a very close approximation to the Levain Bakery chocolate chip cookies.
5. If you'd like to make them somewhat smaller I suggest using a 375 degree oven temp so they don't over-brown, though they may not rise quite as high.

Reviews

[Dans La Lune]

OK I am NEVER making these again... I'll gain 50 lbs if they are within reach! These cookies are DELICIOUS. I'm NOT a fan of the traditional Tollhouse recipe and always wanted to know how to make big bakery style cookies. These are them. If you bake according to the lower time settings (I did 8 minutes and 5 minutes) then they come out perfectly crisp and chewy on the outside and soft and gooey on the inside. FABULOUS. I used jumbo chocolate chips for these, which I think made all the difference... you get a big mouthful of chocolate with each bite. I will say though that I prefer a saltier cookie, so IF I do make these again (for a special occasion LOL) then I will add another 1/2 teaspoon salt. Oh, and yes, I too saw the Throwdown episode and couldn't get over how huge these cookies are! Just great... give em a try! PS - I was surprised that there was no vanilla extract in the cookie dough... but I didn't miss it! It made the chocolate flavor more pronounced!

 

[kergie5]

Made these tonight, and they are fantastic! After watching Throwdown and seeing the pre-baked size of each cookie on the baking sheet (they looked to be nearly the size of baseballs), I decided to make 6 cookies out of each half of the batter instead of 7. This worked out great, because 6 fit perfectly on my baking sheet. Cooked them for 8 minutes, then turned the cookie sheet around and cooked for 8 more, and voila! The size after baking looked just like the ones on Throwdown! And, wow, were they tasty! I will make these cookies again and again.

 

[novababe20ga]

Great recipe! I made them once as directed but found them to be saltier than we like...so, I tried them again, eliminated the salt and added a couple of dashes of cinnamon and a some vanilla (approx 1 tsp), great again!

 

[Darkhunter]

OMG, these are great! One of the biggest cookies I've ever made, and one of the best. Believe me, you'll want to eat more than one, but they are very rich, so don't do it!! Besides, with only 14 cookies, you want them to last as long as they can! Really, really good, ghostlyvision. Tnx for posting.

 

[Bev9721]

Saw the show and then found this recipe....made them today except no nuts...they turned out huge and gorgeous and tasted good, but they really were more like a muffin or cake consistency inside rather than a cookie....that was disappointing...what did I do wrong? :(