Levain-Style

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🍪 Levain-Style Chocolate Chip Cookies

✨ Introduction

If you love thick, gooey, bakery-style cookies with crispy edges and soft, molten centers, then Levain-style chocolate chip cookies are your dream dessert. Inspired by the famous cookies from Levain Bakery, these cookies are known for their oversized shape, rich flavor, and irresistible texture. Perfect for sharing—or not! 😄

🧾 Ingredients

Dry Ingredients

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp cornstarch
  • ¾ tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp salt

Wet Ingredients

  • 1 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup light brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Mix-ins

  • 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (or chunks)
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional but traditional)

🛠️ Instructions

  1. Preheat Oven
    • Preheat your oven to 200°C (400°F).
    • Line baking trays with parchment paper.
  2. Cream Butter & Sugars
    • In a large bowl, beat the cold cubed butter with both sugars until just combined (not too creamy).
  3. Add Eggs & Vanilla
    • Mix in eggs one at a time.
    • Add vanilla extract and combine well.
  4. Combine Dry Ingredients
    • In another bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt.
  5. Make Dough
    • Gradually mix dry ingredients into wet mixture until a thick dough forms.
  6. Add Chocolate & Nuts
    • Fold in chocolate chips and walnuts.
  7. Shape Cookies
    • Divide dough into large balls (about ½ cup each).
    • Keep them tall and chunky—don’t flatten.
  8. Bake
    • Bake for 9–12 minutes until golden outside but soft inside.
  9. Cool Slightly
    • Let cookies rest for 10 minutes before serving.

🔥 Methods & Tips

  • Cold Butter Method: Keeps cookies thick and prevents spreading.
  • High Heat Baking: Creates crispy edges and gooey centers.
  • Chunky Dough: The signature Levain look—don’t flatten!
  • Underbake Slightly: For that soft, molten middle.

📜 History

Levain-style cookies originated from Levain Bakery in New York City in the 1990s. Created by two friends who wanted a hearty, energy-packed treat, these cookies quickly became iconic for their large size and indulgent texture. Today, they’re a global baking inspiration.

🧁 Formation (Texture & Structure)

  • Outside: Crisp and golden
  • Inside: Thick, soft, and gooey
  • Shape: Tall, rustic mounds
  • Taste: Rich, buttery, with pockets of melted chocolate

❤️ Why People Love Them

  • Big, bakery-style indulgence
  • Perfect balance of crisp & gooey
  • Customizable with nuts or different chocolates
  • Feels luxurious and comforting

🏁 Conclusion

Levain-style chocolate chip cookies are more than just cookies—they’re an experience. With their thick texture, rich flavor, and bakery-style appearance, they’re perfect for impressing guests or treating yourself to something special.

If you want, I can turn this into a 4-ingredient shortcut version or give you a soft-batch chewy version like Subway cookies 🍪

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