Copycat Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookies
If you like your cookies thick and doughy, this one is for you. Serve warm or pop in microwave before enjoying.
If you like your cookies thick and doughy, this one is for you. Serve warm or pop in microwave before enjoying.
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 3 cups + 2 tablespoons all purpose flour (i used king arthur unbleached ap flour)
- 1 cup unsalted butter cold and cut into cubes
- 3/4 cup + 4 teaspoons light or dark brown sugar
- 2 eggs cold, lightly beaten in a separate bowl
- 2 cups dark chocolate chips (i used ghirardelli dark chocolate)
- Carbohydrate 24.174750277126 g
- Cholesterol 58.3140972560813 mg
- Fat 32.655313068416 g
- Fiber 2.68799992879232 g
- Protein 3.15144472190124 g
- Saturated Fat 20.2219514109237 g
- Serving Size 1 1 giant cookie (96g)
- Sodium 223.430366653929 mg
- Sugar 21.4867503483337 g
- Trans Fat 2.16408337590256 g
- Calories 400 calories
Step-by-step
- Line a large baking sheet with a silicon mat or parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter until it comes together in one lump, about 1 minute. Add in the sugars and beat for another 1-2 minutes, or until the sugar dissolves into the butter. Lower the speed to medium-low, and mix in the eggs and vanilla and beat until mixed (the batter will be lumpy). Gradually add in the flour mixture, beating until a little flour remains. Fold in the chocolate chips with a rubber spatula.
- Divide the dough into 12 even pieces. Shape the dough roughly into a ball, but do not roll it. Place on the prepared baking sheet, spacing 2 inches apart. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes but up to 12 hours before baking.
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Bake cookies for 18-22 minutes, until light golden brown. When in doubt, take your cookies out early. The cookies will continue to cook as they cool. There's nothing that ruins them more than being overcooked. I can't stress this enough! Cool on a wire rack, then serve!
Unlike thin, crisp cookies that spread flat across the pan during baking, bakery-style variations rely on cold butter and high flour ratios to maintain height. Standard recipes often result in greasy puddles, but cutting cold unsalted butter into cubes and beating it only until it forms a single lump prevents premature melting. Using two cups of dark chocolate chips creates structural density within the massive portions, requiring twelve evenly divided pieces to hold their shape on the baking sheet.
Substitutions for dietary restrictions require careful calculation of fat and moisture content. Plant-based butter alternatives often contain higher water percentages than dairy butter, which alters the dough density and causes unwanted spreading. Chilling the unbaked portions for at least thirty minutes solidifies the fat matrix, counteracting the extra moisture from standard flour-to-binder conversions. Removing the trays from the 375-degree oven at eighteen to twenty-two minutes ensures the center retains a soft, fudge-like consistency as residual heat finishes the process.
