Gooey Chocolate Chip Cookies Like from Levain Bakery
The Perfect Cookie
Jump to RecipeThese are my favorite kind of cookies: soft and high in the middle, crunchy and golden on the outside. I think these types of cookies became very popular with Levain Bakery in New York. And even though I have never tried their cookies myself, I have experimented with many cookie recipes until I found the perfect method.
Over the years, I have learned some tricks to up my cookie game that I have gathered here. Cookies in general are very simple to make, but there are a few things that make these as great as they are. So, while it’s not crucial to measure the ingredients exactly to the gram, please do follow the steps in the recipe. It is very much worth it, I promise.
Here is why:
- Make sure to cream the butter and sugars very well. Ideally, you should use an electric stand mixer or an electric whisk for this. Mix on high speed for at least 5 minutes. You can’t really overmix here. You will notice that the color changes from yellow to a light cream, which you can see in the pictures below. You might be tempted to stop when it’s mixed like in the second picture, but keep on mixing until you reach the color of the last picture. This process creates a lot of air and fully incorporates the sugars into the butter, making the cookies soft and fluffy.
- Only fold in the dry ingredients until you can’t see any lumps. We don’t want to lose all that air we just created by overmixing (check out my baking basics for more info on this).
- Shape the cookies before baking. I like to form cones instead of balls, but you can shape them however you prefer. They don’t have to be perfectly round, as they will naturally become cookie-shaped when baked in the oven.
- Cool the cookies in the fridge or freezer before baking. This will help them retain their height in the middle. If you don’t have enough space, you can also freeze the entire dough. It will be a bit harder to handle before baking, but it should still be possible to shape cookie balls from it.
- I saw a trick to use aluminum foil instead of baking paper (with the shiny side facing up) when baking, as it will reflect the heat and make the cookies crispy on the bottom. But you can also use baking paper.
- To enhance the chocolate flavor, I like to sprinkle some sea salt on top of the cookies after they are done baking. This is, of course, optional.
- The cookies are best when they are still warm. If there are any left after baking, store them in an airtight container. You can also reheat them or just keep the dough in the freezer and bake whenever you feel like eating cookies.
Chocolate Chip Cookies Levain Style
Course: Dessert, Sweet, CookiesServings
10-12
servingsCooking time
9
minutesTemperature
220
CelsiusThe perfect chocolate chip cookies with a gooey center and a golden crispy edge – inspired by Levain bakery.
Ingredients
110g cold butter
100g soft brown sugar (can be replaced by mixing caster sugar with 1tbsp molasses or honey)
50g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract or any vanilla you have available
1 egg
180g flour
1 tsp cornstarch (optional)
1 pinch of salt
½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
100 – 150g dark chocolate
50g roasted hazelnuts or any other nuts like walnuts or almonds (optional)
Pinch of sea salt to top (optional)
Directions
- Cream butter, vanilla and sugar together. Mix at least for 5 minutes until the color gets much lighter like a cream, ideally with an electric mixer. We want to create a lot of air here to make the cookies soft and fluffy (check out my baking basics for more info on this).
- Mix in the egg and whisk for a few more minutes.
- Put in flour, cornstarch, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Gently fold them in so that they’re just incorporated. We don’t want to lose all that air.
- Chop your chocolate and nuts of your choice (both optional) or any other mix ins you want to use and gently fold them in as well. It’s worth it to roast the nuts before as they will taste so much better. For this just put them in the oven at 180C or roast them in a pan for about 10 minutes without anything else until they are golden brown.
- Line a tray or plate with baking paper or aluminum foil. Take a tablespoon or ice cream scoop and scoop big spoons on the tray. Don’t push them down, ideally, they are shaped like a cone or a little mountain that will flatten out by themselves when baking. Don’t worry about that, they will be perfectly shaped cookies. The dough should make about 10-12 cookies. They will be large. If you want to make them smaller, you also need to adjust the baking time and they will not be as moist in the middle, but still good.
- Put your tray or plate in the fridge or freezer for at least 30 minutes. You can leave them overnight as well or just freeze them and take them out whenever you feel like fresh cookies. They are best when fresh out of the oven.
- When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 220C top/bottom heat (it’s important to put them in a hot oven to get the best results just as you would also heat up a pan first).
- Put the cookies on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil (this reflects the heat and makes them crispy on the bottom) and make sure to have enough space between them as they will spread out.
- Bake for 6-8 minutes, turn the baking sheet and bake for another 3-4 minutes until they are golden brown on the edges. The time depends on your oven and the size of your cookies, which might take some experimenting or careful observation. They will be still soft on top, but don’t worry, they will change when they cool down. You can sprinkle some sea salt on top when they’re still hot to deepen the flavor. Let them cool down until they don’t fall apart anymore, but ideally enjoy them when they are still warm.
Notes
- You can easily swap out the butter for vegan butter.
- It’s better to not mess with the measurements here as this will change the structure of the cookies. Especially the kinds of sugar. Generally, caster sugar makes them crispier, while brown sugar causes the softness. So, if you want to go more into one of those directions, feel free to experiment with the sugar ratios.
- You could also add some cocoa powder. Just leave out 1-2 tablespoons of the flour and instead use cocoa powder.
- You can also exchange, leave out or mix in any toppings you feel like fits. I prefer chocolate which will melt and make them gooier and nuts to give them some crunch. I would always roast the nuts before as they will taste so much better and have that crunch to balance out the softness of the chocolate. Sesame on top could also be very good.
- If you want to make them smaller, you should also adjust the baking time as they will need less time to bake and we don’t want hard cookies.
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