The Ultimate Copycat Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies (Thick & Gooey)
You can make the famous, giant, thick, and gooey chocolate chip walnut cookies from New York’s Levain Bakery right in your home kitchen. This recipe delivers the signature soft center and slightly crisp edges.
- Prep Time: 20 min
- Cook Time: 15 min
- Total Time: 35 min
- Yield: 10 giant cookies 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup milk chocolate chips
- 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional, but recommended for authenticity)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, cream together the softened butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy. This takes about 3 minutes.
- Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla extract.
- In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing on low speed until just combined. Do not overmix the dough.
- Fold in the semi-sweet chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips, and chopped walnuts until evenly distributed.
- Scoop the dough using a large ice cream scoop or measure out about 6 ounces (about 3/4 cup) of dough per cookie. You must form these into thick, tall mounds; do not flatten them.
- Place the dough mounds onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving plenty of space between them as they spread slightly.
- Bake for 13 to 15 minutes. The edges should look set and lightly golden, but the centers must remain soft and slightly underbaked for that signature gooey texture.
- Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for at least 10 minutes before carefully transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. These giant bakery cookies are best eaten warm.
Notes
- For the thickest cookies, chill the dough balls for at least 30 minutes before baking. This helps them hold their shape.
- Use high-quality chocolate chunks or chips; this makes a difference in flavor.
- If you skip the walnuts, increase the chocolate chips by 1/2 cup to maintain the rich texture.
- These cookies are large; consider freezing half the dough for future batches of supersized dessert recipes.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 550
- Sugar: 45g
- Sodium: 350mg
- Fat: 35g
- Saturated Fat: 20g
- Unsaturated Fat: 15g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 60g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 7g
- Cholesterol: 100mg