Levain Bakery-Style Super-Thick Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

Rich, buttery, and giant chocolate chip cookies, loaded with crunchy walnuts or pecans.

Why It Works

  • A low proportion of sugar relative to flour reduces spread, keeping the cookies thick.
  • A high proportion of mix-ins helps thicken the dough.
  • Blending chocolate chip styles creates a more dynamic flavor.
  • Overnight refrigeration hydrates the flour, again helping the cookies stay thick.

Having conquered Tate's-style thin and crispy chocolate chip cookies, I felt compelled by Newton's law to create an equal and opposite reaction: Levain Bakery-style thick and chonkin' chocolate chip cookies.

Levain Bakery-style super thick chocolate chip cookie with milk.

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

For those who reside neither in New York City nor on Instagram, Levain is a bakery that dishes up some of NYC's favorite chocolate chip cookies, so monstrously thick and chock-full of chocolate that you can hardly find the dough.

Breaking open a Levain Bakery-style super thick chocolate chip cookie.

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

The Secret for Making Levain Bakery-Style Cookies at Home

Copycat bakers have tried everything to get a cookie this thick, from loads of cornstarch in the dough to a grated hard-boiled egg. Most of these approaches overthink the problem of spread—which isn't a problem so much as a reflection of ingredient ratios.

Adding weird ingredients to reduce spread without adjusting the underlying formula is like trying to turn down the volume on a speaker by putting on earmuffs. It kinda works, but it's unnecessarily complicated compared with just...turning down the volume.

The easiest way to "turn down the volume" on spread in a cookie dough is to decrease the amount of sugar relative to the flour, as sugar is one of the primary factors governing spread in a cookie dough. With that change alone, most drop cookies will spread less as they bake, keeping the finished product nice and thick.

Interior of a Levain Bakery-style super thick chocolate chip cookie.

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

Selecting the Chocolate

Aside from their incredible proportions, the distinguishing factor of a Levain-style chocolate chip cookie is the sheer quantity of chocolate chips involved. By weight, chocolate is the most abundant ingredient in the dough, and thus the most significant source of flavor.

That can be a real problem if you're using cheap supermarket chocolate chips, which are often made with more sugar than cocoa solids—and low-quality cocoa solids, at that—plus artificial flavors. Fortunately, most grocery stores these days stock a decent array of high-quality chips, ranging from 55% to 70% cocoa solids, styles that contain more chocolate than sugar (i.e., more flavor and less sweetness). Take a look at our guide to buying the best chocolate chips for more information on what to look for.

A blend of different brands of chocolate chips for Levain Bakery-style cookies.

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

Once you know how to buy the right kind of chocolate chip, the real trick is to mix and match a few brands, which allows you to layer in a range of chocolate flavor profiles, from deep and earthy to tangy and bright. A blend of chocolate chips will give the cookies greater complexity of flavor, and texture as well, given the different sizes of chips and chunks on the market.

With a mixture of chips, and less sugar than flour, these cookies may have a distinctive ratio of ingredients, but the ingredients themselves are quite familiar. Aside from the chocolate, there’s butter, brown sugar, plain or toasted white sugar, and eggs, along with walnuts (a signature ingredient in those Levain cookies).

Ingredients for Levain Bakery-style super thick chocolate chip cookies.

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

Using a Classic Method to Make Levain Bakery-Style Cookies

The method is classic as well. Start by creaming the butter and sugar (plus the leavening agents, vanilla, and salt) until light and fluffy. It's important to remember that "light and fluffy" isn't some catchphrase here; it describes the real, and very important, physical changes the sugar and fat should undergo during creaming.

I've written in depth on the creaming process before, so click through to brush up on the details if needed. Proper aeration is yet another determining factor in limiting spread, so it's vital to get it right in super-thick chocolate chip cookies like these.

Once the butter and sugar are well aerated, the eggs are added one by one, followed by the flour, chocolate chips, and walnuts.

Breaking open a Levain Baker-style super thick chocolate chip cookie.

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

The dough is then divided into big, six-ounce portions—what a friend of mine described as a "threatening amount" of dough. Honestly, if you're not a little intimidated by these cookies, you're really missing out on their emotional impact. That's what cemented the originals at Levain in legend.

A large portion of dough being measured on a scale.

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

After dividing, round each portion into a smooth, even ball, then wrap them in plastic and refrigerate overnight. In relatively low-sugar/high-moisture doughs, an overnight rest will ensure the flour is fully hydrated, keeping the cookies thick and chewy. It also kicks off some Maillard browning, improving the flavor of the cookies as they bake.*

Not all cookies benefit from resting; for example, my Tate’s-style chocolate chip cookies will neither brown more nor spread less even if they're refrigerated for a week and baked cold.

Levain Bakery-style super thick chocolate chip cookie on a plate.

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

How Do You Know When the Cookies Are Done?

Because these cookies are so impossibly large, the normal visual cues we use to judge doneness kind of fly out the window. I've found it helpful to use a digital thermometer to test the dough, which should clock in between 175 and 185°F (79 and 85°C) when the cookies are done.

Those who prefer a slightly molten, fudgy center should aim for the low end of that range; edging higher will benefit those who enjoy a more thoroughly baked cookie. Once you've got an initial round of cookies under your belt (and in your tummy), you'll have a better idea of how to dial in the next batch.

For that reason, and due to the sheer magnitude of these cookies, I highly recommend baking the dough on an as-needed basis. Due to their reduced sugar content, these cookies may be thick, but they don't retain moisture as well as other styles, so they'll also stale faster. So pace yourself, and save some dough for later.

No matter how many cookies you bake, make sure they're no warmer than 100°F (38°C) before digging in. Any hotter than that, and the molten chocolate inside will render the cookies structurally unsound, and something of a burn risk. But when merely warm, they'll be at their gooey best.

Pour a big glass of milk or put on a pot of coffee, and grab a plate, because savoring this cookie takes time. It's a marathon, not a sprint. To be frank, you probably can't finish one on your own, but until you've been bested by a cookie, you'll never know what it means to be a true baker.

April 2019

Recipe Details

Levain Bakery-Style Super-Thick Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

Prep 30 mins
Cook 25 mins
Active 15 mins
Chilling Time 12 hrs
Total 12 hrs 55 mins
Serves 8 6-ounce cookies

Ingredients

  • 4 ounces unsalted American butter (about 1/2 cup; 113g), softened to about 65°F (18°C)

  • 4 ounces light brown sugar (about 1/2 cup, firmly packed; 113g)

  • 3 1/2 ounces white sugar, preferably well toasted (about 1/2 cup; 100g)

  • 1/2 ounce vanilla extract (about 1 tablespoon; 15g)

  • 2 teaspoons (8g) Diamond Crystal kosher salt; for table salt, use about half as much by volume or the same weight (plus more for sprinkling, if desired)

  • 1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder

  • 1 teaspoon baking soda

  • Pinch of grated nutmeg

  • 2 large eggs (about 3 1/2 ounces; 100g), straight from the fridge

  • 10 ounces all-purpose flour (about 2 1/4 cups, spooned; 283g), such as Gold Medal

  • 15 ounces assorted chocolate chips (about 2 1/2 cups; 425g), not chopped chocolate; see note

  • 8 1/2 ounces raw walnut pieces or lightly toasted pecan pieces (shy 1 3/4 cups; 240g)

Directions

  1. To Prepare the Dough: Combine butter, light brown sugar, white sugar, vanilla extract, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and nutmeg in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.

  2. Mix on low to moisten, then increase speed to medium and beat until soft, fluffy, and pale, about 8 minutes; halfway through, pause to scrape bowl and beater with a flexible spatula. With mixer running, add eggs one at a time, letting each incorporate fully before adding the next. Reduce speed to low, then add the flour all at once. When flour is incorporated, add chocolate chips and nuts and keep mixing until dough is homogeneous.

    A collage of 8 photos showing how to cream the butter and sugars together, incorporate eggs, add flour, nuts, and chocolate chips to make Levain-style chocolate chip cookies.

    Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

  3. Divide dough into 8 equal portions (about 6 ounces/170g each) and round each into a smooth ball. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 12 hours before baking; if well protected from air, the dough can be kept in the fridge up to 1 week (see Make-Ahead and Storage).

    A collage of four photos showing how to shape cookie dough into large balls and place them on parchment lined baking sheets.

    Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

  4. To Bake: Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat to 350°F (180°C). Line an aluminum half-sheet pan with parchment paper. When the oven comes to temperature, arrange up to 4 portions of cold dough on prepared pan, leaving ample space between them to account for spread. If you like, sprinkle with additional salt to taste.

  5. Bake until cookies are puffed and lightly brown, about 22 minutes, or to an internal temperature of between 175 and 185°F (79 and 85°C). The ideal temperature will vary from person to person; future rounds can be baked more or less to achieve desired consistency.

    Using a probe thermometer to take the temperature of a chocolate chip cookie on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

    Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

  6. Cool cookies directly on baking sheet until no warmer than 100°F (38°C) before serving. Enjoy warm, or within 12 hours; these cookies taste best when freshly baked (see Make-Ahead and Storage).

    Four baked Levain-style chocolate chip cookies on a parchment lined baking sheets.

    Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

Special Equipment

Stand mixer, rimmed baking sheet, digital thermometer (optional)

Notes

This recipe works best with commercial chocolate chips, as the increased surface area of chopped chocolate can disrupt the structure of the dough. For the best flavor, try blending several supermarket brands with different cocoa percentages. For more information, see our guide to buying chocolate chips.

Make-Ahead and Storage

The portioned cookie dough can be wrapped tightly in plastic and refrigerated for up to 1 week. Alternatively, the portions can be individually wrapped, then placed in a freezer-safe zip-top bag and frozen for up to 6 months. Thaw frozen dough to 40°F (4°C), unwrap, and bake as directed.

These cookies taste best when freshly baked, but leftovers may be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 2 days; rewarm briefly in a 350°F (180°C) oven before serving.

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Nutrition Facts (per serving)
818 Calories
51g Fat
92g Carbs
10g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 8
Amount per serving
Calories 818
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 51g 65%
Saturated Fat 19g 94%
Cholesterol 77mg 26%
Sodium 682mg 30%
Total Carbohydrate 92g 33%
Dietary Fiber 7g 25%
Total Sugars 57g
Protein 10g
Vitamin C 0mg 2%
Calcium 125mg 10%
Iron 5mg 25%
Potassium 398mg 8%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)