My husband and I are both Cookie Monsters. The chocolate chip cookie is our last meal on earth - desert island food choice. You've heard me go on about bakery cookies, making cookies and eating cookies. A few years ago I noticed many bloggers and a few magazines talking about the Levain Bakery (of NYC) chocolate chip walnut cookie (and their other 3 kinds), how truly fabulous it tasted, how totally loaded with high quality chocolate, thick, "meaty", melty and that it weighed 6 ounces! That's equal to 4 good sized regular cookies. The cookies have quite a following now. Not just their chocolate chip walnut, but double chocolate chip, chocolate peanut butter chip and oatmeal raisin. All four kinds are delectable and enormous. I decided that I had to get myself to NYC as soon as possible.
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| The Levain cookie taken right off their web site |
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| Levain Cookie |
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| You go in their door and then walk downstairs in to the tiny ordering area. |
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| It's a little bitty place and you walk down in to it like you are going in to a cellar almost. But it's so cute! See the cookies on the top shelf left? |
When Dan and I were dating, he was based in the San Francisco area and I lived in NH. (We met at a church social when he was visiting his daughter Brittany here in NH - future story post I'm sure). We had visited each other several times back and forth and decided for one date, we would meet up in NYC and spend a few days hanging out in that wonderful city. Here was also my opportunity to get to Levain for the cookies! I think Dan first began to fall in love with me that weekend because I arrived with a list of bakeries that we would be sampling, including Levain. Dan and I got to Levain, bought a huge, warm, cookie, split it, took our bites, and exclaimed in wonder with melted chocolate on our faces and fingers. We either had our fates sealed together because of the cookie or we fell for the cookie because of sharing that experience together. Either way, we went back in and bought several more to take with us. I've since introduced that Bakery to many people and not only are the cookies fabulous but the breads, cakes and pastries are as well - everything is delicious! We are such fans that I took a picture of the store front of the bakery and had it printed on canvas and it now hangs in our kitchen.
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| I can see myself in that window taking the picture |
The latter part of this week we are going to NYC once again and taking my son and daughter in law with us and we will introduce them to Levain Bakery. And to Eric Kayser (the Paris bakery now has three stores there!). The best part of this whole tale is that I don't have to go to Levain anymore to get their cookies and the last trip we took to NYC last fall we didn't even pay a visit. No, I don't do mail order. I have worked out a recipe that I think is not only pretty right on, but even better. Compared to mine, I now think theirs lack sufficient salt and vanilla (but they are still good, don't get me wrong). And I'm going to share the recipe with you. They don't share their recipe - it's top secret.
You have to make these big, and they have to have nuts in them or the meatiness and height just doesn't happen. This recipe only makes 7 super size cookies. I always double it so we have a stock pile. Dan eats one over the course of the day every single Sunday starting with his drive home from church so I have to have these in the freezer at all times. He has since told me that my recipe is the best cookie he has ever eaten in his life. Just sayin'.
Therese's Copy Cat Levain Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookie
2 sticks of unsalted butter - cold - cut into chunks (I like the European butter, Kerrygold or Plugra)
1/2 cup white sugar
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
2 t vanilla
3 1/4 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 T cornstarch
1 1/4 t b powder
1/4 t b soda
2 heaping cups of good quality chocolate chips like Guittard or Ghiradelli (not Nestle)
1 cup toasted walnut halves (I like pecans too - you can substitute or do both)
Cream butter and sugars together until well blended and fluffy. Add eggs, vanilla, then the dry ingredients. When flour has just barely been incorporated, add the chips and nuts. Drop by huge, shaggy globs onto a plate and cover with plastic wrap and freeze for about 1/2 hour. Then drop them a couple inches apart on your cookie sheet. Chilling is optional but you will see the difference in the picture near the bottom of the picture show. Bake 350 anywhere from 15 to 18 minutes. Don't let them get too brown.
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| I drop the dough on the counter and pinch off chunks for the cookie sheets - just drop, don't roll or form |
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| They should be shaggy looking like the ones on the back sheets |
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| Meaty and melty! |
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| The chilled dough cookies are higher and fatter. You can chill or not. |
Once you've experienced mine or Levain's, your life will never be the same again.
Next project, creating a copy of Eric Kayser's cookie.
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