Levain-Inspired Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies

Remember that time I proclaimed I'd made the best chocolate chip cookies ever? And that they were replicas of Levain Bakery's famous confections?

I was wrong.

Those cookies are fantastic, but I've since had the pleasure of actually eating Levain cookies, and those ain't them.

Part cookie, part scone, Levain's creations defy everything we've been taught about "the perfect cookie", as well as most of what I've read about Levain.

They're not exactly chewy, but they're not crispy either. They're tender, but not raw in the center. They're hefty and toothsome, each bite leaving you satisfied yet wanting more. They're full of complex flavor, but not distractingly so. They have all of the nostalgia and familiarity of America's favorite cookie, but somehow amplified and improved.

They're more, but not too much.

Since I live on the West Coast, I've been working on homemade versions for the past six weeks. Untold quantities of flour, butter and sugar later, I've not only come up with what I believe to be a close approximation of Levain's creations, but also gluten-free versions. (Thank you, Cup4Cup, for making a gluten-free flour that lives up to its promise of a 1:1 substitution for wheat flour in virtually any recipe.) And because I adore sea salt on my chocolate chip cookies, my recipe calls for a sprinkling of flaky Maldon before baking.

Gluten-free or not, I suggest you waste no time making these incredible cookies yourself. And don't bother with using frozen butter that's been cubed or grated, as so many Levain copycat recipes advise. I've tried those techniques and got the best results from the tried and true method of creaming ever-so-slightly softened butter with sugar. Nostaligia, indeed.

Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies with Toasted Walnuts

Makes about 9 (6-ounce) to 18 (3-ounce) cookies

Toasting the walnuts enhances their flavor, giving these cookies a wonderfully nutty crunch without a hint of bitterness. You can of course omit the walnuts or substitute another nut of choice, but if you're not allergic, do try them.

2 cups walnut halves

3 1/2 cups (17 ounces) all-purpose flour OR Cup4Cup Gluten-Free Flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon Diamond Kosher salt

2 sticks (1 cup/8 ounces) unsalted butter, softened slightly but still cool to the touch

3/4 cup evaporated cane juice (or standard granulated sugar)

1/4 cup dark brown sugar

1/4 cup Turbinado (raw) sugar (for texture and flavor; you can substitute regular or brown sugar)

2 eggs, cold

1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste

2 cups (12 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate chips or chunks (recommended: Guittard Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips or Scharffen-Berger 62% or 70% Cacao Baking Chunks)

Flaky sea salt (such as Maldon), for sprinkling (optional)

1. Toast the walnut halves: spread nuts on a baking sheet lined with parchment and bake at 350 degrees F for 12 minutes, tossing the nuts and rotating the baking sheet halfway through baking. Set aside to cool while you prepare the dough.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter with the sugars until light and fluffy. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides and paddle. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing on low speed until incorporated. Add the vanilla and mix to combine.

4. Stop the mixer and add the flour mixture, chocolate chips or chunks, and toasted walnut halves. Mix, starting on the lowest speed and progressing to medium-low speed, until the mixture just comes together into a uniform dough. Be careful not to over mix, or the dough will become tough (or gummy, if using gluten-free flour).

5. Refrigerate the dough in an airtight container or plastic wrap for at least four hours or, preferably, two to four days.

6. When you're ready to bake the cookies, remove the dough from the refrigerator and let it stand at room temperature for about 30 minutes, or until it's softened a bit but still cold.

7. Line two half-sheet baking pans with silicone baking mats and/or parchment paper. Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

8. Portion the dough into 6-ounce or 3-ounce balls. (If you don't have a scale, use a half-cup or quarter-cup dry measure.) Place dough balls on baking sheets, spacing evenly apart and at least 2 inches from the sides, and sprinkle with sea salt if desired.

9. Bake for 12 minutes (for 3-ounce cookies) to 20 minutes (for 6-ounce cookies), or until golden brown on the sides and top but still soft in the middle. Be sure to rotate the baking sheets back to front and top to bottom halfway through baking. Remove the sheets from the oven and place on cooling racks for five minutes, then transfer cookies directly to racks to cool completely.

The cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to four days, or in the freezer for up to a month. (Defrost cookies in plastic wrap or container to collect condensation.)

Levain-Inspired Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

Perhaps the only thing better than a Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookie is a Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip one, still warm from the oven and gooey in the center.

However if you, like me, don't live near Levain and are even a little proficient at baking, please try these at-home versions. You can even make them gluten-free if that's your thing.

Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

Makes about 9 (6-ounce) to 18 (3-ounce) cookies

2 1/2 cups (12.5 ounces) all-purpose flour OR Cup4Cup Gluten-Free Flour

1/2 cup Dutch (alkalized) cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon Diamond Kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon instant espresso powder (optional) (recommended: Medaglia d'Oro)

2 sticks (1 cup/8 ounces) unsalted butter, softened slightly but still cool to the touch

1/2 cup evaporated cane juice (or standard granulated sugar)

1/4 cup dark brown sugar

1/4 cup Turbinado (raw) sugar (for texture and flavor; substitute regular or brown sugar if desired)

2 eggs, cold

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste

2 cups (10 ounces) peanut butter chips (recommended: SunSpire)

1 cup (6 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate chips or chunks (recommended: Guittard Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips or Scharffen-Berger 62% or 70% Cacao Baking Chunks)

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt and instant espresso powder (if using). Set aside.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter with the sugars until light and fluffy. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides and paddle. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing on low speed until incorporated. Add the vanilla and mix to combine.

3. Stop the mixer and add the flour mixture, chocolate chips or chunks, and peanut butter chips. Mix, starting on the lowest speed and progressing to medium-low speed, until the mixture just comes together into a uniform dough. Be careful not to overmix, or the dough will become tough (or gummy, if using gluten-free flour).

4. Refrigerate the dough in an airtight container or plastic wrap for at least four hours or, preferably, two to four days.

5. When you're ready to bake the cookies, remove the dough from the refrigerator and let it stand at room temperature for about 30 minutes, or until it's softened a bit but still cold.

6. Line two half-sheet baking pans with silicone baking mats and/or parchment paper. Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

7. Portion the dough into 6-ounce or 3-ounce balls. (If you don't have a kitchen scale, use a half- or quarter-cup dry measure.) Place dough balls on baking sheets, spacing evenly apart and at least 2 inches from the sides. 

8. Bake for about 12 minutes (for 3-ounce cookies) to 20 minutes (for 6-ounce cookies), rotating the baking sheets back to front and top to bottom halfway through baking. Remove the sheets from the oven and place on cooling racks for five minutes, then transfer cookies directly to racks to cool completely. 

The cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to four days, or in the freezer for up to a month. (Defrost cookies in plastic wrap or container to collect condensation.)

Chocolate Chunk Cookies

This weekend I made the best chocolate chunk cookies. I can't promise they're the best chocolate chunk cookies you'll ever make, nor can I take any credit for the recipe. I adapted it from from Dawn Finicane over at vanilla sugar; Dawn has a self-proclaimed obsession with recreating Levain Bakery's cookies. I can't say if these taste like Levain's or not because, sadly, I haven't yet had the pleasure of having my mind blown at Levain.

I left the ingredients and quantities in Dawn's recipe mostly unchanged (I increased the salt, baking powder and vanilla, and didn't use European butter), but employed a slightly different technique. Rather than shred cold butter with a cheese grater as Dawn instructs (too messy/melty), I cut the butter into 1/2-inch chunks and pulsed it in my food processor with the sugar. The key here is to create a dough that's studded with pieces of cold butter, a la biscuits or scones, as opposed to creaming the butter as you would when making most cookies.

Also key is letting this dough rest in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours and preferably overnight. I've told you before and I'm telling you again: do not underestimate the importance of letting the dough rest and absorb moisture and flavor from the fats and liquids.

Best Ever Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Makes about 20 to 24

Adapted from Dawn Finicane's Levain Bakery chocolate chip cookie clone recipe at vanilla sugar, which itself is inspired by Levain Bakery and cookiemadness.net. (All of which is beginning to remind me of the episode of Friends in which Phoebe realizes her grandmother's legacy -- her super secret recipe for the best chocolate chip cookies ever -- is really the Nestle Toll House recipe.)

3 cups unbleached all purpose flour, measured using the scoop and sweep method

1 to 1 1/4 teaspoons sea salt (I recommend you use flake sea salt as opposed to coarse crystals)

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (European butter is recommended for its low moisture content, but if you can't find it, use a quality brand. Avoid store brands, as they contain too much water.)

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar, tightly packed

2 large eggs, cold

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 cups best quality semi-sweet chocolate chunks or chips (I used Valrhona 70% Guanaja, which I buy in 3 kg blocks. If you prefer a sweeter cookie, use chocolate with more sugar, e.g., 60% cocoa solids.)
1 heaping cup walnut halves, roughly chopped

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside.

2. In the bowl of a food processor or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, process or beat the butter with the sugars just until lumps of butter the size of large peas are incorporated throughout the sugar. If using a food processor, transfer the butter-sugar mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.

3. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat on low speed just until combined; lumps of butter should remain. Add the flour mixture, chocolate and walnuts all at once, and beat on increasing speed until you're certain you're on the verge of burning up your mixer's motor. Remove the bowl from the mixer, set aside the paddle attachment, and gently work and fold the dough with your hands until the flour, chocolate and walnuts are evenly distributed.

4. Using a 1/4 cup measure and your hands, shape the dough into (approximately) 2-ounce balls. Work quickly; the butter should remain in cold pieces as opposed to warming enough to "melt" into the dough. Place the balls on a cookie sheet, plate or similar. Cover tightly and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.

5. When you're ready to bake the cookies (i.e., the dough has rested sufficiently), heat oven to 375 degrees F. Place the dough balls on parchment- or silicone mat-lined baking sheets, spacing them about 4 inches from the edges and each other. (I fit exactly 7 cookies on each of three, 13" x 18" half sheet jelly roll pans.) Do not flatten the dough balls.

6. Bake cookies at 375 for 8 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F, rotate the baking sheets 180 degrees and bake for another 8 to 10 minutes or until cookies appear set and are golden at the edges. Remove cookies from oven (still on the baking sheets) and cool on baking racks for 2-5 minutes, then move cookies directly onto racks to cool completely. (I simply slide the cookies -- still on the parchment paper -- from the baking sheets to the cooling racks.) Cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for two days or in the freezer for a month.

I found the flavor of these cookies to be even better the second day. I recommend you break them into chunks, slather them with peanut butter and shove them in your face. I'm not even kidding.

Update 3/10/11: I've since made several more batches of these cookies, and have found that increasing the sea salt to 1 1/4 teaspoons makes these cookies amazing. Also, because the dough is not very sweet, I now prefer to use semi sweet chocolate chunks that are 55% to 60% cocoa solids.

Vegan and/or Gluten-Free Double Chocolate Buzz Buzz Cookies

Today I made my first-ever batch of vegan, gluten-free Double Chocolate Buzz Buzz cookies. I was a bit nervous about the endeavor, but I needn't have been -- it was simply a matter of making some substitutions and adjustments, and baking the cookies at a higher temperature. I still have some work to do before the modified cookies could pass for the originals -- the flavor is virtually identical but the texture is not -- but I think I can share the recipe in good conscience. Speaking of which, these are not healthy cookies by any means, nor are the originals!

Vegan, Gluten-Free Variation

Follow the original recipe, with these modifications:

- Increase baking temperature to 350 degrees F.

- Make sure your sugar and chocolate are vegan. (I use vegan brands anyway.)

- Substitute 1-1/2 cups all-purpose gluten-free flour or baking mix for the wheat flour. (Note: If using baking mix, omit the baking powder and baking soda in the original recipe, as the baking mix should already contain leavening agents.)

- Substitute 1/3 cup coconut oil or vegan butter (e.g., Earth Balance) for the dairy butter. (I used coconut oil, which was a too greasy for my liking.)

- Substitute 2 chia "eggs" for the 2 chicken eggs: stir together 2 tablespoons chia seeds and 6 tablespoons water in a small bowl, and let the mixture sit until it becomes gelatinous.
- Reduce white sugar to 1/4 cup.
- Flatten the cookies slightly before baking.
Note: The chia "eggs" are quite crunchy, and the coconut oil quite greasy, so I'm going to experment with applesauce and flax meal.

Gluten-Free Variation

Follow the original recipe, increasing the oven temp to 350 degrees F and:
- Substitute 1-1/2 cups gluten-free flour or baking mix for the wheat flour. (See note, above.)
- Reduce white sugar to 1/4 cup.
- As instructed above, flatten the cookies slightly before baking.

Special thanks to Katie at Sweet Tater for the chia eggs recipe.

Double Chocolate Buzz Buzz Cookies

Last night I made a batch of my Double Chocolate Buzz Buzz cookies to give to a friend as a thank-you gift. Brag alert: these are my signature cookies -- the ones that landed me on The Food Network and on which I founded my bakery business. (Why are they called Buzz Buzz cookies? Because of the espresso and rum.) Bakers and chefs are often reluctant to share their signature recipes, and while I can understand this, I personally have no problem sharing this recipe. (Besides, a version of it can be found on foodnetwork.com.)

Note: This dough is more like brownie batter, so don't fret when your dough is ooey gooey. And try not to eat it all before it reaches the oven...

Double Chocolate Buzz Buzz Cookies
Makes about 2 dozen

1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (recommended: King Arthur Organic)
1/2 cup natural (non-alkalized) cocoa powder (recommended: Hershey's)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder (omit if you want a chewier, less cake-y cookie)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 12-oz. package semi-sweet chocolate chips or chunks, divided
2 large eggs
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (recommended: Nielsen-Massey)
1 teaspoon dark rum (optional) (recommended: Myers's)
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder (or to taste; optional)

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats and/or parchment paper (I use both).

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

3. In a medium saucepan set over the lowest possible heat, melt the butter and half the chocolate, stirring constantly. Set aside to cool slightly.

4. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the eggs, sugars, vanilla, rum and instant espresso. Add the butter-chocolate mixture and beat to combine.

5. With the mixer turned off, add the flour mixture and remaining chocolate all at once. Beat on low speed until just combined. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula, folding the dough gently to ensure the liquids and flour are incorporated.

6. Using a cookie scoop or spoon, form the dough into 1 1/2-inch balls and place on prepared baking sheets, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until cookies have spread and the tops are puffy and crackled, rotating baking sheets top to bottom and front to back after 7 minutes. Remove the baking sheets to cooling racks for 2-3 minutes, then gently transfer the cookies to cool directly on the racks. (This is aided by baking the cookies on parchment, which can be slid off the baking sheets and onto the cooling racks without disturbing the cookies.)

Variations and ideas:
- Sprinkle the cookies with flaked sea salt after the first 7 minutes of baking.
- Add nuts and/or dried fruit, white or milk chocolate chips, caramel pieces, mint candies...whatever strikes your fancy. Just don't substitute white or milk chocolate for the melted chocolate.
- Instead of rum, use a flavored liquor such as Chambord or Grand Marnier.

Baking tips:
- Avoid dark nonstick baking sheets, which absorb too much heat and cause the cookies to spread and brown on the bottoms to an undesirable degree.
- Don't let the dough sit while you fuss around doing other things. The melted chocolate will cool, causing the dough to become crumbly and the cookies to lose their smooth sheen when baked.
- ALWAYS use fresh baking powder and soda, both of which generally keep for 6 months when stored in a cool, dry place.

For vegan and gluten-free variations, click here.