Levain Bakery Cookies
picture courtesy Robyn Lee/The Girl Who Ate Everything
When it comes to my stomach, I like to walk on the wild side. I don’t mean eating exotic foods like iguana or chicken feet (which I’ve enjoyed), but foods that border on sanitary. I’m talking about raw eggs in the form of cookie and cake batter. I’ll risk getting sick if food tastes good.
That’s why the chocolate chip cookies from Levain Bakery appeal to me: New York magazine dubbed them “borderline raw.” Yum. Sounds like a cookie that’s soft and chewy.
I’m not one to spend $3.50 on a cookie that weighs nearly half a pound (it’s deadly for my wallet and waistline), so I dug up Levain’s legendary recipes from Art Culinaire magazine. Note: I approximated the weights into volume measurements.
Ginger Valrhona® Cookies (Yields 1 dozen cookies)
by Connie McDonald & Pamela Weekes
For regular chocolate chip cookies, omit the ginger, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. Several people have asked about the molasses and the high proportion of white sugar. One cup of brown sugar is actually equivalent to one cup of granulated sugar and 1/4 cup molasses. Lisa, a faithful commenter on this blog, also developed a popular recipe with slightly different measurements. I tested the recipe and still prefer my old standby.
Ingredients
8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter
8 ounces (1 cup plus 2 tablespoons) granulated sugar
3 ounces (1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons) brown sugar
2 eggs
4 ounces (1/3 cup) unsulphured molasses (not blackstrap)
18 ounces (4 1/4 cups) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
12 ounces (2 cups) Valrhona® extra dark bittersweet chocolate, cut into chunks
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In bowl of electric mixer fitted with paddle, cream together butter and sugars until well-blended and fluffy. Add eggs and beat until well-incorporated, then add molasses, flour, salt, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg and mix until just combined. Gently fold in chocolate chunks. Transfer dough to clean work surface and divide into 12 equal portions. Place each on sheet pan lined with parchment paper and bake in oven 12 minutes, or until very lightly browned. Let cool on rack and store in airtight container.
Dark Chocolate Coconut Cookies (Yields 1 dozen cookies)
by Connie McDonald & Pamela Weekes
For Levain’s Chocolate-Peanut Butter Chip cookies, try the recipe that Lisa, a commenter, adapted.
Ingredients
8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter
10 ounces (1 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons) granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 ounces (1/2 cup) dark cocoa powder
10 ounces (2 1/4 cups) all-purpose flour
Pinch of Kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
6 1/2 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips (1 cup)
3 ounces (1 cup) large walnut pieces
3 ounces (1 1/8 cup) unsweetened shredded coconut
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In bowl of electric mixer fitted with paddle, cream together butter and sugar until well-blended and fluffy. Add eggs and beat until well-incorporated, then beat in cocoa powder. Mix in flour, salt and baking powder until just combined. Gently fold in remaining ingredients. Transfer dough to clean work surface and gently mix dough by hand to ensure even distribution of ingredients. Divide into 12 equal portions and place each on sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Bake in oven 12 minutes, taking care not to overbake. Let cool on rack and store in airtight container.
For true Levain fans, here’s their recipe for oatmeal raisin scones, provided by the Food Network. They are not half raw.
Levain Bakery
167 W. 74th St. (near Amsterdam Ave.)
New York, NY 10023
212-874-6080
Diane said,
I’m kind of surprised the dark chocolate cookies don’t look more chocolatey, with all that cocoa powder. They do look scrumptious, though.
May 1, 2006 at 2:37 pm
Jodi said,
In all my years of frequenting Levain Bakery, I’ve never seen either of the two cookies you supply recipes for here!
The dark chocolate peanut butter chip cookies are the darkest, most sumptuous, outrageously chocolate cookies I’ve ever had, and choc(k) full of the peanut butter chip-chunks.
Permission to swoon, please.
May 17, 2006 at 6:46 pm
Jessica said,
Hi Jodi, I have a feeling that the Levain bakers formulated the recipes specifically for that magazine article. But you could probably substitute the nuts/coconut for peanut butter chips to make the chocolate peanut butter chip cookie.
May 17, 2006 at 10:45 pm
kersten said,
I ran across your site a few days ago.
I want to thank you for the dark chocolate cookie recipe.
It is amazing.
June 7, 2006 at 7:43 pm
skrockodile said,
Has anyone tried using this recipe at home? I am surprised that there’s not more baking powder / baking soda to given the height of the cookies — or that they are not baked in a ring mold. Am curious if this at home recipe yields the same bakery results . . .
July 9, 2006 at 11:17 am
Jessica said,
Hi Shon, I’ve never tried this recipe, so I can’t vouch for it. But you’re right, 1 tsp baking soda for 4 1/2 cups flour doesn’t seem like a lot. I don’t think they’d need a mold if it’s a stiff batter. It looks like Kersten tried the recipe with some success.
July 11, 2006 at 3:20 pm
steve said,
hi
i tried making the dark chocolate chip cookie and let me tell you this looked nothing like the levain cookie (and i am no stranger to their bakery). i then tried refridgerating the dough (and later freezing it) before baking to see if that would help hold its shape - but no such luck. am i just an awful baker or does this recipe yield nothing like the levain cookies i know? please let me know. and if anyone has any other recipes that approximate a real levain cookie - please let me know. ive been trying for years to get close and havent quite found one that gets close….
thanks
steve
September 2, 2006 at 8:45 pm
Jessica said,
Hi Steve, I haven’t tried the recipe, so I don’t know what’s going on. To reduce spread, you want to beat the butter as little as possible (beating=air bubbles=collapse). Also, most chocolate chip cookie recipes are baked in a 375F oven. The higher temp sets the batter faster. Also, do not grease the baking sheet; excess fat creates spread.
September 3, 2006 at 12:05 am
Orang said,
Man am I an idiot. I read the reccipe and threw them together. Put them in the oven and scroll down the page to read these comments.
ARgh.
Well, wish me luck.
September 8, 2006 at 2:35 am
Jessica said,
Hey Orang, how’d they turn out? I’m thinking about doing a trial run myself.
September 8, 2006 at 11:34 pm
steve said,
jessica,
did you ever get around to making a trial run? i’m curious to know if anyone else has gotten close to the real thing with these recipes.
September 25, 2006 at 10:03 pm
marcy goldman said,
Hello, love your blog -
I have a recipe that is big, bold, chewy, etc. for Chocolate Chip Cookies this month at my own site. Chocolate chip cookies launched by career (or vice versa) as a professional baker and cookbook author. Years later, I am still tweaking this amazing recipe. So drop by
http://www.betterbaking.com, October 2006 Cookie Issue and you can read more about Marcy’s Legendary Chocolate Chip Cookies.My only frustration is….I wish I had some Plugra butter to make them with….
Happy baking!
Marcy Goldman
October 13, 2006 at 4:43 am
Jessica said,
Marcy,
Wow, thanks for stopping by. I’ve bookmarked some of your recipes (like the lawsuit muffins). Hopefully, I can get around to your legendary cookie recipe too!
Steve,
Nope, haven’t tried the recipe yet. When I do, I’ll post about it. It looks like everyone’s anxious to see if it really works!
November 10, 2006 at 11:21 am
Jessica "Su Good Eats" said,
For anyone who’s interested, someone tried the recipe and said they’re very good! She’s never had the real Levain cookies though.
July 1, 2007 at 10:57 am
Fran Freyman said,
Hi there,
After stumbling across Levain Bakery last month and trying the Chocolate Chip Walnut cookie, my husband and I declared it the best cookie ever consumed! So I tried the Dark Chocolate Chip cookie recipe here, which worked BEAUTFIFULLY and was FANTASTIC, but I’m still in search for the Chocolate Chip Walnute cookie recipe. Does anyone know where to find that one?
July 18, 2007 at 12:44 pm
Jessica "Su Good Eats" said,
Fran, thanks for reporting your results! One of these days, I’ll make them too. To make walnut chocolate chip cookies, try using the ginger-chocolate chip recipe above,omit the spices and add a cup of walnuts.
July 21, 2007 at 7:32 pm
ANNETTE said,
Does anyone have the Levain Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe? I’m still trying to find it.
February 11, 2008 at 3:26 pm
Jessica "Su Good Sweets" said,
Annette, Did you check the comment above? Try making the ginger Valrhona cookies, but omit the spices.
February 12, 2008 at 11:32 pm
Tarah said,
I made these cookies today, and mine came out more chocolate than anything. They’re not light tan like your; They’re more like a chocolate cookie. But they were still amazing :]
February 13, 2008 at 3:18 pm
pink bowl baker said,
I LOVE your blog. I began a search looking for the perfect ‘big as your fist’ chocolate chip cookie. I stumbled here on happenstance, thank goodness! Disappointed that I didn’t find the Levain chocolate chip cookie which I had read so much about, I did decide that I had to at least try the Dark Chocolate Coconut recipe that you offered up. I drug my feet a bit because I didn’t have any truly wonderfully expensive cocoa powder. All I had was Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa and worried that it might not be good enough quality. Now I’ll ALWAYS use it because the cookies are perfect. I used the weights to measure the ingredients and followed the instruction closely with the exception of adding two teaspoons of vanilla with a teaspoon of instant coffee granules dissolved in it. This chocolate cookie recipe is the best invention since the Kitchen Aid stand mixer! The cookies are so good that I temporarily forgot that I still don’t have the best ever, big as a fist, buttery, chunky, not flat, chocolate chip cookie recipe. This, in a chocolate chip version is my hearts desire. How can we get our hands on that recipe?
February 13, 2008 at 6:46 pm
pink bowl baker said,
I too, have seen the above suggestion to make the Valrhona cookies and omit the spices but that leaves in question (for me at least) the molasses flavor, very little brown sugar, and the use of mostly white sugar. I may just go for it tomorrow anyway, with the thought in mind that the molasses could cover the flavor for the brown sugar, but what about texture? I guess someone has to be the first!
February 13, 2008 at 6:49 pm
Jessica "Su Good Sweets" said,
Pink bowl and Annette,
To make regular chocolate chip cookies, you should leave the molasses in the Ginger Valrhona recipe. One cup of brown sugar is actually one cup of white sugar plus a couple tablespoons of molasses. If you follow the recipe and leave in the cup of white sugar and 1/3 cup of molasses, you’re basically making a rich brown sugar, which will make the cookie richer and more moist. In fact, I always make my own brown sugar on the fly because it’s cheaper, I don’t have to worry about it drying out, and I have a bunch of molasses for other recipes (like gingerbread).
You guys are all brave for trying out the recipe before me. I’m still scared of a half-pound cookie. I can make dozens of little cookies, but one big cookie doesn’t have portion control built in.
February 13, 2008 at 10:09 pm
pink bowl baker said,
hehe… well, to be completely honest, I have a tiny nibble then pass it off to my guys, hubs and son, full grown and able to eat the whole thing! I wouldn’t be able to walk if I ate all of my own cooking! Thanks for the tips, tomorrow I will make this and report back! Today I tried, as I said, the Levain wonderful dark chocolate coconut, plus Alton Brown’s giant chocolate chip ‘chewy’ from his collection of three, flat, chewy, and puffy, AND the Cooks Illustrated version, very similar, but with, I think, better results than Alton’s. Alton’s are too greasy, the Cooks Illustrated version is much nicer, but with a great chewy center and butterscotchy flavored crisp yet light edge. I’m pretty much done for the day, and I think I have worn out the stomachs of my ‘testers’ too!
February 13, 2008 at 10:20 pm
ANNETTE said,
WOW, BROWN SUGAR… I never knew that about white sugar and molasses, guess I’ve been living under a “big cookie”. I’m gonna try the Ginger Valrhona cookies. If anyone tries them before me, let me know how they came out and any suggestions!!
February 14, 2008 at 10:49 am
ANNETTE said,
WHOOPS, I forgot to say I’m going to try the Ginger Valrhona cookies minus the spices and adding chocolate chips…oh gosh, I’m going back under the “big cookie”.
February 14, 2008 at 10:56 am
pink bowl baker said,
Okey Dokey then! I have found my ultimate chocolate chip cookie recipe!! YES! Thanks Jessica, you were SO right! The Valrhona cookie recipe minus the spices worked PERFECTLY! The white sugar plus molasses did indeed give them an even deeper butterscotch flavor than all brown sugar ever could have. Yay! These were not flat cookies. Not as tall as the dark chocolate coconut recipe, but oh so good! I decided that the reason for the extra height of the chocolate cookies had more to do with the added texture of the coconut and nuts, so, after baking 1/2 of the chocoloate chip cookie dough, I tossed in a good handful each of large shaved unsweetened coconut flakes and walnuts to test. Sure enough, the Valrhona recipe converted to chocolate chip, with the addition of nuts and coconut, is a mile high cookie anyone would bragging about. If you are looking for mammoth chocolate chip cookie that is light, not dense and heavy, buttery, chewy, crisp on the very edges, soft in the center and cooked to the perfect doneness, try Jessica’s suggestion, it worked great. Thanks Jessica, you are my hero!
February 14, 2008 at 2:16 pm
pink bowl baker said,
Okey Dokey then! I have found my ultimate chocolate chip cookie recipe!! YES! Thanks Jessica, you were SO right! The Valrhona cookie recipe minus the spices worked PERFECTLY! The white sugar plus molasses did indeed give them an even deeper butterscotch flavor than all brown sugar ever could have. Yay! These were not flat cookies. Not as tall as the dark chocolate coconut recipe, but oh so good! I decided that the reason for the extra height of the chocolate cookies had more to do with the added texture of the coconut and nuts, so, after baking 1/2 of the chocolate chip cookie dough, I tossed in a good handful each of large shaved unsweetened coconut flakes and walnuts to test. Sure enough, the Valrhona recipe converted to chocolate chip, with the addition of nuts and coconut, is a mile high cookie anyone would bragging about. If you are looking for mammoth chocolate chip cookie that is light, not dense and heavy, buttery, chewy, crisp on the very edges, soft in the center and cooked to the perfect doneness, try Jessica’s suggestion, it worked great. Thanks Jessica, you are my hero!
February 14, 2008 at 2:18 pm
Diana T said,
OMG. Can you say D LISH? I just finished making a batch of the Ginger Valrhona® Cookies without the spices. I have never personally had any Lavain Bakery, but I can’t imagine them being any better than the cookies I just made. They are perfect. I did use unbleached flour, but that was the only difference. I made them smaller.(portion control) I baked them for about 13 minutes @350
My family doesn’t like nuts in their cookies, so I left them out. My daughter suggested putting cherries, or cranberries in them. Has anyone run across their oatmeal recipe?
Diana
February 18, 2008 at 5:39 pm
ANNETTE said,
I’m not sure if I like the molasses taste that the cookies have. Did those of you who made the cookie have the molasses taste come through in them?
They certainly we not flat, in fact when they came out of the oven I had to flatten them down a bit, they were almost as round as an orange. Maybe I did something wrong.
February 19, 2008 at 12:03 pm
pink bowl baker said,
No, I can’t say I noticed any molasses taste. Just a richer brown sugar butterscotch-y taste. I actually will try this molasses substitution for brown sugar in more recipes for the extra moistness it brought to the cookies. I am not sure what would have caused your cookies to come out nearly as round as oranges, I strive for ‘mile high’ cookies that use butter and aren’t made with vegetable shortening! While mine were not flat, they were not as round as you describe. All in all, I’d say this is by far the best recipe I have found that ‘fits’ ultimate my chocolate chip ideal.
February 19, 2008 at 12:21 pm
ANNETTE said,
I’m definately gonna try it again. Perhaps I was having an “off” day!! The molasses did give the cookie a kind of bitter(ish) taste. They didn’t taste sweet either. Ok, back to the drawing board to try this recipe again. (They did LOOK great!!)
February 19, 2008 at 12:26 pm
Nanette said,
Annette
I agree with you - I found the molasses flavor too much. My husband really liked them though. They had a show on the Food Network where Bobby Flay did a throwdown with Levain Bakery. It showed them mixing the cookies and they used white and brown sugar but no molasses. Of course they did not share measurements. They made a point of saying they did not use vanilla because they did not feel it added anything.
February 19, 2008 at 9:59 pm
Jessica "Su Good Sweets" said,
Annette and Nanette,
You didn’t use BLACKSTRAP or “robust” molasses, did you? It’s the most concentrated molasses, so it’s very medicinal (although it’s high in calcium, too). I use regular unsulphured molasses, which is lighter in color. If you only have blackstrap, you can cut it 50/50 with honey.
I thought the recipe was missing vanilla, and then I saw Throwdown, where the bakers made it a point not to add any. It all makes sense now.
February 19, 2008 at 10:38 pm
pink bowl baker said,
Drat! I missed the airing again tonight! I wanted to see it again, and pay more attention this time! I did notice that on Foodnetwork website, that the in photo of Bobby’s cookies, they are pancakes. Definitely not what I am looking for!
February 20, 2008 at 12:00 am
Sarah said,
Hi, I’m new to this blog, but very grateful for it since it provides a couple of Levain recipes! I just watched Throwdown and noticed that the ladies did not use any molasses in their recipe for the chocolate chip and I’m not quite sure I understood what Jessica had said about making my own brown sugar.. is there anyway to make the chocolate chip cookie without the molasses being used in the Ginger cookie? can I substitute with more brown sugar perhaps? Thoughts please! Thanks a ton and thank you for sharing the Levain recipes that you found with us!
February 20, 2008 at 12:24 am
Lisa said,
I made the Dark Chocolate Coconut Cookies, but substituted 1 cup of semisweet chocolate chips and 2 cups of peanut butter chips for the coconut and walnuts and it was exactly like Levain’s Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter cookies! However, 4 oz per cookie makes 12, not 6 like on Throwdown, and it should bake at either 375 for 12-15, or 350 for 18-20, depending on how ‘doughy’ you like the interior (on Throwdown they baked their cookies at 350 for 20, so I adjusted according to that). Now I need to tackle the Walnut Chocolate Chip, and will probably use, as you suggested, the Ginger Valrhona minus the spices and molasses, adjusting it for only brown and white sugars, like they showed on Throwdown. Thanks for posting those recipes!!
February 20, 2008 at 12:37 am
pink bowl baker said,
I was really happy with the cookies I got, using the Ginger Valrhona® Cookies recipe, as Jessica suggested, using the molasses sugar mixed with white, and leaving out the spices. But, not happy to leave well enough alone, my next try is going to be using the amount of white sugar as called for in the Ginger cookie, and a cup and a half of brown sugar, eliminating the molasses completely. If that doesn’t work out quite right, then I will try using all brown sugar. I missed the part of the show when the sugar/sugars went into the mixer bowl, so I didnt get to see that they used all brown or a mixture of both, darn. I also made a note from the throw down show that the judge did say that the chocolate chip cookie was “very, very sweet”, which leads me to maybe it was all brown sugar? Also my quickly jotted notes say that they measured their cookie dough at 6 ounces of dough for each cookie and that it baked at 350 for “about 20 minutes”. What a girl wont do to get someone else’s prize winning recipe! They kept commenting that Bobby Flay’s recipe and method seemed complicated. That means that they do have a very basic method and recipe. But they’re not sharing!
February 20, 2008 at 12:45 am
Sarah said,
Hi Pink Bowl, you’re right about the 350 degrees for 20 mins and I believe I saw them throw white and brown sugar into the mixing bowl. I assumed it was too sweet because of all the chocolate, but I guess for 4 1/2 cups of flour that amount of chocolate seems right. Please let me know how the cookies turn out when you eliminate the molasses! I think I have that Throwdown recorded if you wanted to know anything else that was on the show that night..
February 20, 2008 at 1:35 am
riddleme said,
How funny. My wife and I are now obsessed to find the perfect recipe. We noticed how the one said “leavening” and let that just it hang in the air. What? No more details? Hey, maybe there is a secret to these mountains of a cookie. And Bobby’s cookies looked sad. Kinda like ours turn out…
February 20, 2008 at 1:41 am
ANNETTE said,
I would love to know how they come out using more brown sugar and possibly eliminating molasses. When I made them, they weren’t very sweet at all. I’m pretty sure they used both white and brown sugars. Didn’t I hear them say that white sugar is what makes the cookie crispy, or was I having a cookie dream??
I may try the 50/50 molasses and honey, to cut back on the molasses taste. GET BAKING LADIES!! I love reading all your comments.
February 20, 2008 at 11:58 am
Claudia DiNapoli said,
I think I know the secret to the Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookie.
It’s the flour. Alton on Good Eats says that cake flour (rather than regular flour)
produces a cake like thick chewy cookie.
At least once a year Alton repeats the episode on cookies describing the three different cookie types…..The Thin (All Purpose Flour), The Puffy ( Cake Flour) and The Chewy (Bread Flour.
The ratio of sugar is different for each one. You can find this episode at Food Network, Good Eats and then the title of the episode is “Three Chips for Sister Marsha”. I still believe that this epissode is the best information that Alton has every given to his fans.
The leving agents are a little different but not enough to make such a great difference.
I think the flour type to ratio of sugar is the answer to the question of the Levain Cookie.
February 20, 2008 at 1:54 pm
Lisa said,
I watched the Throwdown ep again (saved on my DVR), and you can plainly see there are equal amounts of brown and white sugar, so I definitely think it’s 1 cup of each. Also, without molasses, baking soda is not needed, so use baking powder instead. Recipes that use baking soda for leavening always have an acid somewhere, and molasses is acidic, although you’d never know it. Most chocolate chip cookies that use baking soda, turn out somewhat flat, so it’s probably not in their Choco-Chip Walnut recipe. In conclusion, I’d use only baking powder (1/2 to 1 tsp..double acting, of course..which I used for the Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip), plus equal amounts of brown and white sugar. Then again, first I have to try it and see if it turns out like their Choco-Chip Walnut cookies!
February 21, 2008 at 1:50 am
Lisa said,
Oops..I almost forgot. To Claudia, who mentioned cake flour as their possible secret to big, puffy cookies, I used AP flour plus 1 tsp of baking powder, along with the salt, for the Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip cookie, and they were huge, puffy, crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside (I baked them a little longer because I don’t like the somewhat raw dough middle), just like the ones they sell. I’ll post a link to a photo of one I made, when I upload it.
February 21, 2008 at 1:56 am
Sofie said,
I tried the recipe with 1 cup walnut halves added, 1 cup brown, 1 cup white sugar, no molasses, 1 tsp baking powder. It definitely was a thick cookie, it didn’t flatten much. I also used cold cubed butter like it looked like they did on Throwdown, I don’t know if that made any difference in the flattening factor? Thanks so much for the recipes, these were delicious, my daughter said they were the best she’s ever had. Think I’ll try with Valrhona® and some special butter next time, I just used what I had on hand.
February 21, 2008 at 8:45 am
Karla said,
Sofie, you said you used 1 tsp baking powder, did you replace the 1 tsp baking soda with that, or did you use both? I’d like to try your version since it seems to make sense. Thanks.
February 21, 2008 at 4:03 pm
pink bowl baker said,
Yay Sophie!!! I have been really holding myself back on tring again. I’m afraid that with all that I baked for Valentines day, that my freezer is stuffed with the dark chocolate coconut Walnut recipe (delish as is), and of course my attempt to convert the Verhona recipe into chocolate chip but keeping the molasses in, AND for comparisons sake, I had try Alton Browns ‘chewy’ style (the worst of my test cookies) and ended it all with Cook’s Illustrated version of ‘the perfect’ chocolate chip cookie. Better than Alton’s but not as good as my first stab with converted Levain recipe. I stuffed gigantic cookies in every pocket that came to my house on Valentines day, but we’re still bursting at the seams with cookies. I’m hoping to have them cleared out by next week. Altons’s and Cook’s will just go in the trash… they are NOT worth wasting your ingredients.
February 21, 2008 at 4:46 pm
Jennifer said,
Help! Did I do something wrong? I followed Sofie’s suggestions of using cold butter and equal amounts of white and brown sugar. The only thing I did differently was cut the recipe in half, since it was my first time trying these. By the time I had added 2 c. flour, my mixture was crumbly (like the consistency of pie crust before adding the water). I stopped, formed some balls, and baked them. They were just OK; they didn’t change the shape I’d molded them into. With the remaining batter (if you can call it that), I added an additional egg white; this produced more of a cookie dough batter, and I baked the remaining cookies, which turned out pretty well.
February 21, 2008 at 5:20 pm
Lisa said,
Jennifer,
Did you cream the butter with both sugars until it was completely combined and fluffy? Chunks of butter left in the dough could be the reason the dough was crumbly and like a pie dough.
February 22, 2008 at 2:06 am
ANNETTE said,
Jennifer, that’s exactly how mine turned out with the recipe USING MOLASSES (minus spices). Not only did the cookies have a kind of bitter molasses taste, but the dough was also crumbly. It took me a while to form them into balls, and then that’s how they baked. When I took them out of the oven I presses each one down slightly. They did have a pie-crust dry taste and form. WIERD
February 22, 2008 at 9:06 am
pink bowl baker said,
Hmm, I have not tried the modified recipe using all sugar and no molasses yet. I have to say, when I used molasses, the cookies were anything but crumbly and my dough was creamy and looked just like any other chocolate chip cookie dough. I did not use cold butter, in fact, I softened mine up on the counter to room temp, then creamed it really well, as the infamous ‘cookie episode’ mentioned. The weren’t little mountains at all. The only thing I didn’t do that they did… was make them as huge. I used a standard 1/4 cup sized ice cream scoop, heaped it up, and and used my kitchen scale, weighing them in at 4 ounces each. I used three cups of jumbo sized chocolate chips, we like Ghiradelli 60%, nothing gourmet. I baked them for 14 minutes. They were still quite large. Eliminating the molasses (wet) and replacing it with sugar (dry) has been a worry for me, (I have taken to worrying over a cookie recipe folks, yes, I have!) it only makes sense that you’re going to change the texture of the dough and final end product. Personally, we loved the cookies with Molasses(the Ginger Valrhona’s, reconstructed into chocolate chip). My only reason for wanting to change the recipe is that I can’t stand that they never released their chocolate chip recipe, and its an innate stubborn part of my personality to take that as personal challenge!
February 22, 2008 at 9:52 am
pink bowl baker said,
Hmm, I have not tried the modified recipe using all sugar and no molasses yet. I have to say, when I used the molasses and white sugar combination, with the small amount of brown sugar too, the cookies were anything but crumbly, and my dough was creamy and looked just like any other chocolate chip cookie dough. I did not use cold butter, though, and in fact, softened mine on the counter top room temp, then creamed it really well, as the infamous ‘cookie episode’ mentioned. I also always warm my eggs to room temp when I bake. My results weren’t little dry mountains at all. They were fairly puffy, but not tall. When I took a small portion of the chocolate chip only dough and added a handful of walnut halves and a big handful of unsweetened large coconut flakes, they were taller only because of the added volume. Both were a huge hit here. The only thing I didn’t do that they did… was make them as huge. I used a standard 1/4 cup sized ice cream scoop, heaped it up, and and used my kitchen scale, weighing them in at 4 ounces each. I used three cups of jumbo sized chocolate chips, we like Ghiradelli 60%, nothing gourmet. I baked them for 14 minutes. They were still quite large. Eliminating the molasses (wet) and replacing it with sugar (dry) has been a worry for me, (I have taken to worrying over a cookie recipe folks, yes, I have!) it only makes sense that you’re going to change the texture of the dough and final end product. Personally, we loved the cookies with Molasses(the Ginger Valrhona’s, reconstructed into chocolate chip). My only reason for wanting to change the recipe is that I can’t stand that they never released their chocolate chip recipe, and its an innate stubborn part of my personality to take that as personal challenge!
February 22, 2008 at 9:56 am
pink bowl baker said,
Sorry, I dont know why I keep getting double postings. I am new to this blog thing and must be doing something wrong. Guess you can’t hit the ’stop’ button and make corrections, it just adds both. I wish there an edit button that I could use to ‘fix’ my mistakes or add on later once its up and I see an error or left out a word (I notoriously do that.) In any case, I am sorry for the double posts!
February 22, 2008 at 9:59 am
Jennifer said,
Thanks for the suggestions. I did completely cream the butter into the sugar until there were no little bits. The cookies tasted alright yesterday, now today they are dry and floury-tasting. Sigh. Maybe I’ll try again with molasses, though as mentioned, we know that’s not how the Levain bakery makes them… Maybe I’ll just have to come up with my own award-winning recipe - ha!
February 22, 2008 at 10:21 am
Lisa said,
I truly believe 4 1/2 cups of flour is too much for the Chocolate Chip Walnut cookie. For the Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip cookies, which I made using the Dark Chocolate Coconut Cookie recipe (subbing 2 cups of peanut butter chips for the coconut and walnuts), there was only 2 1/2 cups of flour, plus 1/2 cup of cocoa, equaling 3 cups of dry, which was perfect, and yielded me cookies just like Levain’s. That said, the butter and egg amounts are the same, so I think the molasses in the Ginger cookie is why there’s more flour. To sum it up, I’m going to use the ‘base’ recipe (again) for the Dark Chocolate Cookie, but reformulate it this way..Ingredients
8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 1/2 to 3 cups all-purpose flour
Pinch of Kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
6 1/2 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips (1 cup, although I might add a little more)
3 ounces (1 cup) large walnut pieces
If anyone tries this before I get to it, please post the results
February 22, 2008 at 2:43 pm
pink bowl baker said,
I agree it sounds like a huge amount of flour. But when I made the ginger verhona cookie using the molasses it worked perfectly. The idea was the some testers didnt care much for the molasses flavor that came though. If you are taking away all that liquid from the molasses and adding more dry ingredients, you just can’t get a good cookie dough. We personally liked the cookies just fine using the ginger recipe, with molasses, but omitting the spices. It made a wonderful chocolate chip cookie in this families opinion! Its true that I simply can’t leave well enough alone though, and will sometime next week be trying it again, Lisa’s way. It only makes sense to me that if you are going cut back so drastically on the wet, that you to remove some of the flour. I believe, Lisa, that you are absolutely right. I’d run right out to the kitchen right the second but we are getting ready to take off the weekend. I don’t think I’ll have time until at least Wed. or Thursday. I love a great challenge! and I am determined that this will post only once!
February 22, 2008 at 3:16 pm
MamaMac said,
My father is diabetic and always trying to “cheat”. He loves chocolate chip cookies and will resort to making them himself when my mother out of concern for his health refuses to make them. For that reason I have been trying for the last few years to formulate a cookies that would be reasonable for his picky taste buds and though I can’t say better for him, I can more reasonable for his case. After I saw this recipe I knew I had to “try it and tweak it” for my dad. The results were to say the least…..SUPREME!!!!
I used the Valrhona base recipe minus the spices of course, and tweaked it a little to reduce the refined sugars and carbohydrates…a no no for dear dad. Here is the break down of my recipe.
8oz. unsalted butter
6oz (2/3c granulated DATE sugar)
(I just ground up some old dehydrated dates that I had in my pantry into the texture of sand with my food processor) NOTE: you can buy date sugar in health food stores also.
1/4cup minus 1/2 TBSP Splenda Brand Brown Sugar for Baking.
Ener-G egg substitute enough for 2 eggs (follow instructions on box)
4oz (1/3c. unsulphured) molasses
3 1/4 c. unbleached all purpose flour
1 1/4 c. almond meal (sometimes called almond flour)
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp baking soda
12 oz Semi Sweet or Bittersweet Chocolate Chunked
1c. Toasted Pecan Halves
1/2 coarsely chopped and toasted almonds
I baked them for 20 minutes at 350F. My neighbor came over to ask me what smelled so delicious. The cookies were very good warm. But it was the next day when the richness of the dates and nuts had time to mingle that the flavor EXPLODED into goey, chunky, crunchy, chewy goodness. Not low fat by any means…but a cookie that has added nutrition, fewer carbs, and the textures to satisfy any critic. A treat I can feel good about giving to my father from time to time.
I think I will try also to replace some of the all purpose flour with 25% soy flour next time along with the almond meal to see how it turns out. It could also make a wonderful vegan recipe if the butter was substituted with soy margarine. I think it would work very well for any of you have vegan friends out there.
February 22, 2008 at 8:53 pm
Elaine said,
I discovered your blog while searching for the Levain chocolate chip recipe!! I am excited to read all your comments.. I am just back from the grocery store and have purchased everything I needed to make both types of cookies.. trying to decided which choc. chip recipe to try.. I also want to make the Dark Chocolate coconut ones.. oh. decisions, decisions.. I am interested to see all your results..
February 22, 2008 at 9:04 pm
Jessica "Su Good Sweets" said,
Claudia,
For your reference, here’s the transcript to Alton Brown’s chocolate chip cookie episode. Bread flour, not cake flour, makes chewy cookies. Personally, I’m not a fan of his chewy CCC. I thought the dough was tough and tasted too protein-y.
Lisa,
You’re right that you need baking soda when you have an acid. Brown sugar (which has molasses in it) is acidic, as is chocolate. The classic Nestle Tollhouse recipe only has baking soda, so I wouldn’t have thought to use baking powder. But if it works for you…
Jennifer and Sophie,
I know the recipe says to cream butter and sugar until fluffy, but that’s not how I make my cookies. I use room temperature butter and beat only until combined. Whenever you cream butter and sugar, you create air. When the dough bakes, it will deflate and spread.
Pink Bowl Baker,
I added a plugin so you can edit your comments now.
February 23, 2008 at 12:32 am
Lisa said,
Jessica, Oopsies, you’re right, Brown sugar IS molasses added to white sugar. Talk about brain freeze here..not to mention I’ve made it myself when out of brown sugar (knocking self on head..lol). That said, I would probably add 1/2 tsp of baking powder and 1/2 tsp baking soda, to my ‘reformulated’ recipe..or 1 tsp baking powder and 1/4 tsp baking soda. Definitely something I’ll need to fiddle with. If I didn’t have a cold/flu, I’d have done it already! Just too stuffy and tired! Thanks for the correction, Jessica.
February 23, 2008 at 1:05 am
Lisa said,
pink bowl baker,
See my gaff above, that Jessica corrected. It does need a little baking soda, but definitely needs baking powder along with it, or else you probably won’t get the ‘Levain’ big, puffy mountain of a cookie, as most choco-chip cookies I’ve tried that use ‘just’ baking soda, never achieve that height.
February 23, 2008 at 1:10 am
Lisa said,
OK, all..I think this is their recipe, or at least very close to it. I could not tell the difference in taste or looks when compared to the Chocolate Chip Walnut cookies I’ve had Levain. I felt a little better last night, so I decided to give it a shot. I took some photos of the finished cookies, which I’ll upload when I get to my BF’s, as my scanner is busted.
8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
3 1/4 to 3 1/2 cups AP flour
3/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 to 1/2 tsp baking soda
12 ounces (2 cups) good quality semisweet chocolate chips (I used half semisweet and half milk chocolate)
1 cup walnuts (I used macadamia since I was out of walnuts)
Here’s the things with the flour..I went by feel of the dough. If you can work with it with your hands, and it doesn’t stick, or sticks very little, that’s what you want (you can see the consistency of the dough on Throwdown, and they were able to use their hands to portion it out, without making a mess). It will still be moist enough (sort of like tubed cookie dough when it’s cool). You really have to test it with your fingers to know, as you add flour. A little over 3 1/4 cups is all I needed.
Also, to get 12 cookies out of this recipe, a little over 4 oz per cookie dough, will give you that…6 oz won’t. Remember, they’re working with huge batches, so the measurements are different. Obviously this is very scaled down. As for baking them, I baked the first batch at 350 for about 23 minutes, as I don’t like the inside too raw, but if you like Levain’s stick to 16-20 minutes, depending on your preference.
The second batch I baked at 375 for 18, and they puffed up even more than the first batch. Also of note, if you like them really sweet, use 1 cup of each sugar, but going on what Malgieri said, and my experience with them, I cut the sugars down to 3/4 cup each. In any event..PLEASE try this recipe..as I truly think we’ve got it.
February 23, 2008 at 9:07 am
Elaine said,
I am trying it now.. will post how it turns out.. I have another question though.
On the dark chocolate cookies.. the measurements say 1/2 cup cocoa powder, but also 2 ounces.. which is only 1/4 cup..how much do you use?
Thanks.. loving this blog..
Elaine..
February 23, 2008 at 9:56 am
Lisa said,
Elaine,
I used 1/2 cup of cocoa, and they turned out perfect. I’m assuming they were going by the dip and sweep method instead of the scoop and level method maybe?
Good Luck with the Chocolate Chip Walnut cookie recipe! I hope it turns out as well for you as itr did for me
February 23, 2008 at 10:51 am
ANNETTE said,
HOLY COW…who’s on first?? I love this blog, it’s so much fun. OK, I’m going to bake using Lisa’s recipe now. I’ll get back to you all.
February 23, 2008 at 11:15 am
Elaine said,
OK.. I made them!! the chocolate chip ones are divine.. the dark chocolate are in the oven now.. I do think you need to let them cool before digging in!! My teen age son ate one while it was still pretty warm and after he had finished the WHOLE thing, but only after, he said, “Mom I think they need to bake a little longer” but they were good!! they have been done for about 25 minutes and I broke one open and it is just perfect inside.. the ONLY change I would make, and this is just personal preference.. is that next time I will add some vanilla.. I think it will just give them a little oomph!
I have to admit when I first took them out and they looked so beautiful, I was hoping that they would not fall.. and they didn’t.. I love to cook, and bake but my blog isn’t about that.. BUT I am going to post a pic of these beauties on there along with a link to your blog..
If anyone is interested.. I make an amazing oatmeal cookie with chocolate covered raisins..and the recipe isn’t secret!! Thanks again for this wonderful blog!!
February 23, 2008 at 11:46 am
Elaine said,
Here is my recipe for the oatmeal cookies.. they are pretty darn good
1 cup shortening (I use crisco sticks)
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
3 cups quick oats (Yep, quick oats!)
1/2 cup chopped pecans
2 cups chocolate covered raisins
Cream shortning and sugars.. add eggs and vanilla. add dry ingedients, add oats. stir in raisins and nuts.. drop by spoonful onto parchment lined baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 12-14 minutes.. these are so crispy and good.. Enjoy
February 23, 2008 at 1:35 pm
Lisa said,
OK..I uploaded my photos of both the Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip and Chocolate Chip Walnut cookie to Flickr. They’re kind of out of order, but keep clicking on the small photos to the right of the main one, and you should see them all. There may be a bread or two mixed in, but ignore those..LOL
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lismi171/2286713200/
BTW, Elaine, those Oatmeal cookies sound scrumptious. I just copied and pasted it into my recipe file. I’ll be trying those next! However, I just may sub butter for all or half the shortening. I worship Butter..LOL
February 23, 2008 at 3:04 pm
Julia Parrino said,
I lovew this blog!! I’ve tried 9 different ccc recipes in the past 2 weeks trying to duplicate a cookie my daughter bought from a girl at her work, with no luck. It’s great knowing there are other compulsive bakers out there like myself!! And now I’ll be trying the recipe someone just printed here. Wish me luck.
February 23, 2008 at 5:36 pm
Joi said,
WOW, I just watched (DVR) the Levain Bakery Throwdown, and got online to find the recipe. I wrote the ingredients down while watching, but wanted a bit more info! I can’t believe my luck to find this great site. My husband just left for supplies, and I can’t wait to bake these. If they turn out as I hope, I will post photos on Flickr, and post here how they turn out!
Thanks to everyone on this site!
February 23, 2008 at 5:37 pm
Rose said,
Dear Lisa, I just happened upon this site, after watching the “Throw Down”. I’m very interested in making your recipe for the Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies, loved your pictures by the way, the cookies were beautiful and the bread looked great too! Anyway, the Chocolate Coconut Cookie recipe calls for 6-1/2 ounces of semi-sweet chips. When I read your substitutions, you said you used 1 cup semi-sweet, then 2 cups peanut butter chips … instead of the coconut/walnuts. Was the 1 cup of semi-sweet in addition to the amount in the recipe, or did your substitutions cover all the chips you used? Sorry if this is a confusing question, but I would really like to have cookies that looked like yours. Thanks for helping me.
February 23, 2008 at 6:27 pm
Elaine said,
Lisa,
I too love butter, but believe me, these cookies just aren’t the same with butter. They aren’t as crispy and light.. but try and let me know how they work for you. Lisa, do you have a blog.. I just looked at your photos.. mine are on my blog.. I would love the ciabbata recipe..
February 23, 2008 at 8:12 pm
Molly said,
This is just fantastic….a group dedicated to figuring out the winning recipe on throwdown! I am always interested in the other recipe…not Bobby’s. I am going to try these cookies tomorrow. Has anyone made them without the nuts? I will report back tomorrow. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!
February 23, 2008 at 8:22 pm
ANNETTE said,
I loved Lisa’s recipe for CC cookies. I did add vanilla half way through the baking, I think they really need the extra little flavoring. I only used 3 cups of flour and that was certainly enough. The last batch I made I added oatmeal to, and they also tasted wonderful.
And by the way, flipping through the channels this afternoon I happened upon the Throwdown show with the CC cookies on it!! What a coincidence!!
February 23, 2008 at 9:21 pm
Jessica "Su Good Sweets" said,
Lisa, awesome! Your pics fooled me.
Elaine, I agree with Lisa about the shortening. I cringe at the thought of it. I have to go with butter here.
All, if you want another monster cookie, you have to try Jacques Torres’ mudslide cookies. I bought one from his store today and boy, they’re worth making at home. The outside is crisp without being dry, and the inside is soft.
February 23, 2008 at 10:14 pm
Meg said,
I used Lisa’s recipe. These were the prettiest chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever made–best tasting, too. I only used 3 cups of flour. I found that they became somewhat dry after sitting out for only about 20 minutes. Maybe add another egg? I’m not sure what they need. But, overall, a really great cookie!
February 23, 2008 at 11:16 pm
Stacy said,
I have been in bed with a flu-ish kid all day. We watched the throwdown this afternoon and she was obsessed! I had to make these cookies for the child that has not eaten a thing in 3 days. I, a novice baker, followed Lisa’s recipe but used 1 package of the chocolate & peanut butter swirl chips and no nuts. They turned out beautiful! As for the taste…I am post-flu and still cannot taste but the boyfriend says they a “freakin’ awesome!” Thanks so much for the posts!
February 23, 2008 at 11:45 pm
Lisa said,
Rose, I used exactly three cups chips total. 1 cup semisweet, plus 2 cups peanut butter chips, and eliminated the walnuts and coconut. Everything else in the recipe is the same other than that change.
Elaine, I don’t currently have a blog, but I may start one up in the near future. As for the Ciabatta recipe, where can I send it to you? Though your blog? *Which I’m going to check out after typing this* That said, I’m going to try your Oatmeal cookies both ways. The only reason I’m trying it with butter too.. is because..well, I just can’t fathom the thought of a cookie without butter. However, I’ll let you know how both batches turn out.
Finally, Thank you, Jessica! As for those Mudslide cookies..WOW. That’s almost a flourless chocolate cookie. I can’t even imagine how amazing it is. When it comes to worshiping, you can also add Jacques Torres to that list. The man is a chocolate-pastry demigod!
February 24, 2008 at 12:53 am
Lisa said,
Rose, I forgot to mention, I also changed the baking powder amount to 3/4 to 1 tsp (I didn’t fill up the tsp fully). Please note that when trying the Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter cookie recipe.
February 24, 2008 at 1:05 am
Rose said,
Dear Lisa: Thank you for the information. Loved all of your pictures. You are very talented. Thanks again.
February 24, 2008 at 10:52 am
Lisa said,
Thank you so much for the compliment, Rose, and you’re very welcome.
Having said that, I changed the url for my Levain copycat cookie photos, so they can be viewed in order.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lismi171/2286713286/in/set-72157603902362867/
I added another interior photo of the Chocolate Chip Walnut, since it had more of a ‘Levain’ doughy center.
February 24, 2008 at 11:52 am
Sharon said,
WOW Lisa thanks for sharing!! I am getting ready to prepare your CC cookies recipe but wanted to know if the butter in your recipe was COLD or room-temperature???
Glad you are feeling better. Thanks again!
February 24, 2008 at 12:43 pm
Joi said,
Ok, I made the Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies (I’m allergic to walnuts), and they turned out fabulous! They were a huge hit at a dinner party! I used 3-1/2 cups flour and baked for about 25 mins and they were still chewy inside (I’m high altitude). Now, I have a question for the Dark Chocolate Coconut Cookies (my personal fave!) - since I haven’t seen a photo of what they should look like, I am wondering if I need to tweak the baking powder, as mine did not really fill out to the same shape as the cc ones? Any thoughts? The flavor was amazing, and they were actually preferred to the cc ones, as everyone thought the cc ones were a bit too sweet (I may reduce the amt of choco chips to 1/3 next time)
Now for my next question - talking about Jacques Torres being a chocolate pastry demi-god - has anyone ever had the supreme pleasure of laying eyes on Johnny Iuzzini?? He’s amazing, not to mention, incredibly hot! He was on Paula’s Party 2 weeks in a row with great chocolate recipes! He can be found here: http://www.johnnyiuzzini.com/
Here’s my Flickr link to the cookies: http://www.flickr.com/photos/straatens/2288219347/in/set-72157603974487250/
February 24, 2008 at 12:47 pm
Elaine said,
Lisa,
Feel badly using this blog to communicate!! my email is eshannon2@gmail.com
Thanks, want to try that bread!!
I presume you have tried the famous “No Knead Bread” If not there is a link to it on my blog. it has to be the very best bread.. and so easy..
let me know what you think of the cookies with the butter in them.. but do give them a try with the crisco.. you will be amazed. I think it is the only cookie I make with shortening.. you can even use the butter flavored one..
February 24, 2008 at 1:45 pm
Bob said,
Lisa,
Today I followed your receipe for the Levain CCC’s that you posted on 02-23 at 9:07. WOW! They were incrEDIBLE! My wife describes them as a meal onto themselves. Kudos for the trial-and-errors in getting this receipe.
Since I’m not anywhere near your caliber of bakery mastery (smile), I do have a question: Within a few minutes of finishing a cookie, my wife and I noticed a “chalky” after-taste. I used 3 cups flour, 1 tsp baking powder, and 1/4 tsp of baking soda.
Suggestions for reducing the “chalky” taste? Unnecessary baking soda? Too much baking powder?
Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you for this receipe and your help
February 24, 2008 at 5:29 pm
Nina said,
Everyone talks about their blogs but I don’t know how to get to them to see the recipes you are talking about.
February 24, 2008 at 6:05 pm
Lisa said,
Sharon,
You’re very welcome! Regarding the butter, I always start with cold, and cream it that way with the sugars until it’s light and fluffy. I feel this helps the cookie hold it’s structure, as room temp or warm butter sometimes results in some or a lot of spreading while baking.
Bob,
Thanks so much for the cookie compliments! I’m glad you loved the cookies. As for the chalky after taste, it probably is the baking powder. I would suggest using less, like 1/2 tsp. I didn’t fill the teaspoon fully myself, so in a sense, I was simply estimating and going by trial and error. Even though baking is an exact science, when you’re trying to figure out someone else’s recipe, you need to play around until you get the results you want. BTW, did you use double acting baking powder? I’m assuming so since that’s mostly what’s available.
That said, Jessica, if you’re around, do you think it’s the baking powder that’s causing the chalky after taste? My cookies had no chalky after taste at all, and I probably used about 3/4 tsp of baking powder.
Elaine, I sent you an email with the recipe, and just got your reply, which I’ll respond to when I get home from dinner out
February 24, 2008 at 7:38 pm
Lisa said,
Oops..forgot to add something in response to Meg’s post.. (Is there an edit option here? Some of my posts are laden with typos!)..
Meg,
It’s the same thing with Levain’s cookies. They’re best fresh out of the oven, but have a tendency to dry out a little when sitting out. Just store them in an airtight container, and they’ll remain moist.
February 24, 2008 at 7:46 pm
Meg said,
Lisa,
I stored the cookies with slices of bread last night. (Does anyone else do that to keep cookies moist?) This morning they not at all dry. Thanks for the recipe! Definitely the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever made!
February 25, 2008 at 12:12 am
Lisa said,
Meg,
I’ve never had any cookies dry out within 20 minutes after baking and eating some, when left out, including the recent Levain copycats. Usually, leaving them out several hours to overnight would/could do that, so I’m a little perplexed as to why yours dried out in only 20 minutes. Even if the outside of it dries out, the interior still remains moist. I always put them in an airtight container once they’ve cooled and we’ve eaten our share for the day/night.
Regardless, I’m so glad the old bread slice trick made your cookies chewy and moist again.
February 25, 2008 at 3:21 am
Bob said,
Lisa,
Thank-you for the reply. Yes, I used double-acting baking powder. Like you mentioned, this is the most common type. Is there another “type” that I should try to find?
On a side note, I didn’t experience any drying effect. To “rejuvenate” the cookie back to the freshly-baked-out-of-the-even, I microwaved mine for 15 seconds. Of course this could probably risk the cookie drying out, but it didn’t. The cookie was moist, warm, and gooey all over again (yum!).
February 25, 2008 at 5:07 am
Sharon said,
Lisa,
Thanks for the helpful information, I will use cold butter and adjust the baking powder down to 3/4t!
I am really looking forward to baking these CC cookies as my treat for surviving a 5 day detox!!! =)
Yum!
February 25, 2008 at 8:58 am
Jessica "Su Good Sweets" said,
Meg, I revive cookies with bread, too! It must be commercial bread with all those chemicals.
Lisa, you can edit/delete your own posts, as long as you’re at the same computer where you first posted. Too much baking powder makes things taste like lye, but not necessarily chalky in my experience.
Elaine and Lisa, I too have made the no-knead bread. It’s my go-to recipe because I can be so lazy with it! I’ve made no-knead 100% whole wheat and chocolate variations.
Joi, wow your cookies look great! Johnny Iuzzini is very talented. I saw him do a dessert demo, and he’s so fast. It’s like he’s on a permanent sugar buzz. His desserts aren’t my style, but I posted pictures and recipes if you’re interested.
February 25, 2008 at 11:23 pm
Phyllis said,
Lisa,
I made the chocolate chip walnut cookies today.
I made a few mistakes…
and I did a few things right.
Biggest mistake—I did not use parchment paper, because I never use it, and things normally turn out very well for me. But, next time, I will use it, because my cookies burnt a tiny bit on the bottom. A tiny, tiny bit.
I used 3 cups of unbleached flour, and next time I might cut back a little bit. The dough was easy to handle, but I dont think I needed quite that much flour.
I truly believe that 20 minutes in a 350 degree oven is too long. Especially since we are using butter, which we all know burns more easily than, say, shortening would. I am keeping the butter in my recipe. But I plan to bake them for a shorter time. Even my second batch, 325 for 16 minutes was too brown on the bottom for my liking. Therefore, I think I will have to buy the parchment paper. No getting around it. I did not use the walnuts. Nor any nuts. I only used 2 cups of chocolate chips because I don’t care for more than that in my cookies. But when I get my basic recipe down, I will up this amount for my friends who are chocoholics. In conclusion, my cookies were very very good, but not gushy in the center…I kept them in the oven too long, and it was too hot…so be careful, especially if you are using unbleached flour. I intend to keep using the unbleached flour, because it has more nutrition. But I will have to bear this in mind, that it may require me to bake my cookies a little more briefly=fewer minutes, shorter time….or lower temp, which I think 325 is too low, however we do bake cakes at that temp….but we want our cookies to rise fast and stay risen, which reminds me….Lisa, I believe that baking powder is the main secret here….you are right, in my opinion. I used one third t. of baking soda and one teaspoon of baking powder. The soda gives the cookies a jump start rising….and the baking powder insures a nice tall cookie that will not fall down later. Think of the baking powder as insurance. It is a very miraculous ingredient, and in my opinion it has everything to do with the cookie being right. Above all else, try the baking powder. I believe it to be THE SECRET.
February 26, 2008 at 12:25 am
Lisa said,
Bob,
Since Jessica mentioned that baking powder wouldn’t cause a chalky after taste, we can probably eliminate that as a reason. Now we have to go through some of the ingredients, as in..what kind and/or btand of flour did you use and how much? What brand of chocolate chips/chunks? Walnuts..had you recently purchased them, or had you had them a while? Where did you store them, and were they already opened? Maybe you could try toasting the walnuts prior to adding them to the cookies? Maybe you could increase/decrease the baking soda by itself or along with the baking powder, to find that perfect formula for your cookies? There’s so many facets that could play a role here, but that’s part the fun of baking — trying to figure out what went wrong and remedying it through the process of elimination and/or change.
Sharon,
I really hope your cookies turn out great! So (in jest), was this 5 day detox a ’sugar’ detox by any chance? I need several of those a month..LOL
Joi,
My Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter chip cookies turned out just like the CC Walnut cookies in size and height. This is another case of..ok, what went wrong and how can we remedy it? See my reply to Bob above. Regardless, your cookies still look ‘Levain’ fantastic!
Also, I have to agree that Johnny Iuzzini is a cutie and extremely talented, BUT, I also have to agree with Jessica that his desserts aren’t my style either. I’ve eaten at Jean-Georges, and although his desserts are extremely well put together, beaitiful, and an amalgamation of amazing contrasting flavors and textures on the palate, I see and taste/eat them as an ‘experience, not as a way to completely satisfy my sporadic sweet tooth (Hey, I play around with unique desserts a lot, using flavors one would never associate with a dessert - eg: beets, black/red/white/pink pepper, even black olives! etc..) Case in point, we had to pick up a couple of Snickers bars on the way home on those nights..lol
February 26, 2008 at 2:25 am
Lisa said,
OK..i see I made more of my signature typos again, but I can’t find the edit option, even though I’ve logged in from the same computer just about every time I’ve posted here. Do I need glasses, or am I just missing something? LOL
February 26, 2008 at 2:29 am
Joi said,
Jessica and Lisa,
Thanks, the cookies did look beautiful, and we’re still eating them 3 days later, and not dryness - I’ve stored mine in a glass cake dome? I’m going to try again on the Dark Chocolate ones and tweak the bpowder. I’m also going to attempt an oatmeal cc, as that is my very fave cookie!
I am envious Lisa and Jessica that you’ve actually tasted Johnny’s desserts! While I will agree that he is definitely outside the ‘dessert box’, I would probably LOVE his stuff as I’m not really into ’sweet/rich’ desserts, but more, salty/bitter tastes! I could probably eat a 85% dark chocolate bar rolled in kosher salt! BUT, what he made on Paula’s Party was a Devil’s food cake round in a ramekin with chocolate(salted) pudding on top, and then took organic rose petals, brushed them with egg whites, dipped in superfine sugar, and dried in a dead oven - then crumbled the ‘rose petal chips’ over the top of pudding/cake mixture! I can’t wait to try the rose trick! I think I just like watching him because he’s so passionate (and a little cheeky) when he works!
February 26, 2008 at 11:43 am
Lisa said,
Joi,
So glad they came out great and you’re still enjoying them.
As for Johnny’s desserts, don’t get me wrong, I don’t like ultra sweet (unless I’m PMSing lol), and I do like going off the beaten path when it comes to desserts (I almost want to add Fleur de sel to the top of anything chocolate), but I felt his stuff was more of an adventure in tasting than a dessert for me. Don’t get me wrong, they tasted good or ‘interesting’, but when you’re craving an ‘elaborate’ basic dessert at an upscale restaurant, this definitely is elaborate, but isn’t basic!
Finally, I think it’s cute how he flirts with Paula. Dang, he looks deep into her eyes and whispers sweet nothings, then smacks her right on the lips. You could actually see her blush! lol
February 26, 2008 at 12:36 pm
Joi said,
One of my goals for 2008 is to get to NYC to enjoy one of his desserts! Although, I’m not a fan of French food, which I’m guessing Jean-Georges is?? I want to have the ‘Johnny Iuzzini experience’ at least once!
Yes, I love how he flirts with her too! Hell, I’M blushing just watching him!
I think my next cookie adventure (after oatmeal cc) will be granola! There is a restaurant here in SLC that sells huge granola cookies that are sooo good!
February 26, 2008 at 1:04 pm
Bob said,
Lisa,
To answer your questions in the order presented:
Flour: 4 cups of AP Meijer brand (perhaps a more ‘reputable’ brand?)
Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chips: 1 C Semi-sweet morsels and 1 C milk-chocolate
Walnuts: 1 month old already opened package stored in our pantry
I’m thinking about reducing the flour because the dough tasted very “floury.” I know you mentioned that the dough should not be sticky, and it definitely wasn’t sticky; so I don’t think reducing it to 2 ¾ C will hurt.
I used ¼ tsp of baking soda, so reduce it to 1/8 tsp(?) What is the purpose of the baking soda?
I’m leaning more toward just reducing the flour and then seeing what happens. If it’s still “chalky” I’ll tinker with the baking soda.
Thanks for helping
February 26, 2008 at 5:54 pm
Lisa said,
Bob..the 4 cups of flour might be it. If you noticed one of my comments up above, I mentioned that when converting the Ginger Valrhona recipe to the CC Walnut, you had to reduce the flour, as one of the ingredients you’re eliminating is the molasses (wet). For me, as my recipe shows, 3 1/4 to 3 1/2 cups was about as far as I would go…even taking it down to 3 cups if the dough felt right (The Levain dough is not super sticky — you can work with it and portion it with your hands, but it still feels like cookie dough (my analogy was how cookie dough from a tube feels when it’s cold).
Try using less flour, 3/4 tsp baking powder, and 1/4 tsp baking soda, and let me know if that chalky taste disappears. If not, we’ll just keep chipping away until we fix it.
OH, BTW..store your walnuts (or any nut for that matter) in a tightly sealed container or zip lock bag in the freezer or refrigerator (they’ll last longer in the freezer), as nuts go rancid very quickly at room temp.
February 26, 2008 at 6:15 pm
ANNETTE said,
You definately have to reduce the flour in the cc cookie recipe. I used 3 cups and that was perfect. NOW…I laugh when I think that we use unsalted butter, but add salt to the recipe. Go figure.
February 26, 2008 at 7:38 pm
Joi said,
I have a question - now that I’ve made the CC cookies the original way, I need to try it w/o egg YOLKS - has anyone tried just using egg whites? I have an 8 y/o with a allergy to yolks, and she hasn’t been able to try these yummy cookies like her sisters have…
I would appreciate any comments to this topic!
Thanks
February 26, 2008 at 9:16 pm
TwinkieEsq said,
So glad I found this blog! Thanks so much for the chocolate chip cookie recipe. I am going to try it this weekend. I have been researching and testing recipes for weeks to try to find the perfect chocolate chip cookie. One of the best I have had is from a store called Specialty’s in San Francisco.
I also read somewhere that adding a block of cream cheese to the dough provides really great results and gets you a rich, tall, chewy cookie. Has anyone tried that?
February 26, 2008 at 9:26 pm
Jessica "Su Good Sweets" said,
Joi, egg yolks make doughs rich, so if you only use egg whites, try adding a teaspoon of butter for every yolk you omit. I love granola too! I’m addicted to Costco’s “trail mix,” which is really just granola cookie chunks. If you like not-so-sweet desserts, I highly recommend the 90% chocolate bar by Vintage Plantations. It’s not sweet (obviously) but not bitter either. While I eat it out of hand, it would probably be very good in a chocolate chip cookie. You would probably like Sam Mason, too. In terms of avant garde chefs, I like him more than Johnny Iuzzini. I witnessed Sam’s dessert demo, too. He’s probably the only guy that can get away with an armful of tattoos.
Annette, baking recipes call for unsalted butter so you can control the amount of salt. I’ve noticed that different brands of regular butter have different amounts of salt. Also, since cookies are dense, salted butter often has too much salt for them.
Lisa, I felt the same way about Johnny I. The desserts were too cerebral for me. I just wanted to enjoy them without thinking about the herbs! He makes a really good tart dough though. The edit option should be right below your comment. Maybe your browser doesn’t support it?
February 26, 2008 at 9:46 pm
Joi said,
Thanks Jessica for the info! I checked out Sam’s website - interesting foods. I’m kind of partial to Johnny’s tat!
I am used to baking/eating w/o yolks, but I was curious if anyone else had done it. I also don’t use butter, but Earth Balance, as we don’t eat dairy either!
The Costco granola trail mix - do you mean the clear box of (big, chunky) granola with cranberries in it??! That’s what I used in my cookies!
I will look for Vintage Plantations chocolate! My husband jokes that I may as well just suck on cacao beans! I probably could. I have to say, I am so glad to have found this blog! Thank You Thank You Thank You!
February 26, 2008 at 11:16 pm
Joi said,
I forgot to ask if anyone has a recipe for homemade Nutella?? I’ve found a couple, but haven’t made them yet. Nutella has milk in it and we avoid dairy (along with egg yolks, bananas…)
I have a several recipes I am itching to use Nutella in!
February 26, 2008 at 11:19 pm
Lisa said,
PHYLLIS!
I totally missed your post! I’m so sorry! Getting to some of the problems you had, I think parchment or a silpat is a must for Levain’s mountain size cookies. Nowadays, I never make a cookie with using either. Gone are the days of burnt cookie bottoms because of those two ingenious inventions. Also, I baked my second batch at 375 for 18 (I didn’t want to middle to be almost raw like Levain’s, but if you want that gooey middle, bake it at 375 for 12-16 minutes or 350 for 16-20 minutes, really depending on how ‘gooey or raw’ you like the interior.
Finally, yes, baking powder is definitely a big part of that big, puffy cookie. You have to be careful with it, though, as you don’t want any (as Jessica mentioned) ‘lye’ after taste. 3/4 tsp is perfect in this recipe, at least for me and some others. People getting different results from one recipe is natural, as a lot of baking depends on weather, location (altitude), and sometimes experience. Sometimes your cookie dough will take/need a little more flour (humid days), sometimes a little less (dry days). Even though baking is an exact science, like I mentioned in a previous post, when trying to emulate someone else’s recipe, some of that goes out the window, and you need to experiment to get it just right. Then, and only then, can you possibly ’set’ your cookie to one solid formula that should work for most.
Annette,
What Jessica said..lol. The reason for unsalted butter is so you have total control over the amount of salt that goes into a recipe.
Joi,
4 egg whites equals 2 whole eggs (when using large eggs, which this recipe for calls for). Like Jessica mentioned, you may lose some of the richness, so you may want to up the butter a little, unless that doesn’t matter to you. It is a very rich cookie, and I don’t think subbing egg whites for the whole eggs will make a huge difference, especially with two cups chocolate chips and all that sugar.
Jessica,
Wow..we seem to be on the same wave length when it comes to some of these pastry chefs. Sam Mason is amazing. I watched him (on Gourmet Diary of a Foodie) make Banana cocoa raviolis (banana puree that’s first frozen in a long, thin tube..cut into *thick* slices and dipped in chocolate), When brought to room temperature, they ooze luscious banana when split open. They looked lovely and mouth watering, and I’m not a huge fan of banana desserts.
He also was testing a Mustard Ice Cream and Coffee Soil dessert which looked great. The coffee soil is very easy to make..Flour, cocoa powder, coffee grounds, melted butter, and sugar.. Kind of similar to making a cookie crumb crust, but leaving it in large, medium and small chunks to resemble soil.
I once mixed whole grain mustard with sugar and vanilla beans, then spread it in thin strips on a silpat and dried it in a low oven (I don’t have a dehydrator) as a cool and unique garnish for some homemade vanilla bean ice cream, so I was excited at the thought of one day tasting his mustard ice cream. Yes, he goes ‘molecular’ and off the beaten path a lot, (like Johnny), but his desserts seem to remain a little more true to their original counterparts as far as flavor goes. I definitely need to try them one day. Not to mention, in keeping with the ‘fan girl’ mode, he’s pretty, damn easy on the eyes.
Lastly, I’m still on Windows 98SE, so I haven’t been able to update IE, however, I also have Firefox, which still updates for 98SE..and the edit option didn’t show up there either. Oh well, I’ll just make sure to proofread before posting, until I get a new ‘puter and OS.
February 27, 2008 at 3:49 am
Lisa said,
Dang, I didn’t proofread again, and Phyllis, I meant to use the word ‘without’ when referring to my always using parchment or a silpat for cookies.
That said..Joi, Jessica has a recipe for homemade nutella on this site! Go here..
http://www.sugoodsweets.com/blog/2005/12/nutella/
The original nutella in a jar uses skim milk but most recipes I have seen leave out the dairy and use oil, chocolate, lots of sugar and hazelnuts, which yields a result just like Nutella in the jar.
February 27, 2008 at 4:02 am
Joi said,
Thanks Lisa! I actually found the recipe on this site, after I posted my ?! I also checked out Sam Mason’s website and saw the choco banan ravioli with coffee soil and mustard ice cream! I love how his site has a link to Johnny’s! I think they’re both pretty damn interesting, and easy on the eyes!
I am used to cooking w/o yolks (among other things because of various allergies!), but I just wanted to know if anyone had done them w/o yolks, or completely eggless (flax maybe?)? I used to be vegan, so I am familiar with other options (Egg Replacer/flax) for eggs, but now I love using them, except for my poor little Lilah who breaks out in a wicked itchy rash. I have promised her we will make them this weekend so she can eat them! I think I’ll try them as is minus yolks, since many thought they were a bit rich??
Now, my other question is has anyone ever tried Tom’s Cookie Dough Snickerdoodles?? They come either frozen or refrigerated in an ice-cream like container? My girls love them, but again, they have whole eggs, so only 2 can enjoy them. I have NEVER had any success with snickerdoodles (and I refuse to use shortening, which all the recipes call for), but the Tom’s cookies are soooooo yummy! I may give those a try this weekend w/o yolks since the ingredients are the basics - flour, salt, sugar, eggs, butter, etc.
February 27, 2008 at 8:35 am
Lisa said,
I’m so glad i found Jessica’s blog, because I’ve been in and out of work, home sick with the flu, and it’s definitely taken away some of the boredom! So, please excuse me for hogging up the comments section!
Joi,
There are recipes for Snickerdoodles that use butter. I found one here.. that uses is half butter and half butter flavored shortening.
http://www.recipeland.com/recipe/48989/
.AND, one that uses all butter.. http://www.recipezaar.com/97496
There’s millions more recipes for them out there, and I guarantee at least a third of them use all butter.
Give it a shot and let us know how they turn out
As for Sam having a link to Johnny’s site..it makes sense. Two good looking, talented, NYC pastry chefs linking each other. They probably even hang out together. I’d probably beg them to bake and create cool desserts with me, then ‘maybe’ attack..LOL
February 27, 2008 at 9:01 am
Phyllis said,
Lisa, (and others),
I think baking soda has a sour/bitter salty taste…..and I can detect it’s flavor much sooner in my baked products than I can detect any aftertaste from baking powder. Baking powder seems more innocent and safe to me. But with baking soda, I always measure it with careful consideration, and on the skimpy side, because it makes my baked items to require less salt, for sure, by 50 percent. Also, I like to use a brand of baking powder that does not have aluminum in it, for health reasons. In short, I believe that we have to be more careful about using the baking soda…because it can sooner leave a salty or bitter aftertaste, much sooner than baking powder would. Some muffin recipes actually call for 2 teaspoons of baking powder, and they are among my favorite recipes. This little comment is in defense of baking powder. Also, those pictures of Levain Bakery cookies look like muffins! the texture is so muffin-like, or cupcake-like that i am tempted to combine some of my recipes…..to see what I can come up with that way. What would happen if I mixed my favorite muffin recipe, with my favorite chocolate chip recipe, for example? Or my favorite scone recipe, with my favorite chocolate chip recipe. Maybe that is how Levain bakery came up with their own recipe? I think I am going to try this next. My cookie experiement today was my worst flop of all. They ended up too flat, in spite of 2 t. of baking powder. I did not use enough flour this time. And I may have used too much sugar, too. And the cookies were too brown, too chewy, too crispy. They need to have a lighter composition…like a muffin, or a scone. My dough is too dense. Levain bakery cookies look as light as cake. Therefore I am wondering if combining 2 such recipes might not work wonderfully.
February 27, 2008 at 1:41 pm
Lisa said,
Phyllis,
The Levain cookies and my copycat recipe may look like muffin tops because they’re so huge, but in no way, shape or form do they even resemble a muffin in taste, texture, and flavor. They’re crispy on the outside, and chewy or doughy, (depending on how long you bake it, based on personal preference) on the inside. To sum it up, you won’t be confusing these babies with a muffin. It’s the epitome of what people think of when they think of a chocolate chip cookie, just thicker, bumpier, and akin to eating several regular sized chocolate chip cookies. I have no idea how your cookies turned out like muffins. Did you use cake flour? Too much baking powder?
As for the baking soda, my recipe uses only 1/4 tsp, and there’s no bitter or salty taste after taste..so I think that’s a perfect amount for 12 giant cookies.
February 27, 2008 at 2:20 pm
Marilyn said,
Hi Jessica–thanks for posting these great recipes. I had been looking for Levain’s chocolate chip cookie recipe ever since watching the “Throwdown with Bobby Flay.” I tried both the Dark Chocolate Coconut Cookies and the recipe Lisa submitted. The Dark Chocolate Coconut Cookies were great even though I didn’t use coconut. As for Lisa’s recipe, I had the same response like Bob of a chalky after taste. I plan to reduce both baking powder and baking soda to 1/4 tsp each to see if that removes the after taste. Thanks again for all the posts. It’s funny to see just how many people are out there like me trying to find a great cookie recipe like Levain’s!
February 27, 2008 at 4:58 pm
Phyllis said,
My first cookies had too much flour.
My second cookies had too little flour.
I am beginning to believe that any recipe will work, so long as the dough is not too thin, and not too thick. (Plus about 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda, and about one t. of baking powder.) I need to pay more attention to the flour factor. So, that is what I intend to do on my next attempt, soon. Thankyou, everyone, for sharing your gigantic cookie making stories.
February 27, 2008 at 8:05 pm
Lisa said,
Phyllis,
First off, use your hands. This is a cookie dough you should be feeling as you add the flour and feeling when you turn it out to give it one more mix with your hands *making sure all the flour, chips and nuts are incorporated), and portion it into a little over 4 oz a cookie. You’ll know when/if it’s the right consistency.
Secondly, My copycat recipe shouldn’t take more than 3 1/2 cups of flour total..at the MOST. Anywhere from 3 to 3 1/2 cups, depending on the weather that day/night, and the altitude where you live.\
Good l;uck on your next try!
February 28, 2008 at 12:30 am
Phyllis said,
Lisa, and everyone else,
I did it! I did it! I did it!. I made the cookies a third time, using Lisa’s recipe.
They turned out very, very nicely.
I used the parchment paper…they were still more golden brown on the bottom than on the top, by quite a bit, but definitely not burned, just brown, in a very pleasant way. I used one fourth t. of baking soda, and almost one t. of baking powder. I did test the dough with my hands a lot…and I am certain that I used a scant 3 cups….it was unbleached flour. I started the cookies at 375, and lowered the temp after a while, so the cookies would not become too brown on the bottom…and I baked them more like 13 minutes…. I took them out as soon as the bottom of each cookie showed some golden brown colors…the tops were not as golden as i wanted them to be…but in the end, the cookies were perfect…
I am very, very pleased. This is the best I can do with this recipe. And I feel delighted that I accomplished my mission. However, if anyone discovers any more secrets, about the Levain Bakery cookie recipes….please post those secrets for all of us to see. The true recipe still looks puffier to me. So, I will always be wondering how close I really am…since I have never tasted one of their cookies, or held one in my hand. But, for now, I am very happy with this recipe. Thanks for all of your copycat help, Lisa. You did great! (Careful in adding that flour, everyone. Not too much. Not too little. Use your hands to feel it. Listen to Lisa’s good advice.) And don’t overbake the cookies, either. I baked at 350 most of the time…with a tiny bit of 375….to puff the cookies up a bit. Be careful not to bake the cookies too long. Be very careful about the amount of flour. I also used less chocolate chips, only 1 1/2 cups. That tasted like plenty to me…but that depends on your own personal preference. If 3 cups of flour makes your cookies too thick and heavy, try a bit less next time…maybe 2 tablespoons less, until your cookies turn out like you want them to be. My first try made cookies that were too hard. I had to use less flour. My second attempt was too flat, so I had to add more flour. My third attempt turned out perfect.
So, the amount of flour is very very important. Have fun. And thanks to everyone who submitted comments.
February 28, 2008 at 1:59 pm
Lisa said,
Congrats on getting close to the Levain cookie, but if you used my recipe, your cookies ’should’ be just as puffy and ‘mountain like’ as Levain’s (Did you see my photos *link above* of them at Flickr? Did you see Elaine and Joi’s photos *links also above*?) Did you use a little over 4 oz of dough per cookie? Did you cream your butter cold with the sugars? Maybe you should try a little over 3 to 3 1/4 cups of flour, instead of under 3?
Regardless, as long as you liked them *flavor-texture wise* as is, aesthetics shouldn’t really matter, unless you ‘really’ want them as big and puffy as Levain’s.
February 28, 2008 at 6:02 pm
Phyllis said,
Lisa, and others,
how do you portion out your cookies into EVEN 4 oz. of dough?
how do you get them equally golden all over?
do you bake them right in the center of the oven? or on a higher level?
thanks a bunch for your comments
February 28, 2008 at 7:21 pm
Joi said,
Phyllis,
I use a basic little kitchen scale, and once you do a few, you start to just eyeball how much dough = 4oz!
I bake in the center of my oven, but others may do it differently?
February 28, 2008 at 7:24 pm
Phyllis said,
Lisa and everyone,
I just watched the showdown again. I was delighted to see it again, on tv!
on the food channel, tonight, very unexpectedly.
They use 6 oz….not 4oz, for each cookie.
Wow! That would make them even bigger….
They use whole walnuts.
The mixer might break them up a bit.
They describe their cookies as being “less done” on the inside.
My cookies still do not have the height they need.
I am going to try a different baking powder next time.
I have been using Rumford.
(Because it has no aluminum.)
What brand of baking powder are all of you people using?
Thankyou for your comments.
February 28, 2008 at 9:18 pm