Levain Bakery Dark Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
These giant, crisp on the outside, tender and gooey on the inside cookies are exactly what you remember about Levain Bakery dark chocolate chocolate chip cookies.
Servings: 9 large cookies
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup cake flour
- ½ cup very dark Dutch-processed cocoa powder I use King Arthur double dark cocoa powder blend
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 16 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cubed
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 3 ½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Sift together the flours, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.
- In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle, beat the butter with the sugar just until it has the texture of a crumble topping. Refer to the step-by-step photos and the video for visual cues.
- Mix in the eggs just until they're combined and the dough begins to look smooth.
- Add the dry ingredients all at once. Mix on low just until they're incorporated. I like to do the last bit of mixing by hand with a wooden spoon or very sturdy silicone spatula, to be sure there’s no unmixed dough on the bottom, without overmixing the rest. Dough will be very stiff at this stage.
- Mix in the chocolate chips to distribute evenly. I like to do this part by hand as well, but you can use the paddle on a stand mixer if you like. It will take a bit of elbow grease either way.
- Divide the dough into nine 6-ounce (170-gram) balls. Use your hands to shape them very lightly. The final result should be rough and rustic, not packed and spherical. Line two sturdy baking sheets with parchment and arrange four balls on one sheet, five on the other, leaving plenty of room in between.
- Place the cookie sheets into the fridge for at least one hour, more if possible. It's important to chill the sheets as well as the dough balls. Do not skip this step — it helps ensure the cookies won't spread too much while baking.
- Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C) with a rack in the center.
- Transfer one cookie sheet from the fridge to the center oven rack. (You'll bake the sheets one at a time.) Bake until cookies are fully set on top and underneath and still very soft inside, about 16 minutes.
- Let cool for at least 15 to 30 minutes before serving, right on the pan — longer if you can. This helps the cookies set perfectly.
Notes
- I highly recommend using a kitchen scale to weigh the ingredients. If you're measuring by volume, be sure to employ the spoon and level method for the flour, otherwise you'll end up using too much.
- Cake flour has a lower protein content than all-purpose flour and contributes to a tender, almost cakelike center in these cookies. Find it in many grocery stores or grab it online. Note: At least in the grocery version of their cookies, Levain does not list cake flour in the ingredients. Instead they use the kind of all-purpose flour that contains diastatic malted barley, a dough conditioner that contributes to tenderness. Using some cake flour at home is the easiest way to replicate the tenderness of the original. Note to readers in the U.K. and Commonwealth countries: Cake flour is not self-raising. If you can't find it, a you can substitute more all-purpose/plain flour instead. Your plain flour typically has a lower protein content than our all-purpose flour anyway.
- You must use Dutch-processed cocoa (not "natural" cocoa) for this recipe. These types of cocoa are not interchangeable in recipes that use chemical leavening (such as the baking powder in this recipe). The darker and richer the cocoa, the more delicious your cookies will be. I love King Arthur double dark cocoa powder blend.
- If your fridge can't accommodate cookie sheets, don't panic. You could chill them separately in the freezer for a few minutes. Or, if that's not possible, you can invert a second rimmed cookie sheet underneath the one you're using to bake, to create a bit of distance between the main baking sheet and the hot oven rack. The parchment also helps buffer the cookies from the direct heat.
- In my oven, these cookies take 16 minutes to bake. As always, your mileage may vary. You're looking for a fully-set exterior and an interior that looks visibly soft from above but not totally raw. It's best to err on the side of underbaking as you get a sense for how your own oven handles these cookies. You can always tack on a few additional minutes next time.
- Once cool, store leftovers tightly sealed at room temperature for up to three days. // OR freeze baked cookies and rewarm in a 350°F oven. // OR freeze raw cookie dough balls. Thaw in refrigerator before baking.
Nutrition
Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 690kcal | Carbohydrates: 83g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 38g | Saturated Fat: 22g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 92mg | Sodium: 403mg | Potassium: 356mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 48g | Vitamin A: 695IU | Calcium: 100mg | Iron: 5mg
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