To mitigate the apparent absence of sweet things during this pandemic, I decided to learn how to recreate chocolate chip walnut cookies in the style of New York’s Levain cookies. The differentiating characteristic of Levain cookies appears to be the height and texture gradient of these cookies, which requires some extra TLC to achieve.

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb 60-70% dark chocolate
  • 1.5 cup cake flour
  • 2 cup all purpose flour
  • 1.5 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp corn starch
  • 0.5 tsp baking soda
  • 1.25 cup unsalted butter
  • 1.25 cup brown sugar
  • 0.5 cup white granulated sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 3 egg yolks
  • 2 cups walnuts
  1. Melt the butter.
  2. Rough chop the dark chocolate.
  3. Combine the cake flour (must include cake flour, which contains less protein than all-purpose flour and is less glutinous), all-purpose flour, salt, corn starch, baking soda, and whisk.
  4. Combine brown and white sugar and slowly stream in butter until thoroughly mixed. Then add the eggs slowly and incorporate.
  5. Slowly mix the flour combination into the sugar and egg combination.
  6. Fold in chocolate and walnuts.
  7. Chill cookie dough for an hour. This step is important for maintaining the shape of the dough.
  8. Scoop 6oz cookies onto parchment paper, and arrange on baking sheets.
  9. Refrigerate for another half an hour so the cookies do not flatten while baking in the oven.
  10. Bake 425F for 10-13 minutes.
  11. Let cool for 10 minutes, then take a bunch of pictures and enjoy.