Recently I was asked by a friend for recommendations of what to eat in New York, and without hesitation, I told him Levain Bakery. Their cookies are the stuff of dreams and legends. I was so jealous and overwhelmed with an insatiable desire to consume these magical cookies, so I scoured the internet for recipes. I found a bunch of copycat recipes, but it seemed like the biggest difference between these and any other normal cookie recipe were due to the addition of corn starch, using cold butter, their size and refrigerating the dough. I found one that seemed to have most of these factors and used that for my testing. I think these turned out so good! They may not be exactly the same, but they are legit and definitely should be tried and tested by us all. Make sure to eat these fresh out of the oven, because that is when their warm and melty goodness will make your dreams come true!

• 3 1/4 cups all purpose flour plus 1 teaspoon for mixing with chocolate chips and walnuts
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 1/2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips

In a large bowl, combine 3 ¼ cups flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, add butter, white and brown sugars. Mix until well combined and creamy. Add eggs and vanilla and mix until incorporated. With the mixer on low, gradually add dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated.

In a small bowl, combine chocolate chips with 1 teaspoon flour, tossing to coat. Mix the chocolate chips into the cookie dough with your hands for even distribution.

Line two baking sheets with baking paper or a Silpat. Divide cookie dough into 10 portions about 4 ounces each (I weighed each and every one. They seem insanely huge, but that’s the idea!). Shape cookies into rough mounds and refrigerate for 30 minutes before baking.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until cookies are light golden brown and just barely cooked in the middle (mine went the full 20 minutes).

Recipe slightly adapted from Citycookin.

Pro-tip: Freeze the dough for another 20 or so minutes after refrigerating for extra gooey on the insides cookies.

-CK 1.0