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A stack of three thick chocolate chip and walnut cookies on a wire cooling rack. They look crispy outside and very gooey inside with melted chocolate puddles

Levain Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies (Even Better!)

by Zoha Malik

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The perfect Levain copycat cookie recipe developed using their ingredient label. They look identical but are even better in flavor and texture!

Yield:9 cookies

Prep Time:
15 mins
Cook Time:
15 mins
Chilling Time:
12 hrs
Total Time:
30 mins

Ingredients

  • 1 cup unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes (226g or 2 sticks)
  • 1 cup granulated sugar (200g)
  • 3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed (150g)
  • 1 large egg, cold
  • 1 egg yolk, cold
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 2 3/4 cups all purpose flour (360g)
  • 150g walnut halves or pieces, measured without shells and roasted
  • 300g semi-sweet chocolate, between 50-60% cocoa, roughly chopped – I highly recommend Ghirardelli dark chocolate wafers

Instructions

  1. If your walnuts aren’t already roasted, start by baking them in the oven, preheated to 350F, for about 8 minutes or until they are crunchy and fragrant. Set them aside to cool down. Turn off the oven
  2. Add the cold, cubed butter, granulated sugar and light brown sugar to the bowl of your stand mixer. Use the paddle attachment (also ok to use an electric hand mixer) to mix on medium speed until the mixture comes together into a really soft dough like consistency and the ingredients are evenly dispersed. It’s ok if you see small specks of butter. I recommend starting on low speed as the cold butter does tend to fly everywhere! This can take 2-3 minutes
  3. Add the egg and egg yolk, and whisk again on medium-low speed until the ingredients are just combined. Do not over-mix. Scrape the bowl with a spatula at least once in the middle to ensure even mixing
  4. Add the salt and baking powder, and mix on low speed until combined
  5. Sift in the flour, and mix on low speed until the flour is almost mixed in. You should still see some streaks of flour – avoid over-mixing. The dough will feel a bit on the drier, clumpier side
  6. Roughly chop the walnuts (ensuring they have cooled down) and chocolate. Add them to the dough, and mix on low speed until they are all evenly dispersed. The dough will have a rough, clumpy look – that’s ok! Do not over-mix, but make sure the mix ins are well distributed
  7. Now form your cookie dough balls. Remove 5.5 oz (156g) of dough from the bowl and roughly bring it together with your hands. Do not apply pressure, do not try to smooth the cookie dough ball into a ball, and make it taller than it is wide. I also recommend ensuring there isn’t any visible chocolate on the bottom part of the ball, as that can burn during baking (if you see any chocolate on the bottom, pick it up and press it on top instead). Repeat until you have formed all cookie dough balls – you should have 9 balls with a little dough left over
  8. Place the cookie dough balls onto a sheet or plate, and refrigerate overnight (at least 12 hours recommended, 24 will make the cookies even better!)
  9. When you’re ready to bake, pre-heat your oven to 375F (conventional, no fan), and line 2 light colored cookie sheets with parchment paper
  10. Place the chilled cookie dough balls onto the baking sheets, keeping at least 2.5″ of distance between them.
  11. Bake the cookies for 15-16 minutes, until the cookies are light golden on top and crispy on the edges, but still soft to touch in the middle. Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool down on the baking sheet – they will continue cooking as they cool and set perfectly. If the cookies look too dark on the bottom when you remove them from the oven, gently pull the parchment paper off the baking sheet onto your counter so the cookies cool on your counter instead. I highly recommend baking one cookie as a test first so you know exactly how long to bake for!
  12. Serve and enjoy once the cookies are set!

Notes

Make ahead: These cookies are a great make ahead recipe! You can store the shaped cookie balls in the fridge, covered, for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 3 months. You can bake the cookies fresh straight from the fridge or freezer whenever you want. If frozen, add 3-4 minutes to the baking time (or as needed)

Storage: Store leftover cookies in an airtight container at room temperature, and reheat in the microwave or toaster oven whenever you want to enjoy them. They are best consumed within a day of baking.

Find it online: https://bakewithzoha.com/levain-chocolate-chip-walnut-cookies/