I’ve been saying I want to recreate Levain Cookies for… literally a decade. In 2014, Molly was doing a summer program at Columbia, and naturally I went to visit. Most of that long weekend visit was spent walking between bakeries. We covered a lot of ground – an early morning to stand in the cronut line, a particularly memorable 10 mile day that included a fantastic Milk Bar baking class, and flying home to Indy with bagels and a Baked Brownie in my bag. It was also the first time I had a Levain cookie, and it was delicious. Fast forward to 2018, and I visited NYC for about 48 hours with my parents, and I spent a morning wandering again, and I tried more of what Levian has to offer. That time it was an amazing banana bread. But their cookies really are the best, and they’re the kind that stick in your mind (whether that’s 10 years, 5 years, or 6 months later). So I decided to try and recreate them.
We’re approaching 6 months since I moved to Minneapolis from Los Angeles, and I have to say there isn’t much that I miss. I’m still in touch with the friends who matter, I’ve gotten to experience a full winter again, I’ve spent more time with my family and less time in traffic, and I have not had to see anyone walking around on drugs (or… on withdrawal from drugs). However, a few weeks before I moved, a Levain Bakery opened up in LA about 10 minutes from my apartment. And that was, for just a few weeks, a game changer. Their shop in Larchmont was beautiful and well-lit, and had a relatively simple parking situation, all things considered. Having them so close by was… dangerous. I went 3 or 4 times in just a few weeks.
Luckily, I’m a baker, and I have the means to recreate these cookies at home. And also luckily, I have a new excuse to visit NYC more often and get the real deal Levain cookies when I go.
2014 and 2012 are part of the same era in my mind, and 2012 is when Molly first posted these Butterfinger Cookies to the blog. They were the first post we had where the photos got accepted to Foodgawker – a huge milestone for 2012!! They are incredibly simple (Toll House simple) cookies that were delicious in their simplicity. So naturally, combining these cookies I first had in 2014 with a 2012 classic felt like the right thing to do for this cookie recreation. And these turned out as a perfect blend between that simple flavor and the decadence of a Levain cookie.
Also, Levain has a whole collection of cookies now. My favorite is their chocolate peanut butter chip. Because I hate to say it, but the *only* flaw with their classic chocolate chip cookie is that they put walnuts in them. Why? Unclear. There’s no need for them!
I always had in my head that these cookies must be incredibly difficult to make. I imagined some scone-like process, and some elaborate/time-consuming 24 hour chilling process. But that could not be further from reality. These came together in about 10 minutes (the butter didn’t even need to get to room temperature!), and then they just get plopped right on the baking sheet, no chilling required.
So cheers to crossing things off your to-do list after 10 years! And cheers to those things being far simpler than you may have thought.
Print
Print
PinDescription
From Modern Honey
Ingredients
- 1 cup Cold Butter cut into small cubes
- 1 cup Brown Sugar
- 1/2 cup Sugar
- 2 Eggs
- 1 1/2 cups Cake Flour + 1 1/2 cups Flour (alternatively, just do 3 cups of all-purpose flour and add an extra tablespoon of cornstarch)
- 1 teaspoon Cornstarch
- 3/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 3/4 teaspoon Salt
- 10.2 ounce bag of Butterfingers, crushed
Instructions
Preheat oven to 410 degrees.
In a large mixing bowl, cream together cold cubed butter, brown sugar, and sugar for 4 minutes or until creamy.
Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each one.
Stir in flours, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. Mix until just combined to avoid overmixing. Stir in chocolate chips and walnuts.
Separate dough into large balls and place on lightly colored cookie sheet. They are bigger than you think! You will fit 4 cookies on one large cookie sheet. The dough makes 8 extra large cookies.
Bake for 9-12 minutes or until golden brown on the top. Let them rest for at least 10 minutes to set.