Delicious Reading: Modern Honey and Copycat Levain Chocolate Chip Cookies

When I was planning our family’s trip to New York City this summer, I turned to various friends of ours who live in the city for the advice. They rarely added another sight to see to our itinerary, but they often suggested places to eat. New Yorkers are famous for starting food trends like the Cronut and rainbow bagel, but also eschewing anything pedestrian or too touristy. We made sure to hit their recommendations for the best burgers and pizza and tried to avoid the spots they thought were too pricey or overhyped.

Brooke Clubbs

When I was researching our lunch options for the day we would spend at the American Museum of Natural History, I realized we would be close to a famous bakery. I can’t remember where I first heard of it, but when I saw the name “Levain,” I knew it was familiar. I looked it up online and was greeted with a site advertising a variety of sweets.

However, it was clear the chocolate chip walnut cookie was the showstopper, described as “Our signature cookie. Crispy outside with a satisfyingly thick and gooey center. Every bite is packed with semisweet chocolate chips and chunks of walnuts. The New York Times says these ‘may possibly be the largest, most divine chocolate chip cookies in Manhattan.’” Levain Bakery was founded in 1994 by friends Connie McDonald and Pam Weekes and has now reached a legendary status where locals and tourists alike line up outside to get in the tiny Upper West Side shop. I knew we would need to join them.

On our last full day in the city, after exploring the museum from morning to afternoon, we walked to the bakery. Bob and the kids strolled around the neighborhood while I waited in a line that moved swiftly and was full of happy people anticipating cookie goodness. When it was my turn to go in the blue door and down the steps into the shop, I had my order ready to go. Soon, I was on my way back up and out, swinging a surprisingly hefty brown paper bag by the handles. We then headed to Central Park. I had heard of a variety of spots inside the massive green space that were ideal for picnics, like Sheep Meadow and Strawberry Fields, but we happened upon some benches overlooking The Lake shortly after entering that seemed ideal. Sharing our cookies and enjoying that peaceful spot was one of my favorite moments of the trip.

While I knew I couldn’t recreate that moment, I thought I might at least try to recreate the cookies. I discovered the copycat I desired on a blog called Modern Honey at modernhoney.com.

Melissa Stadler started Modern Honey in 2015. After winning several baking contests, having a blog was another outlet for her creativity in the kitchen. She has many categories of recipes on the site, but clearly her favorites are cookies. She had visited Levain Bakery several times and went through dozens of revisions as she tried to recreate their recipe. Finally, she landed on the one she thinks comes as close as she can get.

The chemistry of cooking is fascinating to me; I loved reading about how she tried to find the right combination of flours to help make the cookie thick but not scone-like, the right oven temperature to get the outside browned but keep the inside gooey and more. My kids were thrilled to see these huge cookies awaiting them when they got home from their first day of school: a little taste of NYC as we settled back into our routines in Jackson, Missouri.

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

1 teaspoon cornstarch

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups chocolate chips

2 cups walnuts, roughly chopped

Instructions

Preheat oven to 410 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together cold cubed butter, brown sugar and sugar for four 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 a lightly-colored cookie sheet. They are bigger than you think! You will fit four cookies on one large cookie sheet. The dough makes eight extra large cookies.

Bake for nine to 12 minutes or until golden brown on the top. Let them rest for at least 10 minutes to set.