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When you visit New York, there are a few musts: Seeing the Statue of Liberty (even if it’s from a distance, courtesy of the free Staten Island Ferry rides), pummeling your way through Times Square, taking a photo as if you’re pinching the spire of the Empire State Building in your hands — and eating a softball-sized Levain Bakery cookie. Dollar pizza slices and bagels get all the attention on most New York trips, but if you’ve spoken to anyone who’s lived in the city, Levain’s a must.
The cookies have crisp edges that give way to a gooey, almost molten-dough-like center, studded with so many chocolate chips (or peanut butter chips, depending on your preference) that the dough itself plays second fiddle to all those morsels. It’s a total gut bomb, and it’s something you have to split with at least one person — lest you spend the rest of the day curled in the fetal position in a park bench, utterly unable to move.
But still, it’s something you’ll crave for days afterward. I’d tackled a copycat Levain chocolate chip cookie before, but recently, I’ve been craving its chocolate cookies with peanut butter chips. They’re fudgy, dense, and decadent, with the gobs of peanut butter your only relief from all that cocoa. And they’re glorious.
What You Should Know About This Recipe:
Just so I didn’t wind up in a sugar coma, I experimented with making somewhat smaller cookies (say, 4 ounces instead of Levain’s standard 6), trying to keep them every bit as gooey, so they were like a cross between Levain and — dare I say it? — my new favorite cookie in the world, Chip NYC. This batch succeeded.
The dough’s much drier and denser than your typical one, so you have to use your hands to work in the chips, but it’s worth it. The end result is every bit as fudgy and chewy — with, yes, those crisp outer edges — you’ve dreamed of.
Pro Move: They’re best served warm and gooey. If you have leftovers (what?! HOW?!), wrap a cookie in a damp paper towel and microwave it for 8-10 seconds. It’ll taste fresh outta the oven.
I made these monsters about 2/3 of the size of the typical Levain cookie, but the texture and flavor is still there — and they're still decadent enough to be shared.
Ingredients
- 1 cup + 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 stick unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces (keep cold!)
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup Reese's peanut butter baking chips
- 1/3 cup dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- In a large bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In another large bowl, add butter and sugar. Use an electric mixer to beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg and beat for another 30-45 seconds, or until fully combined.
- Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter-sugar mixture, beating on low until just combined.
- Add both chips and mix them in using your hands.
- Form 2-inch balls of cookie dough, placing them on a parchment-lined baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Place sheet of cookies in freezer for 20 minutes (this helps prevent the cookies from spreading).
- Bake cookies for 10 minutes, or until the exterior has crisped up a bit. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.
