Levain-Style Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies (Make-Ahead & Freezer Friendly)

🍪 Levain-Style Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies

If you love thick, bakery-style cookies with crisp edges and a soft, gooey centre, these Levain-style cookies are for you.

I recently made these at home, and honestly—they taste just like the famous New York Levain cookies.

The best part?
👉 You can prepare the dough ahead, freeze it, and bake fresh cookies anytime you want.

I made large 100 g dough balls, perfect for indulgent, chunky cookies 🍪

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🍪 What Makes These Levain-Style?

• Extra-large cookie dough balls

• Cold butter + cold dough (no spreading!)

• A mix of plain flour + self-raising flour for softness and height

• Slight underbake for that gooey centre

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🧾 Ingredients (Grams & ML)

Makes 8 large cookies

Wet Ingredients

• 225 g unsalted butter, cold & cubed

• 150 g brown sugar

• 100 g white sugar

• 2 large eggs (about 100 g without shell), cold

• 5 ml vanilla extract

Dry Ingredients

• 250 g plain flour

• 100 g self-raising flour

• 10 g cornstarch

• 3 g salt (½ tsp)

⚠️ No baking soda or baking powder needed
(Self-raising flour already contains leavening)

Add-Ins

• 300 g chocolate chips or chunks

• 100 g chopped walnuts (optional, but very Levain!)

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🥣 How to Make the Cookie Dough

1. Cream cold butter and sugars
   Mix just until combined. Do not overmix.

2. Add eggs and vanilla
   Mix lightly until incorporated.

   
   
   

3. Mix dry ingredients
   In a separate bowl, whisk:

   • Plain flour

   • Self-raising flour

   • Cornstarch

   • Salt
     
     

4. Combine wet and dry
   Add dry ingredients to wet and mix just until no dry flour remains.

   

5. Fold in chocolate & walnuts
   Gently fold—don’t overwork the dough.

   

6. Shape the dough balls
   Divide into large rough balls (about 100 g each).
   ❗ Do NOT flatten them.

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❄️ Storage Options

✅ Best Option: Freezer (Highly Recommended)

• Place dough balls on a tray

• Freeze until solid (1–2 hours)

• Transfer to an airtight container or zip-lock bag

• Label with date

• Keeps well for up to 2 months

⚠️ Refrigerator (Short-Term Only)

• Store airtight

• Use within 3–4 days

• Not suitable for long storage

🧊 If Your Dough Feels Too Soft (Important Step)

After mixing the dough, mine turned out a little soft and smooth due to room temperature.

What I did:

• Kept the entire bowl of cookie dough in the freezer for 45 minutes

• This firmed up the butter without freezing the dough solid

• After chilling, the dough was easy to handle and held its shape perfectly

Then:

• I shaped the dough into 100 g rough balls

• Placed them on a lined tray

• Proceeded with freezing or baking as usual

👉 Highly recommended if your kitchen is warm or the dough feels too soft

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🔥 Baking From Frozen (No Thawing!)

1. Preheat oven to 215°C (425°F)

2. Place frozen dough balls on a lined tray

3. Bake for 14–17 minutes

Result:

• Outside: golden and crisp

• Inside: soft, thick, and gooey

⏳ Let cookies cool for 10 minutes before eating—the centre will set perfectly.

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🧠 Tips for Perfect Levain Cookies

• Bigger dough balls = thicker cookies

• Always bake from cold or frozen dough

• Slight underbaking = gooey centre

• Rough shaping (not smooth) gives bakery texture