GIANT Levain Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Cookies

Oh my...These giant cookies are
absolutely decadent & amazing!
There are Levain bakeries in New
York, Boston, Washington D.C.,
Los Angeles & more, but you can
make these at home any time you like!

Ingredients: 

1 cup cold unsalted butter

3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup cake flour

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

2 cups broken walnut pieces

1 cup dark chocolate chunks*

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips*

1/2 cup milk chocolate chips, optional

Method:

Preheat oven to 375*. Line baking sheets with silicone mats or parchment paper. Set aside.

Cut the butter into small cubes. Place in a large mixing bowl with the sugars. Mix on low speed just until the butter and sugars are thoroughly creamed together, light & fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix just until blended. 

Sift together the flours, cornstarch, baking soda and salt. Mix on low speed just until all of the flour mixture is mixed in. Stir in the nuts and chocolate. Fold just until combined, being careful not to over mix.**  Divide the dough into 9 equal portions or weigh 6 ounce portions of dough. Place mounds of dough at least 2 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheets. 

Bake for 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to rest on the hot baking sheets for 15 minutes, before serving or transferring to a cooling rack. Makes 9 giant 4 to 4 1/2 inch diameter gourmet chocolate chip cookies. When the cookies are served warm, the edges will be crisp and the centers will be gooey. 

After the cookies are completely cooled, they may be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator, with sheets of parchment or waxed paper between layers. 

*For best results, use a high quality brand of chocolate such as Guittard or Ghiradelli.

**If you would like for the cookies to spread less, before baking, the dough can be refrigerated for 20 minutes or longer.

Notes: Levain Bakeries are Famous for their Giant & Decadent chocolate chip cookies. It is common for lines of customers to form outside of the bakeries and the cookies sell for $4 each. My husband says he is lucky that I am making this version of these delicious cookies at home❣  (Even though my husband liked these cookies, he would prefer pecans instead of walnuts.)