Big Fat Double Dark Chocolate Cookies {Almost Levain Bakery Knockoff}
These big fat double dark chocolate cookies are a decadent, homemade, slightly-fudgier version of the famed Levain double chocolate cookies.
The answer to every last chocolate craving, these enormously delicious double chocolate cookies are incredible. A bit intense? Yes. But totally worth it? Also, yes.
If you’ve seen Levain bakery cookies in person (or just around the internet), you’ll quickly notice that their fame comes largely because of size. The cookies are notoriously huge, often slightly underbaked, and loaded with chocolate chips.
My version of these big fat double dark chocolate cookies produces a cookie that is less cakey and slightly fudgier than other knockoff Levain bakery recipes.
They are easily one of my favorite cookies ever. Major brownie-vibes-in-a-cookie happening here.
Double Dark Chocolate Cookie Dough
The cookie dough starts with:
- cold butter
- brown sugar
- granulated sugar
The cold butter is essential to produce the right texture for these cookies: lightly crisp on the outside but soft and gooey on the inside.
Also, bonus, no need to plan ahead or mess with softening butter. Hallelujah.
Because the butter is cold, it will have a tendency to flip and fly around a bit as it first starts mixing, so be sure to cut the butter into pieces before adding it to the mixer and start the mixer on low speed.
Hang in there and trust the process, because with time (4-6 minutes), the butter and sugars will turn into a thick, creamy, well-combined mixture.
What Kind of Chocolate Chips to Use
I’d like to state here (mostly for my posterity, because leading by example matters) that the only appropriate chocolate chips to use in this recipe are semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips.
They are double DARK chocolate chip cookies, after all.
However, also for my posterity (because kindness and inclusivity matters, too), if you choose to use milk chocolate chips, that is a very personal decision and I will *try* and not judge you for it.
For a PB version: try subbing in half (or all) of the chocolate chips for peanut butter chips. Yum!
My favorite chips to use are Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate chips.
Mix the dough just until no dry streaks remain.
It will be thicker than a traditional chocolate chip cookie dough.
You can scoop and bake the cookies right away. No need to refrigerate the dough!
How to Weigh Out Cookie Dough
To accommodate the fact that these cookies are meant to be huge, the dough is divided into 4 to 4.25 ounce portions.
You can go even bigger than that, if you’d like. Traditional Levain cookies use a whopping 6 ounces of dough for each cookie.
Leave the dough craggy or pat into a somewhat lumpy dough ball. They don’t need to be pristinely rolled into perfect balls.
How to Fix Cookies that Flatten Too Much
Bake the cookies for 9-10 minutes until the outside is shiny and set and the inside is still somewhat soft.
These big fat double dark chocolate cookies should bake up…very big and fat.
A lot of different factors can impact how a cookie will turn out exactly, such as: exact oven temperature (most ovens vary), how we each measure ingredients, how long the dough was mixed, brand and variety of brown sugar and butter, and more.
So don’t panic if your cookies come out of the oven a little flatter or a little puffier than what you were hoping. Here are some tips to help!
For a thicker/puffier cookie, try:
- adding another 1/4 cup flour to the dough (it helps to bake one single “tester” cookie first to see how it will bake so you can still alter the dough a bit)
- increasing the oven temperature by 10-15 degrees F
- chilling the dough (if doing this, I recommend scooping the dough into balls before chilling)
If your cookies are TOO puffy, try reducing the oven temperature by 25 degrees and/or next time measuring the dry ingredients with a lighter hand so there is less flour in the dough.
A Favorite Cookie
Even if I did start out with the intention for these cookies to be Levain knockoffs, I’m certain they won’t pass any official test. They’re a bit smaller and a lot fudgier (and less cakey) than most other variations.
And that’s ok by me, because they are incredible. Like, one of my favorite cookies in the history of ever.
And also, rumor has it (ahem) that if you refrigerate the gooey, slightly under baked cookies overnight, the chilled cookies are actually, almost, probably, most definitely the most delicious thing you’ll eat all year. (They freeze well, too – YES SO MUCH DANGEROUS INFO RIGHT HERE IN THIS PARAGRAPH.)
Hundreds of you have made and loved this recipe over the years, too!
Ellen: OMG! Love the deep chocolate gooey richness. I can’t believe how well they turned out. Nine minutes and they looked just like your pictures!! Pretty darn excited about this recipe. Thanks so much! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Hannah: I’m sort of famous for my cookies, and I have created a family of cookie snobs. That sounds ridiculous, but it’s true. My toddlers have been known to take a bite of a sub-par cookie and refuse the rest (kind of makes my mom heart happy). But these cookies. OH these cookies! People are talking about them a week later, so it’s safe to say they’re absolutely fantastic. Like a gooey brownie in cookie form? ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A few big, fat double dark chocolate cookie notes:
- Smaller Cookies: the cookies can definitely be made smaller. If you do so, adjust the time as needed (and understand the gooey level may be minimized a bit)
- Cake Flour: the cookies won’t turn out the same if using just all-purpose flour. If you don’t have cake flour on hand, here’s a quick and easy way to make cake flour yourself.
- Cocoa Powder: I have made these using Dutch-process cocoa, Hershey’s special dark cocoa powder, and natural, unsweetened cocoa powder. My favorite versions are when using the special dark or Dutch-process cocoa. But any variety will work (the cookies will be less dark and rich with regular natural, unsweetened cocoa powder and you may find the cookies spread less when using this cocoa powder).
- Cold Eggs + Cold Butter: it’s important that the butter and eggs are cold so these cookies hold their shape and don’t flatten. It takes a while for the butter and sugars to mix together, but it’ll happen. It’s also a reason a stand mixer is best for this recipe.
- One Last Plea for Milk Chocolate? No and no. I’m glad we had this talk. However, peanut butter chips thrown in the batter are goooooood.
See me make the big fat double dark chocolate cookies over on Instagram. 😋
Big Fat Double Dark Chocolate Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (227 g) cold salted butter straight from the fridge, cut into tablespoon-size pieces
- 1 cup (212 g) lightly packed light or dark brown sugar
- ½ cup (106 g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, cold from the refrigerator
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¾ cups (249 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 ¼ cups (143 g) cake flour
- ½ cup (50 g) dark or Dutch-process unsweetened cocoa powder (see note)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ to 2 cups (255 to 340 g) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips or chunks
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line two half sheet pans with parchment paper and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the cold butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar. Start the mixer on low (the butter will fly around a bit since it's cold) and gradually increase to medium speed. Mix for 4-6 minutes until the mixture is creamy and very well-combined, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
- Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until combined and the batter is light in color, 2-3 minutes.
- Add the flour, cake flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together (and so the dry ingredients don't fly everywhere).
- When just a few dry streaks remain, add the chocolate chips or chunk and mix just until combined and there are no dry spots.
- Scoop very large balls of dough (about 4-4.25 ounces for each cookie) and place several inches apart on the prepared baking sheets (five cookies per half sheet pan).
- Bake for 9-10 minutes until set on the outside but still soft in the middle. Let the cookies rest on the baking sheets to cool for 5-7 minutes before removing to a cooling rack. These cookies are amazing warm (with ice cream), chilled, or at room temperature.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe (inspired by lots of knockoff recipes online)
208 Comments on “Big Fat Double Dark Chocolate Cookies {Almost Levain Bakery Knockoff}”
I’ve made these twice now and they certainly are so delicious. Do you have a chocolate chip cookie recipe that matches the same thickness and texture and consistency as these?
I don’t, but I’m working on one!
Can’t wait for that!!
These were so yummy! I made the cake flour following the link above and I made the cookies much smaller so that it made a couple more than 2 dozen and they were delicious!
Can you freeze the dough to make cookies later? Or would you suggest freezing the cookies instead on letting them defrost before eating.
You can do either! Both options work great.
HOLY SMOKES!! These are insaaaaaaaaane I could cry right now. I just ate my first cookie from the batch. Daaaangerous territory with these babies. Oh my goodness oh my goodness oh my goodness. THANK YOU FOR THIS RECIPE! Heaven on eeeeeaaaaaaarth
Super yummy! I added some mint chips in with the semisweet for a festive March mint chocolate chip cookie that turned out perfect.
Oh, these. These. Theeeeese. These are heaven. All my chocolate fantasies wrapped up in a huge mountain of chocolate heaven. I’ve had Levain cookies many times and, though different, these are every bit as satisfying. These crush all cookie attempts to satisfy the ultimate chocolate craving.
Made these today with GF flour from @gfjules and used dairy free butter. Turned out delicious! So chocolatey and fabulous eaten warm! ❤️ Thanks again for another Fabulous recipe Mel! ❤️
was wondering if you can make these smaller for group of people
I made them large and small. I baked the smaller ones for about 7- 8 minutes depending on the size you do.
Hi Doris, yes, you can definitely make them smaller if you’d like.
Hi, I made these cookies in March of 2020 and absolutely loved them. I see in the notes that you updated the recipe at some point. I’m trying to figure out if when I made it in early 2020 it was the old recipe or the new one. I guess I’m just wondering when the recipe was updated to the new one . Thank you!
Hi Chelsea, I updated the dry ingredients (details in the notes of the recipe) late last year (2022).
I made them gluten free using almond flour, arrowroot and making my own cake flour with almond flour. So good, best gluten free cookie I’ve had
I also made them GF but used gfjules.com gf flour for both all purpose and cake flour. Super delicious. Almond flour is definitely a little better for you so I might have to try that. How did you make it in to cake flour?
My husband loves these! They are his favorite cookies.
One thing I do is I put the cookies in the fridge for an hour or so. that way they are really cool when they go in the oven it helps them keep their shape. It’s probably the same as you saying everything needs to be cold but it’s how I go about it.
Delicious and Easy Recipe.
My new favorite. I followed the recipe except I cooked them for 9 minutes @ 350. They were soft and oh so amazing. Definitely a crowd pleaser.
I made these for Christmas and they were the best cookies I have ever made.
These were okay – mine didn’t quite set up properly and needed some more flour. The cup measurements and the weight measurements don’t match up. For instance, 1.5 cups of flour weighs about 180 grams, far less than the 213 grams called for in the recipe.
Hi Mallory, I test my recipes using 142 grams per cup of flour. Other sources may use different flour amounts so I recommend using the weight measures given in a recipe that’s been tested.
Can’t wait to try this recipe!! I was wondering how long I should chill the dough prior to baking… any tips and trick appreciated! 🙂
I don’t chill the dough, but you can if you’d like!
I’ve been making these cookies for years! Today I didn’t have cornstarch to make cake flour so I just used all two and a half cups of flour. It has a cookie type hard crust and not the soft crust. I didn’t have enough cocoa powder and added a whole package of chocolate chips and people still loved these.
These are so delicious!… big winner. Thank you.
I put the recipe in a nutrition calculator. Ours made 11 4-oz. cookies. Each cookie has 511 calories (562 each if your recipe makes 10 cookies).
We’ll definitely make these again.
Hello! I don’t have a stand mixer, so can I use an electric hand mixer? Would I need to increase the bearing time?
The cold butter might be a bit tricky with a hand mixer, but if it’s powerful, it should be just fine.
LOOKS AMAZING I TELL MORE SOON I HAVE MADE
look AMAZING I TELL MORE SOON I HAVE MAKE THEM…
All my kids have grown up, and through the years I have made them TONS of cookies. My whole family agrees that this is the BEST cookie they have ever tasted. THESE ARE DELICIOUS!!!
Just made these! They are delicious and taste like the real cookie.
Hi! Have you tried freezing these cookies?how do they turn out thawed/reheated? TIA 🙂
They freeze great!
These cookies are AH-MAZING!!! So gooey and velvety and delicious. I am now OBSESSED with that big, gigantic, bakery style cookie – Mel, can I do this with all of your cookie recipes?!
I’m not sure but it’s worth a try!
I swear I have made these cookies more in the last 2 months than I have every made any cookie ever – included the traditional chocolate chip. These are the absolute most perfect cookie ever! My children are forever grateful to you, Mel!
I love this so much, Corrie!! Thanks for letting me know that!
They came out perfect!!! Chocolate lovers dream
I lived across the street from LEVAIN for a few years – I would love to take people who visited over to get a cookie. I loved the chocolate with peanut butter chips. I am going to try this for my family. I had no idea “Levain” cookies were a known thing. cant way to try.
OMG ooey-gooey delicious! I followed the directions to a T, though I have no stand mixer so doing the cold butter and sugar by hand was quite a task. I cut the butter into 1/4″ slices to make it somewhat easier but jeez louise my FOREARMS! Thanks for the amazing recipe, consider it BOOKMARKED.
I’ve tried this recipe a couple times but my cookies always come out on the dry side rather than fudgy! I’ve tried shorter baking times but haven’t had success! Any ideas what I’m doing wrong?
Hi Rebecca, sounds like you could probably back off the dry ingredients a bit (maybe a few tablespoons less of flour) and that will help.
My cookies were Cakey and don’t have a shine.
I looked though the comments and found that my dough wasn’t sticky at all.
Could you tell me what I did wrong?
If they are cakey, it sounds like maybe the dough was overfloured. Try not to pack the flour into the cup and measure with a light hand. That should help!
Hi, do you think these will work using a combination of good quality, European bittersweet and white chocolate chips?
Definitely worth a try!
I needed something quick and easy, yet impressive enough to serve to guests. These cookies were perfect! And very decadent, perfect with coffee or cold milk
Does anyone have the measurements in grams?
There are conversion options – Google cup to gram conversion and do the math.
Will this recipe also work if i made them into smaller cookies? How many regular sized cookies will i be able to make with this recipe?
Yes, you can make these cookies smaller. I don’t know what you mean by “regular” size cookies, but I’m guessing it will make similar to a standard batch of cookies – maybe 2-3 dozen?
Was searching for a dark chocolate cookie recipe so I can experiment with my new bag of extra dark dutch process cacao… oh yes, this will do nicely! Thank you!!
OMG! Love the deep chocolate gooey richness. I can’t believe how well they turned out. It didn’t seem like there was enough moisture for the dry ingredients, but it came together perfectly. Nine minutes and they looked just like your pictures!! Pretty darn excited about this recipe. Thanks so much!
Made this cookie yesterday and they were delicious! I halved the sugar in the recipe as I don’t really like sweet and it tasted perfect. I baked it for 12 mins, because it was still underbaked on 10 mins.
My only issue is my cookies turn out so soft, even the outer part is so soft and doesn’t have the crisp / harden texture. Any suggestions for that? Thanks!
I would try adding yet another minute to the baking time to see if that helps.
Hi! Planning on making these into 2-bite cookies. How many minutes would you suggest I bake them for? Thank you!
Probably 7-8 minutes.
I’ve made this a dozen times so far, everyone I’ve made them for absolutely loves them. Just took a batch out of the oven and this time omitted the chips all of them and added coconut, lets just say we now have an all time new fav here! These are truly the best chocolate cookies I’ve ever had, thanks so much!
Hi!! Do you think I could use margarine instead of butter?
You could definitely try – the flavor and texture maybe quite different.
So delicious, so decadent, so rich… must balance with milk. Recipe made 10 cookies. Next time I can only eat 1/2 a cookie. The second pan was a little loftier and just right than the first (you know how sometimes the first batch isn’t as good… ). I think you could add 1-2 minutes (may depend on altitude). I can’t really imagine that the Levain cookies are any better than what I made tonight. And also… the dough is so yummy. Definitely 5 stars. I used a Krups mixer, and it took about 8 minutes to get the cold butters and sugars well mixed… and it was a little messy. It was a bit hard on the mixer to keep going once all the ingredients were in. I’m thinking this would make a lovely gift. They sell a package of 4 at Levain’s Bakery for $27.
These cookies are amazing! I followed the recipe exactly (including making my own cake flour) but made them smaller since I needed a lot. Definitely a keeper. Mel, you rock!
Made this recipe early in the week last week then made it again to get the timing of baking them better as I made mine smaller. We have loved this recipe. I ended up making one more time at the end of the week! I have shared the cookies and all have asked for your recipe. I like that they are still great the next day.
These cookies are delicious. I used the Ghirardelli unsweetened cocoa powder and the Toll House chocolate chunks. So good. My husband wouldn’t stop eating them.
Using a scale and your weight measures, I was able to knock these cookies out in 30 minutes. So gooey and delicious! Most of these are going in the fridge to be enjoyed chilled. Thank you for such a fun recipe!
Have you tried freezing these? My girls are wanting to freeze cookie dough to bake later. Nothing like a cooking hot out of the oven! We have some hot cookie snobs in the house.
Yes, dough freezes great (so do the baked cookies).
If I were to make this in smaller/normal size, how many do you think I could get out of this recipe?
Probably about 2 dozen.
Just wanted to follow up… I made these for Christmas and they were a hit! I made them smaller and half of them I put an Andes mint on top when they came out and allowed it to melt. Both were wonderful. Thanks!
Any recommendations for high altitude baking with these bad boys??
Hey, Mel, would putting this recipe in a 9×13 pan and cutting them into bars be permissible? Or a total travesty?
Haha. Definitely worth a try!!
Hi did you try it? I have batter ready to go but I’m too lazy now haha
I haven’t tried making these yet, but after just returning from NYC and having the real thing I am anxious to do so. These were by far my favorite sweet I had while there.
I’ll report back…
I’m interested to know which chocolate cookie is your favorite? I have only ever tried the thick and chewy one bacon from 2008, I make them for my cookie madness over the holidays. Wondering if these or the one bowl fudgy ones are better? Thanks!
I don’t know that I have a favorite because I love all of them…but if I had to pick, I’d probably go with the one bowl fudgy cookies. We make them most often!
They come out perfect, i also tried using air fyer too and it was perfect.
I think these cookies are amazing!! So much that Ive made them 3 times in the last 2 weeks. They are awesome, just like everything on your blog!! Thank you!!
Thanks so much, Hollie!
Can I use softened butter to make these if I refrigerate the dough before baking? I don’t have a stand mixer, so I just imagine that it would be difficult to combine by hand 😀
I haven’t tried it, but I think that should be a good compromise.
I used softened butter and froze them before baking and used a cookie scoop They were nice and tall and fluffy after baking
I’m in Denver, 5280ft up!! I am dying to make these today, should I adjust sugar and flour? Normally you up the flour, add a bit of water to it, and reduce sugar. Thoughts?
I don’t have great advice for high altitude adjustments on these cookies since I live at a lower elevation, but if those changes have helped in the past, I’d say it’s worth giving it a try.
I’m excited to try these, I am an ardent lover of dark chocolate and gooey cookies. Just a question – wouldn’t the same effect be realized if you used room temp butter and then just chilled the shaped dough balls in the fridge before baking them? This is what I always do with my cookies so they don’t spread. Just wondering since it seems like it would make the dough making a little easier.
You could definitely try that – probably would accomplish the same thing. 🙂
Whoa! I just made these for the teachers at my kiddos school for parent-teacher conferences and then had to make another batch for us so that I could have a couple at home. I added Reese’s Pieces (1/2 c) along with the chocolate chips (1 c) and they are perfect! I want to try them with salted caramel chips…next time. They are gooey and sooo chocolate-y! Amazing!! I’m now so sad that I have waited so long to try these.
I’m glad you liked them, Amanda! Hope they were a hit at the school!
I used the recipe as the base for a s’mores cookie. Some friends and I tried an amazing cookie on a business trip in San Jose. I added one cup of mini marshmallows that “aged” out of the bag for 24 hours, then dipped the top of each cookie in crushed up graham crackers. Aging the marshmallows allowed them to keep their individual shape instead of spreading into a sheet of marshmallow. They were perfect! And kept really well for 3-4 days. I can’t wait to make them again!
Oh my gosh, those sound amazing!
These are incredible!
I’m sort of famous for my cookies, and I have created a family of cookie snobs. That sounds ridiculous, but it’s true. My toddlers have been known to take a bite of a sub-par cookie and refuse the rest (kind of makes my mom heart happy). But these cookies. OH these cookies! People are talking about them a week later, so it’s safe to say they’re absolutely fantastic. Like a gooey brownie in cookie form? I was so stoked to see my Walmart started selling Dutch process cocoa, so these will become a new favorite at our house. Thank you!
Haha, that is straight up awesome about your toddlers. Talk about a good skill to foster in your kids. 🙂 I’m so happy you loved these! Feel honored they made the cookie snob cut. Haha.
I’ve recently resorted to bribing people with treats to come to ward choir practice (no shame)… I’ve decided to try a new cookie recipe each week and I just made these this morning. I’ve never had Levain cookies but these are incredible! I love the crisp outside and super soft inside My boys can’t appreciate the little details yet, but they love them too!
I would totally come to your choir practice for these cookies!
My favorite recipe of yours so far!! And I love them all 🙂
Yay! Thanks so much, Beth!
I just made these smaller/ “normal sized” for 11 minutes in my oven and they are soooo good. They’re crispy and fudgey and wow. Thanks for another hit!
These are delicious! I made them tonight with homemade coconut milk ice cream on top
Yum, Lesli!
I’ve been looking for a good chocolate cookie recipe for a long time! Chocolate cookies with peanut butter chips are my very favorite, but they usually turn out flat, greasy, or too crispy. I was hesitant to try these because I don’t have a mixer. I used my hand mixer and just cut the butter into small pieces. I also used regular unsweetened cocoa. I used peanut butter chips and made them smaller (regular cookie size). Since they were small, I baked them at 350 for 10 minutes. They were amazing! Definitely the best chocolate cookie recipe I’ve ever made! Thanks Mel!
I tried this recipe just this morning and they were so good! It didnt spread out at all, unlike other double chocolate cookie recipes i’ve tried. Finally found the one.
I tried these twice and have struggled to get the texture right.
I tried making my own cake flour once measured and once weight and both times the dough was way too sticky and cookies flattened too much
I do usually have to add more flour to recipes because of our altitude/dry climate (Baking a mile high in CO here ) so after first super fat batch I added a TB of cornstarch mixed with a scant 1/4 C of flour sifted and it worked well so guessing for high altitude add a bit more cake flour and go from there
Thanks for the delicious chocolate cookies and all your recipes Mel
Your site is my FAV and my bestie is named Mel so I have so many reasons to ❤️❤️❤️You!
Yep, this cookie recipe is a 10 for sure!! I made the huge 4 oz cookies and got exactly ten from the recipe. I made my own cake flour with the cornstarch, and used white chocolate chips cause that’s all I had. I refrigerated them for about 30 minutes cause the dough was super sticky, and that helped me a lot!! I was honestly surprised at myself for them turning out so well! (Not cause of the recipe… just cause me.) Thanks, Mel!!
These were so tasty, and so easy. Loved em just as much as Levain!
These turned out perfect! Reminded me of a brownie recipe I use. Very rich, so eat with black coffee or something 🙂 Everyone loved these:)
Hi, I love this recipe. it was so good!
Terrible recipe. Weight measurements are completely off. Waste of ingredients. I had really high hope for these cookies too
Sorry to hear you have struggles Andrew. I did follow the weight on the recipes and my cookies came out great. Maybe your scale could be off?
Sorry these didn’t work out for you, Andrew!
I am currently eating some dough to make sure it’s good and man it is the best dough I’ve had. Cookies are in the oven almost done and they smell soo good. Now I tasted a cookie. It reminds me of a lava cake but I’m a cookie form. Definitely recommend!!
I weighed the ingredients for mine and they turned out perfectly.
I want to make these for my work friends and I am wondering how well they keep if I were to make them the night before? Do they lose that gooeyness?
I think they can definitely be made one day ahead of time. They want be soft and gooey as if they were straight from the oven but they’ll still be tasty. Just make sure to store them well covered.
I really didn’t think I needed another chocolate chip recipe. I was wrong. I need this one and my granddaughters agree.
One of the few recipes that I actually made exactly as written.
These are absolutely amazing. I was craving something decadent and full of chocolate flavor, your cookies were perfect for my craving. I just changed the amount of sugar to suit my taste, I only added 3/4 cup of brown sugar, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, and also added 1 teaspoon of coffee powder. I made the cookies smaller too using a tablespoon, and bake them for 7 to 8 minutes. They came out delicious, thank you so much for your recipe.
Thanks, Maria!
Fabulous! I made my own cake flour, now used 1 cup bittersweet chips and 1/2 cup semisweet because I couldn’t decide which one to use. This was the first time I used dark cocoa powder. I mixed these in my Bosch. I actually don’t have the cookie paddles. I have a puffy chocolate chip recipe that I’ve made for years. It’s similar to this with cold butter and eggs. Anyway, I’ve always made that recipe in my Bosch with the whisks and it works, so I figured this would too. The whisks get chock full o’ dough, but it mixes very quickly and works just fine! I made five (4oz) cookies, baked for 11.5 minutes, and ten (2oz) cookies, baked for 9.5 minutes.
Oh my, Mel. You have outdone yourself! These are absolutely decadent and delicious! THANK YOU!
Yay, Lisa! So happy you liked them!
I dragged my husband to Levain when we were in NY, 3 yrs ago and I was so excited and hyping up these chocolate chip cookies I had heard about and when I finally got one…… I pretended it was SO amazing, when really, it was a little bit of a let down. But the chocolate version was much better!
Also, I made these today (Sunday baking day) and they were SO good! They almost taste like frosting in cookie form- there’s this really good sugary grainy quality in the texture. I oopsed and did baking powder as well as baking soda, they were still great!
Haha, the “pretended” comment had me laughing.
These are AMAZING. I chilled them overnight before baking and I think that made the cookie. I’m not a huge dark chocolate person (I freely admit that) but I used the Hershey’s special dark cocoa powder and they are delicious!!
Thanks for letting me know, Elizabeth! I’m going to try chilling them (if I have the patience) next time. I made them yesterday with regular cocoa powder (natural unsweetened) and they were still so good – just not quite as dark and decadent so maybe that would be the way to go for you next time if you like things a bit less dark. Either way, I’m glad you loved these!
The special dark was not overpowering at all. My brother is a rep for Hershey’s (I get all of the samples haha) and when they came out with the special dark, I was shocked at how much I liked it! For me, it was definitely the way to go on these. They’re amazing!
I agree! I don’t like dark chocolate but adore the special dark powder. Go figure. Brownies made with special dark powder are my all time favorite.
OMG. Thank you so much for this recipe. Fantastic 15 minutes out of the oven. Amazing out of the fridge.
* Try cutting them horizontally and making an ice cream sandwich. Put them in the freezer until ready to eat*
Just made them with the peanut butter chips as suggested, and they are even better. I didn’t think possible to surpass the original.
Thanks Again
I already love the truffle chocolate chip cookies. Is there much difference with these ones?
The texture is just really different. These cookies are more fudgy and super decadent…but in terms of chocolate flavor, both recipes are delicious!
Made them in my Bosch with my paddle attachment with no problems! Delicious cookies!!
Yay! Thanks for the report back on the Bosch! I should have had more faith in that amazing machine.
Levain’s double dark chocolate cookies are delish, don’t get me wrong, but the chocolate chip walnut is just MIND-BLOWING so yes, you absolutely need to get yourself over to NYC in the name of responsible culinary research!
I guess so! 🙂
Just curious what keeping the butter and eggs cold does? I mix my cookie batter by hand. Like, is it required for creating a certain type of structure in the cookie (in which case I’ll settle for something suboptimal), or is it essential for maintaining ANY kind of structure (in which case I’ll make your brownie cookies)?
Hey Debbie, great question. In this recipe, I think it does help the structure of the cookie (the dense fudginess with a tender outer crust). I think using softened butter will make the cookies spread more into a more chewy cookie.
Thank you, Mel! I went ahead and made them with softened butter. While the final texture was probably different from yours, it seemed perfectly cookie-like to me, and the cookies were delicious!
Mel, can you help me figure out how to make delicious gluten free cookies without a bunch of crazy ingredients. I try making cookies, pancakes and bread with gluten free flour and they are never the right texture. Simple things like gravy are easily substituted, but bread like items are difficult and gross!! Ugh.. I’ve just stopped eating them. I love your food!! I’ve only been gluten free since Aug 2018, not of my own choosing.
Thanks in advance,
your loyal frustrated friend.
Thanks for song the healthy section!! You truly listen to your readers and I appreciate it!!
Hey Shana! I don’t know that I’ll be much help, unfortunately. I have only baked gluten free a handful of times (mostly for my mother in law who eats gluten free). Have you tried subbing almond or coconut flour instead of gluten free flour for cookies?
Hey Shana, someone who might be able to help you is another Mel…at http://www.melandboyskitchen.com. I think she’s related to our Mel too! Some of her kids are gluten free. I pointed a friend to her site when her daughter had to go GF. Hope this helps! 🙂
My daughter had to go gluten free last year and we have had great lucky with oat flour we make in our vitamin with gluten free oats. We find it a great substitute in pancakes, crepes, brownies, apple cake, pumpkin cake and almond butter cookies. For chocolate chip cookies we use a recipe specific for oat flour cookies — delish. Haven’t made any cakes or sugar cookies yet! The texture is a bit different when using oat flour, but my other three boys who aren’t required to eat gluten free gobble up all our oat flour treats with zero hesitation. Good luck!
YUMMY! Mel, is there a way to make these into a chocolate chip cookie also? If you leave out the cocoa do you need to replace with more flour? Don’t get me wrong this will be in my FOREVER chocolate cookie file but now I need a think chocolate chip cookie recipe! Appreciate your response!
Hey Pamela! That’s a good question, and honestly, I don’t know! I think it would take a bit more experimenting than leaving out the cocoa – but the first step might be replacing the cocoa with flour to see how it goes??
I replaced the 1/2 cup of cocoa with 1/2 cup cake flour. Everything else was the same. They came out perfect.
Modern Honey has a Levain chocolate chip walnut cookie (5boysbaker just posted hers as well and explained what to do if you don’t want nuts in it) and it is good!
LOVE these! I used cake flour but still didn’t get the pretty shiny wafer-y crust on top. It was more like the texture of cake?
Hmmm…did the dough seem dry or sticky?
Is hershey’s special dark full dutch process or part?
I’m not entirely sure but I just glanced at my box and it says “dutched cocoa” and the ingredient list says “cocoa processed with alkali.”
How do you think these would taste with a little cinnamon?
It would definitely give them a Mexican chocolate vibe! Yum!
These were soooo good! My twelve year old loves to bake, she did them all by herself. We didn’t have cake flour so she used regular flour.
Your 12-year old is amazing! So happy you guys loved them!
These are the gooey-est, chocolatey-est, most gourmet looking chocolate cookies I’ve ever seen. I think I’m in love And I will DEFINITELY be making them “obnoxiously big” haha.
Made these tonight!!! As soon as I got your email i knew I had to make them right away!! They were sooooo gooooood! My kids loved them as well. Thank you!!
So happy to hear this, Jessie. Thank you!
Workout or make cookies? Well, make cookies won today. #priorities
This is the best!! You can always workout tomorrow (wink, wink).
These are very good. Wish I had some vanilla ice cream! I knew I had to try these at first site! haha. The smell of the batter is out of this world! I used Ghirardelli Dutch cocoa (sold at Meijer) and Blue Cattle Mexican vanilla.
Thanks for the report back, Taylor!
My sister sent me a picture of these this morning and demanded I make them immediately. Just did…they are the cookies I’ve been searching for my whole life. I’m weeping.
Haha. Lynne. I love you. I’m so happy there’s at least one other person out there who had a soul defining moment after these cookies.
These look great and I will probably try them. I have a similar recipe that I found on a Gharirdelli double dark chocolate chip package. But, just for the record: I have tried Levain Bakery cookies and think they are definitely overhyped – no matter what my Manhattan resident daughter says…
Haha, I’m telling you, people’s opinions about Levain cookies are widely polarizing!
Do you buy Dutch-processed cocoa online? I have looked in all my local stores, and I can never find it.
I usually pick up the Hershey’s Special Dark (which is an alkalized Dutch process cocoa) at my grocery store – otherwise, yes, I buy Dutch process online.
Hi Mel! These sound like a “must make”! Question…you recommend using a stand mixer…does that mean that a Kitchenaid is better for this particular recipe than a Bosch? My hubby surprised me with a Bosch awhile ago and I’m in love! You weren’t kidding when you said it’s so wonderful! Just wondering which of my appliances is best for these cookies (or if it even matters)?
Hey Kim! Do you have both a kitchenaid and a Bosch? If so, I’d use a kitchenaid but only because the paddle on the kitchenaid is metal and I’m not sure the plastic cookie paddles on the Bosch will do so well with the cold butter mixing method. However, if you want to use the Bosch (and yes, I agree, it’s AMAZING, huh??) I’d use the cookie paddles but keep a close eye on them so they don’t break.
Thanks so much for the help! Yep, I have both, so I’ll use my Kitchenaid to play it safe. I’ve had these cookies on the brain ever since I saw them…I think my brain is drooling!
Mel, I only have unsalted butter. How much salt would you add? Thanks!
Probably another 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon.
They were delicious!!! My kids loved them and I made 12 cookies out of the batch. They had that delicate crispy outer edge and warm, gooey centers.
Yay, yay! So happy you loved them!
How long do you bake them if you make them normal sized? I didn’t see that anywhere….?
I’d check them after 8-9 minutes.
I just made some normal sized and did 350 for 9 minutes and they’re perfect.
Awesome! Thanks for the feedback!
The white coating on my kitchen aid paddle started to come off so I tossed it. Better buy a replacement ASAP so I can make these!!!
Yes, replacement stat!
So no chilling the dough at all? I’m going to trust you on this Mel since you rarely fail me! I will be making these tomorrow!!
I am too lazy to chill dough in most cases so I’ve been baking these right away but you could definitely chill the dough if you wanted/needed to!
Mel’s haven’t made the cookies yet, but certainly going to. I have a question for you on the Soft Chewy Pretzels? I have made them a few times and they are delicious. Can I make and shape them ahead of time and then put them in the frig and take them out to raise a little and then bake them?. I need to make them for a enrichment night, like about 50 of them. I think they are so much better right out of the oven. Also, I had a thought. Have you ever tried them with Rhodes dough? I love your website. It is the best ever. Keep up the great recipes. Thanks for all your hard work. .
I haven’t made them ahead of time like that but I think they should probably work pretty well the way you described! I haven’t used frozen roll dough for them (I think it might be a bit to lighty and airy, but I’m not sure)
Deep water aerobics…make these cookies…deep water aerobics…make these cookies.. ♀️???
Wait! Got it! There’s a class tomorrow! Hee hee!
Yum! Can’t wait!
Haha! 🙂 Deep water aerobics means you totally deserve these cookies!
9am and straight to the kitchen to make these! There goes my healthy eating for the day, but so excited!
Let me know what you think, Cassie!
Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa powder is SO GOOD! I was never a “special dark” fan, but a year or two ago I tried the SD powder in a recipe and… gasp… I don’t know if I can ever go back to regular cocoa!
Yeah, I kind of agree with you on this!
You are so right about the way Levain cookies are polarizing! It is crazy. It seems like a lot of people are jumping on the hate-them bandwagon lately, but I still think they’re delicious! We live in Jersey and almost always hit Levain for a bag of cookies after temple trips. I will need to try these for sure, I like the idea of the refrigerated brownie version…
It’s clear to me I just need to take a trip for research purposes and finally have the real deal.
Mel, come visit me and I’ll take you to Levain’s! My sister visited last month and we went to Levain’s four days in a row. Ha! Can’t wait to try these. My favorite Levain masterpiece is the oatmeal raisin (seriously TDF!), with the double chocolate a close second.
Oatmeal raisin?? I’d have to experience that in person because for the life of me I cannot believe an oatmeal raisin cookie could beat out a dark chocolate cookie! My mind would be blown.
Drooling just looking at these! I think they will have to make an appearance in my kitchen (and my belly) soon!
Hope you like them, Caitlin!
If it makes you feel any better about eating a big, fat cookie, Levain’s are 6 oz. of dough each, so these are practically petite; might as well have 2. 😉 Can’t wait to try them and experiment with changes!
Haha, so I can say these are the diet version?? I like it! 🙂 🙂
Not yet wearing pants and no milk chocolate . . . it is like you know me, I like it! I guess the only question is do I make them today or wait until the weekend? I will report back.
Make them today. Question answered. 🙂
They are delicious! Had to wait until Thursday but they were worth the wait. I am really liking them day two, too!
I liked these cookies day two, as well. I just made a new batch and I don’t think there’s anyway they are making it to day two this time. 🙂
Hi there Mel!—
I have a question. Today I went on and tried your recipe. I noticed that the final dough was a bit dry; it wasn’t sticky at all.
The cookies came out sort of Cakey, it didn’t spread out much and it had no Shine.
Could you please tell me what I did wrong? Thank you.
Could you
‘Can I use milk chocolate? No and no.’ Mel, I love you. Those are my feelings exactly! And, Levain cookies are amazing, but so are you, so I’m gonna say these cookies will be, too! From one dark chocolate lover to another, I bow down to you and say THANK YOU for this recipe!
Haha. Love you right back. 🙂
I live near Levain in NYC and will vouch for the fact that they are the best cookies ever. Oh man…
I think I need to get my hands on the real thing. 🙂