Levain's Knock off Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

Ever been to New York?  Ever found Levain's?  The cookies are so confusing.  Are they a cake or a cookie or meal?  Either one they are delicious!  This is knock off recipe.  What do you think?

Ingredients

• 2 sticks ‘cold and cubed’ unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 3/4 to 3 1/4 cups AP flour
• 1 teaspoon table or fine sea salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 2 cups good quality semisweet chocolate chips or chunks (I usually use half semisweet and half milk chocolate)
• 1 cup walnuts (Toast the nuts for more flavor, if desired. Use any kind of nut you like. I love macadamias in these)

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

1. In bowl of electric mixer fitted with paddle, cream together butter and sugars until well blended and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time.. and beat until well incorporated.

2. Add flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and mix until just combined. Gently fold in chocolate chips/chunks and nuts.

3. Transfer dough to clean work surface and gently mix dough by hand to ensure even distribution of ingredients. Divide into 12 equal portions, **about 4 oz each

4. Place each on sheet pan lined with parchment paper and bake in the preheated oven 15-20 minutes depending on how gooey and raw’ish’ you like the interior, until very lightly browned, taking care not to overbake. Let cool on rack and store what you don’t immediately eat in an airtight container.

These are best eaten on the day they are made (ESPECIALLY warm out of the oven – like most chocolate chip cookies). To freshen them after a few days (if they last that long), give them a quick nuke in the microwave for 5-10 seconds.

Also, once again, the Levain Bakery does not use vanilla extract in their chocolate chip walnut cookies.  If you’d prefer to use it, add 1 tsp along with the eggs.

Makes about 12-14 cookies

• * 6 oz portions will give you about 8-10 cookies – bake another 3-5 minutes at 375F.

Lemon-glazed Butter cookies

These remind me of Christmas growing up.  They just melt in your mouth. 

Lemon-glazed Butter cookies

Yields: 3 dozen

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter (room temp)
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
2/3 cup corn starch

Frosting

2 ½ cups powdered sugar sifted
½ cup (or 1 stick) butter melted
2 Tbs fresh lemon juice

350 degrees.

With electric mixer, beat butter & 1/3 cup powdered sugar at medium speed for 1 minute. Turn off. Sift together flour and corn starch and add to butter. Blend until dough is soft, about 1 minute. Drop by tsp full on ungreased baking sheet. Baking until VERY lightly brown (prettier white) about 5 minutes.

Transfer to racks to cool.

Meanwhile, make frosting. While still warm, pour frosting into center.

Chocolate Dipped Ginger Molasses Cookies

Recipe 

2 1/2 c. sugar, divided

1 1/2 c. oil

2 eggs

1/2 c. molasses

4c. all-purpose flour

4t. baking soda

1T. ground ginger

2t. cinnamon

1t. salt

 

2 11oz. pkgs. white chocolate chips

Combine 2 cups sugar and oil in a mixing bowl; mix well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in molasses.

Combine flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon and salt in a separate bowl; gradually blend into molasses mixture. Shape dough into one-inch balls and roll in remaining sugar; place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes or until cookie springs back when lightly touched. Remove to wire racks to cool.

Melt chocolate chips in the microwave for 1 minute stirring until smooth. Dip each cookie halfway into mixture; allow excess to drip off. Place cookies on wax paper to harden.

Mrs. Field's Chocolate Chip Cookies

Or so they say.  This is the cookie recipe I grew up on.  I haven't used it in years.  I think it might be time for a bake off soon.

1 1/3 sticks of butter
2/3 cups brown sugar
1 1/2 cups white sugar
3 eggs
2/3 Tb vanilla

Cream those ingredients well together.  Then add...

2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
chocolate chips

350 for 8-10 minutes

Oreo Cookies

Again another college roommate favorite.  But I have no idea which roommate!  So thanks!!!

2 packages of devils food cake mix
1 1/4 cup butter softened
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

Mix and roll into balls and cook on ungreased cookie sheet at 350 for 10-13 minutes.

FILLING

1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup butter softened
8 oz cream cheese softened

Spread inbetween cooled cookies and then be super hero mom.

Chewy Brownie Cookies

I honestly don't remember where I got this recipe.  I think from an old roommate.  So roommate, wherever you are... thank you.

2/3 cup butter
1 1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 Tb water
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup cocoa
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
chocolate chip cookies

Mix the first 4 ingredients together then add the eggs.  Mix the cry ingredients together and then add to the whole mix.  Stir in the chocolate chips and bake at 375 for 7-9 minutes.

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

Lisa made these for our ward conferences last year and I've been craving them ever since. So I finally asked for the recipe and made them this week. Oh they were as good as I remembered. She makes them with Coconut instead of macadamia nuts. Both are equally tasty.

White Chocolate-Coconut Cookies

Yield: about 30 cookies

1/2 C butter, softened

1 C brown sugar

1 egg

1 T milk

1 t vanilla

1 3/4 C flour

1/2 t baking soda

1 t baking powder

1/4 t salt

1 C white chocolate chips

1/2 C coconut, chopped up

1. Cream together the butter and sugar for about 3 minutes.

2. Add egg, milk & vanilla and mix for 2 more minutes.

3. Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

4. Add the dry ingredients.

5. Add white chocolate chips and coconut (or macadamia nuts).

6. Roll into 1 1/2 inch balls and place on a sprayed cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 for 8 minutes.

Briana's Shortbread

I went to a very inspiring Funeral last week of Briana Blackwelder. It was a celebration of her life on her 29th birthday. I took notes on how I need to be a better woman just from listening to her closest friends and family talk about her life. She was a lover of fine foods like myself. They passed around this recipe as one of her favorites. After making these, I wish I had her whole cookbook!

These are from Tartine one of her favorite bakeries in San Francisco. I must go there next time I am there. I made these cookies for bookclub last week and they were almost entirely gone by the end of the night.

Ingredients

1 cup + 2 Tbs unsalted butter, very soft
1/2 tsp salt
1 3/4 cups + 2 Tbs flour
1/2 cup +2 Tbs cornstarch
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup super fine or granulated sugar for topping

Yields one 6 by 10 inch pan, about sixty 2 by 1/2 inch bars
or a gazillion tiny little cookie cutter sized one bite cookies.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter a glass baking dish.

Mix the soft butter and salt so it dissolves completely. Add the sugar to the butter mix until just combined. Sift the flour and cornstarch together in a separate bowl and then combine just until a smooth dough forms.

Pat the dough evenly into a prepared dish. It should be no more than 2/3 inch deep. I then cut out little cookies and put then on top of my silpat.

Bake until the top and bottom are ever so slightly browned, about 30 minutes. The middle of the shortbread should remain light. Let cool.

Sprinkle the shortbread with the sugar.

If you made a baking dish of them, use a very sharp thin knife to cut into rectangular fingers. If they are too cold, they will not cut well. The first piece is the trickiest.

They will keep for two weeks in an air tight container.

Sugar Cookies

Thank you Julie N. Every time I make these cookies I feel like I am back with my dear friend at Christmas about 8 years ago. We made waaaay to many cookies and then realized that frosting them was going to take a lot longer than we thought. She had the perfect sugar cookie recipe and I had the perfect frosting recipe. We were a match made in heaven.

SUGAR COOKIES
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup oil
2 eggs
pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla
5 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cream of tartar

Cream butter and sugar. Blend oil, eggs, salt and vanilla and then add to butter sugar mix. Combine dry ingredients and add to dough. Chill for 3 hours (DO NOT FREEZE IT ALLISON ... it takes forever to thaw). Roll out and cut into shapes.

Bake at 300 for about 10 minutes

FROSTING
1 cube of butter
maybe half a bag of powdered sugar???
about a 1/2 tsp of almond extract
a little milk to thin it out, but nooooot much

(this is a la Pappadopolis style)

Chocolate Crinkles

Chocolate Crinkles:

4 tablespoons (56 grams) unsalted butter
8 ounces (225 grams) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate coarsely chopped
1/2 cup (100 grams) granulate sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups (210 grams) all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Topping:

1 cup (110 grams) confectioners (powdered or icing) sugar, sifted

In a stainless steel bowl, over a saucepan of simmering water, melt the chocolate and butter. Remove from heat and set aside.

In the bowl of your electric mixer, beat the eggs and sugar until thick, pale, and fluffy. (When you slowly raise the beaters the batter will fall back into the bowl in slow ribbons.) At this point beat in the vanilla and then stir in the melted chocolate mixture.

In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder. Add dry ingredients to the chocolate mixture, stirring just until incorporated. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm enough to shape into balls (3-4 hours or overnight).

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (170 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, and set aside.

Place the confectioners sugar in a shallow bowl. With lightly greased hands, roll a small amount of chilled dough to form a 1 inch (2.54 cm) diameter ball. Place the ball of dough into the confectioners sugar and roll the ball in the sugar until it is completely coated and no chocolate shows through. Gently lift the sugar-covered ball, tapping off excess sugar, and place on prepared baking sheet. Continue forming cookies, spacing about 2 inches (5 cm) apart on baking sheets. (If you find the dough getting too soft for rolling into balls, return to the refrigerator and let chill until firm.)

Bake cookies for 8 to 10 minutes or just until the edges are slightly firm but the centers are still soft. (For moist chewy cookies do not over bake. Over baking these cookies will cause them to be dry.) Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.

These cookies are best eaten the day they are baked.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Peanut Butter Kisses Cookies

This is a classic yummy cookie. I got it straight from Hershey Kisses themselves. Thank you!

Hershey Kisses (of course)
1/2 cup shortening
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg
2 Tbs milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 - 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
granulated sugar

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Remove foil from Kisses (do I really need to say that?)
Beat butter and peanut butter until well blended. Add sugars and beat until fluffy. Add egg, milk and vanilla and beat well. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt and add to peanut butter mixture.

Roll dough into small 1 inch balls (These are the one cookie that I actually seek out the smallest cookie to maximize cookie to kiss ratio). Place on UNGREASED cookie sheet.

Bake 8 minutes. You don't want to see them brown at all b/c then they are already too crunchy. SOFT is the key on these. Immediately press a kiss into the cookie and sorry to say you should wait a couple minutes before you dive in and try one.

Chocolate Chip Goodness

Oh yeah baby ... These are by and far my favorite treat to make. Seriously. Chocolate Chip cookies and an ice cold glass of milk. What could be better?

A cookie may taste good but to me, but it has to look even better. I'm not a flat greasy cookie girl. I like them soft and chewy. There is only one secret in this recipe to make them look so good. And here it is .... CREAM THE BUTTER AND SUGARS for as looooong as you want. I often make dinner while I'm letting them cream. A good 5-10 minutes is nice. You'll see the color change a bit.

That's the secret. Now go bake, eat and enjoy your food hang over.

½ lb. butter

1 cup brown sugar (packed)

¾ cup white sugar

2 eggs

1 Tbs. vanilla

3 cups flour

¾ tsp. salt

¾ tsp. baking soda

1 package chocolate chips

Cream butter with sugars. Add the next 5 ingredients. Mix. Fold in chocolate chips. Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes.