Levain Bakery copycat recipes - a mini compilation

Levain Bakery Copycat Recipes - made throughout September 2016

Remember my obsession with chocolate chip cookies and that time I tried a bunch of different ones to come up with some tips and tricks to make “the best” chocolate chip cookies? And how I tried a couple of different Levain Bakery copycat recipes in that sweep?

Copycat from Cookie Madness - didn't spread much, stayed thick, good flavor, a little cakey at the edges but had to bake it long enough to not be raw in the middle

Instead of getting it out of my system, apparently my obsession grew only now I became fixated on Levain Bakery cookies. I know, I can’t explain it either. Well, I could if you understood how much I love behemoth-sized, chewy, moist chocolate chip cookies with some heft to them. If you can’t, it’s baffling.

Copycat from The Cooking Actress - used Kerry Gold Irish butter, these spread more than the other cookies even when baked from frozen dough, crisp but light texture at the edges, good chewiness in the middle, when at room temperature, a bit too sweet, best in moderation and not as a big cookie

But since I believe in channeling my obsession into socially acceptable, legal ways, I stalked pinterest for “copycat” Levain Bakery chocolate chip cookie recipes and came up with six versions. At first I thought I would blog each one separately in a one-week spread with a new one posted every day going in the order of how I liked them, somewhat similar to my countdown of chocolate chip cookie recipes from good to great to best. Meh, this time I’m doing something different and just going with one blog post about it. It’s a long blog post but hang in there with me as it’ll be worth it.

First of all, I’m just going to link each recipe back to the original blog I got it from so you can go directly there if there’s one you want to try. The pics are of my cookies as I made them from those recipes so you can see how they turned out.

Copycat from Fran's Favs - stayed thick, good flavor

Second, when I try out recipes of the same thing, I make myself a spreadsheet (insert shrieking alarm of “nerd alert! Nerd alert!”) that list out all of the ingredients and in what proportions they are in each recipe. Because let’s face it – almost all chocolate chip cookies have the same base ingredients: butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, vanilla extract and chocolate chips. There will be variations in how much of each, perhaps the mixing method, the baking temps, the baking time and so on but it’s the same players at the party gathering round the mixing bowl. So I like to see how similar they are to each other and what their differences are.

Copycat from Parsley Sage Sweet - didn't spread much, stayed thick and domed, not crisp at the edges like The Cooking Actress version, might have a bit more buttery flavor if used European butter

I tried to find recipes that did have some variations beyond mix up ¼ teaspoon less of this or ¼ cup more than that. For instance, one recipe used European butter or plugra. Another used bread flour. Some didn’t call for vanilla extract at all (eek), a couple included cornstarch, others didn’t.

What they all had in common, and I mean all, is they had the same amount of butter. Everything else might not mirror exactly but all of the other ingredients anchored around 1 cup of butter. And with the exception of 1 recipe, they all used 2 eggs. The majority, although not every single one, also used 1 ½ cups combined of brown sugar and granulated sugar. The brown sugar to granulated sugar ratios varied between each recipe. I’ve found if you want a more caramelized flavor, increase the brown sugar relative to the granulated sugar but keep the total amount between the two the same.

Parsley Sage Sweet

I ended up making a half recipe of each copycat variation, partly because I was making so many different recipes and I didn’t know that I needed all these giant cookies, even if I did give most of them away. Plus, that’s a lot of butter to use up. I did vary whether I used milk chocolate chunks (from Trader Joe’s Pound Plus bar), milk chocolate chips, semisweet chocolate chips or semisweet chocolate chunks. No rhyme or reason other than using up what I had on hand.

Now that I’ve made six copycat recipes, first thing I’m going to tell you is I don’t really have a favorite among the six. Seriously. They’re all good. They all bake up nice, thick, chewy, moist behemoth chocolate chip cookies. It’s hard to go wrong. So you can choose any 1 or 6 recipes to try and I think you’ll like the results. Second, if you really want a Levain copycat, I still can’t tell you which one comes the closest. I haven’t had a Levain cookie in years so I can’t compare them to the real thing. At least not yet (rest assured going to Levain Bakery is on my bucket list). Did that seem anti climactic? Sorry.

Copycat recipe from Plain Chicken

Copycat from Plain Chicken - stayed thick, good flavor

However, what all this chocolate chip cookie baking did was further refine my own quest for “the best” (as considered by me) chocolate chip cookie. My previous trials already had some basic tips I use consistently when I’m on the quest for perfection: use butter, chill the cookie dough for 24 hours then freeze overnight before baking, use dark brown sugar and in higher proportion than granulated sugar, substitute part of the granulated sugar for raw cane sugar, make big-freaking-huge amounts of cookie dough per cookie to bake up big-freaking-huge cookies.

Copycat recipe from Plain Chicken

Copycat from The Naughty Fork - used Kerry Gold Irish butter, substituted 1/4 cup turbinado sugar for granulated sugar

These latest test batches also convinced me to add: use European butter for more flavor. I have never made that switch to European butter because that stuff is expensive and at the rate I go through butter, I’d be in the poor house. But I have to admit, for those special occasions – like wear-your-diamonds and break-out-the-cute-but-uncomfortable-spiky-heels special occasions – it’s time to splurge on European butter. I used Kerry Gold from Trader Joe’s which is a butter from Ireland but you can use any brand of European butter. They just have more flavor and make for a chewy cookie. I tried them for 2 of the 6 recipes and I have to admit, they brought out the caramelized flavor better and added more crisp to the edges while preserving the moistness of the middle. But they do cost almost twice as much as “regular butter” so don’t blame me if you have to take out a second mortgage simply because you followed my advice.

Disneyland's Peanut Butter Cookies

Disneyland's Peanut Butter Cookies - made dough October 8, 2016 from Six Sisters' Stuff

I had pinned this recipe during my phase of hunting up peanut butter cookie recipes after my nieces asked for some but I didn't have any peanut butter at the time. Then once I bought the Costco-sized jar - because, really, what else would I buy when I don't even eat the stuff (insert cognitive dissonance here)?

But when I have a lot of peanut butter, I have to search out a lot of recipes that use peanut butter. I had already tested and really liked these "Best Ever" Peanut Butter Cookies and Big, Bakery-Style Peanut Butter Chunk Cookies.

My search at the time also yielded these Disneyland Peanut Butter Cookies from Six Sisters' Stuff. I've never had the peanut butter cookies at Disneyland because, well, hello, cookie snob here rarely buys cookies when I can bake them myself. So I don't know how they compare to the real thing.

But, still, it's a pretty good cookie. It's not as fragile as the other two I really like and is a bit more of a typical peanut butter cookie as opposed to "baked peanut butter fudge" which is why I like the other two recipes so much. But for the peanut butter cookie purist, this is a good option.

1 cup butter
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar, packed
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 granulated sugar, for rolling

1. Cream butter and peanut butter together until smooth. Add sugars and beat until combined.
2. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing until just combined. Add vanilla.
3. Whisk together baking soda, salt and flour. Add dry ingredients in 3 additions, mixing after each addition until just combined; do not overbeat.
4. Form into golf-ball size dough balls and flatten slightly into thick discs. Cover and chill or freeze for several hours or overnight.
5. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
6. Roll frozen dough discs in granulated sugar and evenly space on baking sheets. Bake 7-9 minutes or until edges are lightly browned and middles are no longer shiny or raw. Let cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes then remove cookies to wire racks to cool completely.

Fudgy Brownie Cookies Stuffed with Caramel

Fudgy Brownies Cookies - made dough September 30, 2016 from Crazy for Crust

It's National Chocolate Day! Start the celebration right by firing up your oven and setting your inner chocoholic free.

Sometimes you need just a straight shot of chocolate. And sometimes you want to temper a dark chocolate cookie with the added decadence of caramel, preferably tucked inside as a nice surprise when you bite into it.

I made this dough, wrapped it around individual salted caramels from Trader Joe's, put them in the freezer and forgot about them for a couple of weeks. Technically I didn't forget them because I could see them in the ziploc freezer bag every time I opened my freezer. But I did forget about the caramel inside when I didn't bake them off right away.

So it really was a surprise when I took a bite. Actually, I broke the cookie in "half" first for picture taking but it actually broke in 1/3 and 2/3 pieces, probably because the cookie had cooled enough that the caramel had firmed back up so it wasn't conducive to "breaking" cleanly. So I took the initial pictures, thinking it was just a pure dark chocolate cookie. Then I took a bite of the 2/3 piece of the cookie and hit caramel. Oh yeah, that's right, I remembered what I did there.

It was actually a good call to modify these cookies with the caramel inside. When you use a high quality dark cocoa like I always do (Pernigotti!), the caramel provides a nice sweetness, not to mention chewiness, to the dark chocolate of the cookie. If you want to be a purist, you can leave out the caramel but I liked it with it as a nice surprise.

1/2 cup unsalted butter
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 large egg
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

1. Place the butter and unsweetened chocolate in the top half of a double boiler set over hot, barely simmering water. Whisk until smooth and melted. Let cool for 5-10 minutes.
2. Stir in sugar. Add cocoa, vanilla, salt and baking soda and stir until just combined. Add egg and stir until just combined.
3. Slowly stir in flour until just combined then fold in chocolate chips.
4. Portion dough into golf-ball-size dough balls and split in half. Over one half, lay salted caramel square, cover with second half and seal edges together, patting cookie dough into smooth, thick disc. Repeat with remaining dough. Cover and chill or freeze for several hours or overnight.
5. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and evenly space frozen dough discs. Bake for 10 minutes or until most of the glossy sheen is gone. Cool for at least 10 minutes before removing from baking sheets and transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Extra Thick and Fudgy Brownies

Extra Thick and Fudgy Brownies - made September 30, 2016, modified from Lovely Little Kitchen

It's been over a month since I've posted a brownie recipe. That's too long ago, right?

These lived up to their name in being extra thick and fudgy. The key is to underbake them, of course. Then, this is the hard part, let them cool completely so they'll set. Unless you like yours mushy and gooey. Me, I prefer the fudgy after the chocolate cools and sets.

I added extra decadence by covering the warm brownie top with Nutella a few minutes after I took the pan out of the oven. Then I went for broke and also sprinkled chocolate chips and toffee bits on top because....brownies.

That worked out pretty well but it does make a little harder to wrap and store these since the Nutella sticks to everything. You also can't stack the brownies on top of each other without making a delicious but unholy mess. The problem is partially solved by really blanketing the top with chocolate chips and toffee bits so the Nutella doesn't peek out too much but I prefer to just serve as a single layer.

Cut right before serving so your edges don't dry out. The last thing good brownies should be is dry in any part of them. And these are good brownies.

1 cup butter (2 sticks)
2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Pernigotti, sift it lumpy)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Topping
1/2 cup Nutella
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup toffee bits

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9 x 9" baking pan with foil and lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Stir in sugar and remove from heat. Cool for 5 minutes.
3. Add eggs, one at a time, whisking until combined, then add vanilla extract.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together cocoa powder, flour, salt and baking powder. Add dry ingredients to batter and stir until glossy and combined with no floury streaks. Pour into prepared pan.
5. Bake for 28-33 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. 
6. While brownie is still warm, spread Nutella and smooth over top. Sprinkle with chocolate chips and toffee bits. Cool completely before cutting and serving.

Caramel Praline Sheet Cake

Caramel Praline Sheet Cake - made September 25, 2016, adapted from Chef in Training

This is a great cake for the autumn season or, if you’re me, that can also be translated as “any time of the year”. Because I love caramel and brown sugar. I even like pecans on top of a cake, even if not within the cake. Plus, it’s a sheet cake which practically means “so easy to make”. 

The original recipe calls for toasting and caramelizing the pecans in melted brown sugar. I cheated because I had this package of pecan pralines a friend had given me and I thought it’d be a good way to use them. Although I like the flavor of toasted pecans and you can rarely go wrong with brown sugar caramel, I tried an authentic praline when I was in New Orleans and I found them too sweet for me. I know, I know, pigs flew. But it’s true. It was like being in the mood for kettle corn and eating caramel corn instead. People who’ve eaten both know what I’m talking about.

But the praline part of this is only for the topping. Let’s talk about the cake first. Because it was delicious. Perfect cakey texture, not too light, not too dense. For once I baked it just the right amount of time so it wasn’t under- or overbaked. I love the brown sugar overtones of this cake and honestly, you don’t even really need the frosting….says the non-frosting person. It’s true. I only made a half recipe of the frosting since I was baking in a 9 x 13 pan rather than a sheet cake and that was sufficient. If you make the full recipe, I think it might be a little too much but that’s me.

I didn’t love the chopped up pralines I used on top though. I think if I had done as the original recipe instructed with just toasted pecans and brown sugar caramel, it would’ve been a lot better. Either way, I like the cake. 

Pralines
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
3/4 cup brown sugar

Cake
1/2 cup butter
1 cup water
1/2 cup shortening
2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour

Caramel Frosting 
6 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla

1. Pralines: Toast pecans in a medium skillet over medium high heat, stirring constantly. Add brown sugar and stir constantly until sugar is melted and coats the pecans. Dump nuts onto parchment paper and separate as they cool.
2. Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9 x 13 pan with foil and lightly coat with nonstick cooking spray.
3. In a medium saucepan, combine butter, water and shortening. Bring to a boil, whisking together. Remove from heat and place in a large mixing bowl.
4. Add brown sugar and stir until sugar is dissolved.
5. Stir in buttermilk, baking soda, eggs and vanilla, one at a time, whisk with each addition.
6. Add flour and stir until smooth. If floor lumps remain, put through sieve for a smooth batter. Do not overmix.
7. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 20-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Cool.
8. Frosting: Combine butter, cream and brown sugar in medium saucepan. Stir over medium heat until mixture begins to boil.
9. Remove from heat and stir in powdered sugar and vanilla. Whisk until smooth and pour evenly over top of cake. Sprinkle with pecan praline.

Toffee Pecan Shortbread Cookies

Toffee Pecan Shortbread Cookies - made dough September 23, 2016 from Baking and Boys

Cute tea cookie right here! That pretty much sums up what I think of this cookie. I left out the suggested, optional chocolate from the original blog and prefer it as a purist, non-chocolate dessert. It has the texture of shortbread which is why I was okay with the pecans in the cookie. If it had been a chewy cookie like any one of the big, fat chocolate chip cookies I love, nuts would be a no-go. But in these, they were perfect because they not only added a nice crunch to go with the toffee, but they also added great flavor, also complemented by both the toffee and the shortbread cookie itself.

The dough was easy to work with and shape. The cookies didn't spread much so shape in the form and thickness in which you want to eat and serve them. I went with small, thick discs which I consider the perfect "tea cookie". Not that I drink tea but if I did and was at a tea party, these are the cookies I would expect.

Incidentally, since we're getting to that time of the year, these would also make good holiday cookies because of their relatively small size. You can bring them to cookie swaps, put them in goodie bags and gift baskets and bring them to parties. If you want the chocolate aspect, add mini chocolate chips to the dough and/or dip half the cookie in your favorite melted milk or dark chocolate.

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup pecans, finely chopped and every so slightly toasted

3/4 cup English toffee bits, such as Heath

1 oz. good quality chocolate, melted (optional) or add mini chocolate chips to the dough

1. Cream the butter and powdered sugar together until smooth, 1-2 minutes.  Beat in the vanilla, then add the flour and salt just until combined.  Stir in the pecans, toffee (and chocolate chips, if adding). 
2. Form into small, thick discs, cover and chill or freeze several hours or overnight.
3. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. 
4. Evenly space discs on baking sheets; they don't spread much so you don't need a lot of space between cookies.
5. Bake until the edges are just starting to brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on wire rack. If dipping in melted chocolate, dip half of each cookie in melted chocolate and let set.