For Perfectly Gooey Copycat Levain Cookies, Don't Let The Underbaked Texture Fool You
If you've ever tried the highly-coveted chocolate chip walnut cookies from Levain Bakery in New York City, you'll know that they are every soft cookie lover's dream. The doughy, gooey treats are heralded as some of the city's best cookies and have even won multiple awards, according to Insider. The cookies are so popular that the bakery has opened 11 different locations around the country, and are even available for purchase in the frozen section of Whole Foods.
But if you want to try to recreate the cookies yourself then you're in luck. A copycat recipe has recently gone viral on TikTok thanks to Justine Doiron, who goes by @justine_snacks on the platform. It is definitely one to try out if you prefer to eat your cookies right when they come out of the oven. In the clip, she reveals all of the measurements for the dessert, as well as a surefire way to ensure the cookies turn out perfectly soft. Without further ado, here's the trick to getting cookies that are just as good as Levain's.
What makes a cookie 'soft'
In the TikTok clip, user Justine Doiron advises taking the cookies out of the oven and letting them cool for a few minutes after baking them for 8 to 10 minutes. "They might feel a bit underdone but just trust me," user @justine_snacks said in the clip. "These are so good." It's not uncommon for recipes to encourage you to 'underbake' cookies, but did you know that the reason actually has a lot to do with science?
As you know, cookies vary in texture, and interestingly, it all comes down to the ratio of wet to dry ingredients. According to PureWow, the 'wet' ingredients of a cookie, such as eggs and butter, help preserve its moistness. As you remove cookies from the oven, the moisture from those ingredients starts to evaporate. This is why many recipes suggest removing cookies from the oven when they still look a bit under-done since they essentially begin to harden the moment you take them out. Imagine if you pulled cookies from the oven while they already looked hard — they'd be rock solid by the time they cooled!
According to BakingHow, an easy way to ensure a cookie won't be raw in the middle is to look at its shininess. When cookies have a sheen, their dough is still cooking. Once your cookies begin to lose their glossiness, the site says, the cookies are done and should be set for cooling. Now, you can try out this Levain cookie recipe the right way.