Copycat Levain Bakery Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies
Hi friends! Forgive my absence from writing this past month. It's been a busy one as I've been out of town for work a little more than usual, and spent my time in town baking cakes and teaching cake classes. I have so many new cake flavor ideas that I'm dying to test out and share with you, but decided to put those on hold for a bit longer because after my recent trip to New York, where I made yet another visit to the popular Levain Bakery, I simply couldn't wait another minute to recreate their Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookie - one of my all-time favorite cookies EVER!
I know Levain is probably best known for their Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookie, but in my opinion the Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookie takes the cake! I know I'm a little biased because I'm shamelessly obsessed with peanut butter, but even non-obsessed PB fans love this cookie because it's simply delicious.
Like the classic Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookie, the Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookie is slightly undercooked on the inside, but perfectly cooked on the outside and filled with baking chips, making it thick and rich!
Recreating anyone's cookie, without the actual recipe, is not an easy task. My friend Si, from Abountiful Kitchen, spent hours and hours recreating the Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookie and did an amazing job. But based on her experience, I knew it was a mountain to climb - mostly because people's expectations would be so high.
Lucky for me, my best friend Lisa is also obsessed with peanut butter and chocolate and was eager to get started on recreating this cookie after I brought her one from New York a couple weeks ago. However, after eating her first version of the cookie together, we both looked at each other with the same thought in our mind, "why didn't we think of saving one of the cookies to compare all our versions to?" (Well, obvi - because the cookie is so flippin' good that you literally cannot think of anything else but eating the cookie while you're eating it.) Oh well, at least we got started on a recipe while the memory of the cookie was still fresh in our minds.
Lisa's first try at the cookie was a great starting point for me. I then made the cookie three more times, with small variations each time. I changed some of the all-purpose flour and cake flour ratios, as well as the amount of baking powder. I wanted to make sure these cookies were nice and thick, but not too dense. I also increased the amount of kosher salt and the peanut butter chips (not sure you need a reason for that). Lisa and I also agreed that the baking temperature was too high and the outside of the cookie was getting too crisp, so we decreased the baking temperature from 400 (which we both saw a lot in other versions of the cookie) to 375 degrees F.
One of the things Levain is known for when it comes to their cookies is the size of the cookies. They don't mess around, people! Each cookie is weighed out to 6 ounces before going on the baking sheet. That may sound huge, but it makes the cookie what it is.
The Levain cookies are also known for being packed with baking chips (and nuts, in some cases). The chips and nuts help to create the height in the cookies. I put nearly a bag and a half of peanut butter chips in my cookies here. I think it's perfection but I had a couple taste testers, who have also had Levain's cookie, say they thought my cookie had a few too many chips in it. I totally respect that and if you think you might feel this way too, I'd just suggest omitting 3-5 ounces of the peanut butter chips. Your cookies may not be as tall as mine, but they should still be pretty thick, and the flavor won't be much different.
I can't wait to hear what you think!
Enjoy!
Copycat Levain Bakery Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies
Yield: 8 cookies
Ingredients
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup cake flour
3/4 cup dark cocoa powder (I use Extra Brute Cacao Powder - Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa Powder is a good alternative)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
14 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 whole egg, extra large
1 egg yolk, from an extra large egg
1 bag (10 oz.), plus 1/3 cup Reese's Peanut Butter baking chips*
Instructions
1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
2. Combine the all-purpose flour, cake flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a medium sized bowl. Whisk together. Set aside.
3. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the cold butter and sugars and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
4. Add the whole egg and egg yolk and mix until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix again for about 30 more seconds.
5. Turn the mixer on low speed and add the dry ingredients in three separate additions, only mixing until the dry ingredients are incorporated.
6. Stir in the peanut butter chips.
7. Measure 6 oz. of cookie dough and shape into balls. Place 4 cookie dough balls on the baking sheet and bake for 11 minutes. There should be enough dough for seven 6 oz. cookie dough balls and one that is about 4 oz.
8. Let the cookies cool for about 10 minutes and then serve while still warm. To eat later, heat a cookie in the microwave for about 15-20 seconds.
*Please don't use any other brand but Reese's! I've tried every peanut butter baking chip out there and these are simply the best. They make a huge difference to the flavor of the cookie and any other peanut butter chip just wouldn't be the same.
**I used nearly a bag and a half of the peanut butter chips, which may seem excessive. Feel free to cut it down a little, but keep at least 10 oz. of chips in the cookie. This helps to keep the cookie nice and high.