Parsley, Sage and Sweet Levain Bakery Copycat Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies

A friend brought these cookies to work a while ago... I had never tasted anything like this before; they were so incredible that I asked her what the recipe was. She told me they were Levain Bakery-style cookies, and gave me the name of the blog where she found the recipe. The blog is called Parsley, Sage and Sweet. Lisa does a beautiful job of explaining how to make them, as well as how to adjust the ingredients in order to obtain different textures and variations. With her permission, here follows the recipe and picture of this extraordinary cookie.

Levain Bakery Copycat Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies 

Ingredients

• 2 sticks ‘cold and cubed’ unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar – not packed too hard. Just spoon it in the cup(s) and press down lightly when full, sweeping off any extra that runs over.
• 2 eggs
• 3 1/4 to 3 1/2 cups AP flour – Spoon and Sweep method. (feel the dough, it should be moist, kind of like cold cookie dough in a tube.. but not super sticky, so you can portion the cookies with your hands)
• 3/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 3/4-1 teaspoon baking powder ( I don’t fill the tsp fully, hence the 3/4 tsp)
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 2 cups good quality semisweet chocolate chips or chunks (I usually use half semisweet and half milk chocolate AND, a little birdy told me they use Guittard)
• 1 cup walnuts (Toast the nuts for more flavor, if desired and/or use any kind of nut you like. I love macadamias in these)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 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 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 16-23 minutes depending on how gooey and raw’ish you like the middles (I bake mine at 375 for 18-20 minutes, as I prefer a less raw 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. To freshen them after a few days (if they last that long), give them a quick nuke in the microwave for 5-10 seconds.

Note – The Levain Bakery doesn’t use vanilla extract in their cookies, as they feel it’s unecessary. However, some feel you need it. You can add 1 tsp to 1 T to each recipe if desired. Just add it after each egg is incorporated.

Note – The Levain Bakery uses 6 oz of cookie dough per cookie. As mentioned above, If you want 12 cookies out of the above recipes, a little over 4 oz per cookie (4.1 to 4.2 oz. Use a kitchen scale) will get you that. If you want to use 6 oz of cookie dough per cookie, you’ll probably get only 6-8 cookies. However, a little over 4 oz makes a cookie just as thick and huge, so you don’t even notice the difference.

Note – If you want a more ‘caramel-molasses like’ Chocolate chip walnut cookie, increase the brown sugar while decreasing the white sugar, so you still have 1 1/2 cups total sugar. (Like 1 cup brown sugar to 1/2 cup white sugar).

Brown Sugar Pecan Pie

The very first thing I ever tasted when I came to the United States, fresh off the plane and completely unaware of Thanksgiving on a late November evening, was Pecan Pie. It is still my favorite pie, and I love making it because it is so simple: throw pecans, whiskey, eggs, sugar and butter in a bowl, mix, bake, and eat with the Bourbon you bought ''for the pie.'' 

I love this recipe because it uses brown sugar instead of corn syrup, so it is not too ''ultra'' sweet. Just ''perfect'' sweet. And yes, I do use organic ingredients- except for the bourbon... J.D. of course.

Pat-In-The-Pan Pie Crust:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

8 tablespoons salted butter, cut into pieces

1/4 cup heavy cream (I use whole milk)

1 egg yolk

Position rack in center of oven. Preheat to 400F. Mash flour and butter together in a bowl with back of fork until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. You can also use a mixer or food processor. Drizzle 1/4 cup cream (or milk) over the top and stir, mix or process till crumbs look damp and hold together when pinched. Transfer mixture to prepared 9-inch pie pan. Pat evenly along bottom and sides with fingertips. Prick bottom/sides with fork. Bake till crust is golden brown, 18-22 minutes, pricking bottom once or twice if it bubbles. Whisk egg yolk, then brush inside of crust with mixture. Return to oven until egg glaze sets, 1-2 minutes.

Filling:

2 cups (packed) dark brown sugar

4 large eggs

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted

1 tablespoon Scotch whisky

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 cups pecan halves

Preheat oven to 350°F. Whisk sugar, eggs, butter, Scotch, vanilla, and cinnamon in large bowl to blend. Mix in nuts. Pour filling into dough-lined dish. Bake pie until filling is slightly puffed and set in center, about 40 minutes. Cool pie completely at room temperature and serve.

How to Make Granola

Granola is so yummy, versatile, and satisfying. You can eat it alone, with yogurt, milk, fruit... but it is hard to find one that is made with high-quality fat at the stores. Most store-bought granolas list canola oil as the fat/oil of choice. The problem with canola oil is that, if it is not organic, it is probably GMO (genetically modified organism) canola. And the chance of finding a granola made with pure, organic butter... is just about nil. Organic sun/safflower oils are good fat choices, but not used very often.


Given the stats... I make my own. It takes about 5 minutes of work, and a total of 15 to cook. With these timings, it would be a ''pecado,'' a sin, not to make your own. I get to choose my own ingredients, and make it whichever way I want = power to myself.


I love finding ways to be more efficient. So this is how I ''simplified'' a recipe that I originally found on Epicurious a couple years ago.


1. Preheat oven to 375ºF.


2. Cut 2 to 3 Tbs (tablespoons) of butter, and place them apart on a 9x13 glass (Pirex) dish. You can find Pirex dishes in most supermarkets, and they are inexpensive. This size works well for me (makes lots of granola, so I don't have to make it often = efficient), but you can use any size you choose, whatever works for you. If you are completely new to cooking, don't bother measuring. Take a stick of butter, use a third of it, cut it up in chunks, and throw it in the glass dish. Or a deep dish made of any other material except Teflon (please refer to past blog posts on Teflon).


3. Place dish in the oven for a couple minutes, or until the butter melts. Take the dish out of the oven, throw some honey on the butter, and mix. The amount of honey depends on how sweet you like your breakfast. I use about 1/4 cup of it, or whatever I'm in the mood for at that moment. You can also use maple syrup, agave syrup... your choice, as long as it is a decent-quality product (aka: not corn syrup!). Again, for those of you who feel utter dread at the mere mention of the word ''1/4 cup,'' just pour as much syrup as you need in order to make your granola yummy.


4. Now that you have a nice butter and honey/maple/agave syrup mix in the dish, throw in 4 cups of oat flakes, or a mixture of rye and oat flakes, and 2 cups of your favorite nuts. I don't bother to chop them, too much work. My favorite are pecans and walnuts, but I also use almonds and raw/unsalted cashews. I also throw in coconut flakes (unsweetened) once in a while, or seeds such as sunflower and pumpkin. I've also used vanilla and almond extract before, but most of the time I forget the extracts altogether, even though they have a lovely scent. Mix everything well, taking care not to let it spill over (easy to do, trust me). If it does spill over, whistle for your dog to come and clean up the mess on the floor.


5. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until golden. You are done! You can also, midway through baking, take the dish out and stir it, so that all of the oats become golden and crisp. But if you don't have the time or patience for it, don't worry, it will come out just as delicious. Once it is baked, you may add any kind of dried fruit you wish- just don't bake the dried fruit, as it tends to become completely charred.


6. Remember to do 10 minutes of burpees while your granola bakes...