I love the Levain Bakery Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies even more than their regular chocolate chip, and over the years I’ve tried making Levain copycats at home. There are pictures to prove it!
Cocoa Powder
I've used different types of cocoa powder through the years. The darker cookies were originally made with Hershey's Dark (then called European style), then I switched to various other brands of Dutch process and tried with Hershey's natural as well. The newest rendition of the recipe just calls for Dutch process cocoa, so use any Dutch process type you like. My go-to Dutch is Ghirardelli. Sometimes I'll mix in a little black cocoa to make it darker.
I've also been known to add other things to the cookies!
These are all a little over the top, honestly.
So here's the new improved recipe! This is from Grace at Better Bakes Kitchen on Instagram. She was a baker at Levain, and while this is definitely not their recipe, it's close! The yield is approximate and will vary based on just how large you make the cookies. Levain's are about 6 oz each. I've always made them a little bit smaller (4 to 6 oz) so I'd get more like 12 to 14 cookies.
Recipe
Giant Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Levain Copycats
Ingredients
- 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour or bread flour (350 grams)
- ½ cup Dutch process cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt Morton Kosher
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch, slightly rounded
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, cool room temperature (228 grams)
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar 200 grams
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar (130 grams)
- 1 large egg
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 cups peanut butter chips
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cornstarch, breaking up the cocoa powder so there are no clumps. You can sift it if you need to.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attached, beat the cool butter until creamy, then add sugars on medium speed for about 3 minutes, stopping to scrape the bowl often.
- Add egg and the egg yolks one at a time, beating one low speed after each egg is added. Beat in vanilla.
- Add the flour mixture and stir until fully blended, then add the peanut butter chips (or use an assortment of peanut butter and chocolate.
- Using a large cookie scoop or about a quarter cup measure, scoop up big balls of dough and arrange them on a plate lined with plastic wrap. Chill the dough balls for several hours or overnight. A long chill will give you a thicker cookie.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Arrange cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for about 18 minutes or until fully cooked. Allow them to cool before serving.
Anna says
Hi Melissa,
I'm sure it would.
melissa@the hungry artist says
These look and sound so delicious. I haven't used European butter before -- would Kerrygold work? Everyone raves about their butter.
Jen @ Jen's Favorite Cookies says
Chocolate and peanut butter are a very popular combination in my family! I may just have to make these! I've never used European butter before though. Anything I should know about it?
Mackenzie@The Caramel Cookie says
My husband would love these! He loves PB&Chocolate. Thanks for the recipe!
Bronwen says
Just returned from the city and of course I had to check out Levain after reading about their amazing cookies on your blog. They lived up to the hype for me! Yum!!! I'm still nibbling on both of the chocolate varieties that I brought home. Being able to re-create them at home may be very dangerous! 🙂
Julia says
oh, im pretty sure they don't have peanut butter chips in UK ; (
They look amazing, and I love them already, even without trying them yet!
Emily says
I have to make these! They look amazing! I love Levain cookies,
d says
These look amazing. I've tried some of your other Levain copycats and can't wait to try these. Thanks!
Tracy says
Those look delicious! In my house, they probably wouldn't make it to the freezer.
Anna says
Martha, I think regular butter would work too. In all of my experimenting, I found that the European butter made the cookies more round and less likely to spread. So the cookies maybe spread a tiny bit more, but they'll still be good. You should probably chill the dough thoroughly before baking.
snooky doodle says
delicious. i live in Malta so all i have is European butter, great 🙂
Darlene says
It amazes me that the texture improves after the cookies have been frozen - how convenient!
Martha in KS says
Anna, I've never seen European butter in the grocery store - frankly I haven't looked for it. Can I use regular butter instead since I still have 2 lbs. in the freezer from Xmas? I want to make these to take to work on Tuesday. Thanks.