We all have different preferences when it comes to eating cookies. Some prefer small and crunchy cookies, while others find thick and chewy cookies more appealing.
If you are one of those who love big, chunky, soft, and cake-like cookies, then you should try our White Chocolate, Cranberry & Strawberry NY Cookies recipe inspired by the famous Levain-bakery! [Go straight to recipe]
While the NY stands for New York here, these will be an absolute hit at your New Year's gatherings.
Levain Bakery isn’t an unfamiliar name for cookie enthusiasts.
The iconic Levain cookies can be found in any branch of Levain Bakery in the States, but if you’re like us and are in a place without access to it, the next best thing is to recreate a version that reminds us of it.
Since its emergence in 1995, Levain cookies have become an iconic NYC signature that has stolen the hearts of many locals and visitors alike.
People around the world have always tried to create their own Levain style cookies: huge New York-style cookies that are almost palm-sized with a crisp outside and a soft and chewy inside.
Here, we've made a version with some dried cranberries and freeze-dried strawberries to give it a sort of tang that complements the sweetness in the cookie.
Read More: Umami White Chocolate Miso Japanese Cookies
If you’ve been googling for Levain cookie recipes, you may find that most of them are soft-baked cookies loaded up with chocolate or white chocolate chips. But hey, no one can stop you from tweaking the recipe to your liking!
There are no limitations when it comes to adding mix-ins to your cookies (unless it dramatically increases the water content). You can add a bunch of macadamia nuts, peanut butter, chocolate or rainbow sprinkles, marshmallows, etc. If you want to add a slight tang, dried cranberries are the perfect choice.
One of the key traits of a Levain-style cookie is its large and tall size, coupled with a fudgy center.
The key to reaching this is to prevent spreading of the cookie while not incorporating too much air. For that, we use cold, cubed butter, and chilling the dough just before it’s baked.
You’ll need a hand-mixer for this one, because whisking cold butter with a hand-whisk is going to make you flip!
Other than that, cold butter helps to elevate crispness in the cookies. When you mix cold butter with the dough, instead of being fully incorporated, it gets broken into small pieces instead.
As a result, during baking, the steam released will create flaky layers.
Yield: ~20 cookies
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