My go to cookie recipe is the chunky, chewy, gooey New York style cookie.
I have tried and tested, baked and ate millions of cookies the past few years, and nothing compares to these irresistible cookies.
I make a big batch of these cookies every week and freeze them. Yes, FREEZE them! So, I feel like I have become an expert now (or so I think I have!).
I have compiled a list of all the best tips and tricks to make the perfect New York cookie, Levain Bakery style.
Prepare your ingredients
The key to perfecting these cookies is to not over-mix the cookie dough.
Having all your ingredients laid out before you begin making your cookie dough will make it much easier when adding each ingredient.
Use cold butter
Not what you would usually see in a cookie recipe, but when I say use cold butter, I mean cold butter straight from the fridge!
Most cookie recipes would either ask for melted butter or for softened butter creamed with the sugar.
Not with NYC cookies!
You might be thinking, how will cold butter break down? It will, trust me.
Cold butter is what makes these cookies extra delicious, so make sure it’s super cold as it will affect the overall texture of the cookie once it’s baked.
Ditch your mixer!
What I love about these cookies is that you can make them without needing a mixer.
You are not trying to whip anything or cream any ingredients together, you are just combining them, so making these by hand is very easy.
If you do use a mixer, use one that has a paddle attachment. A balloon whisk will whip too much air in the mixture.
Plus, you’ll find that all your cookie dough mixture will get stuck between the gaps in the whisk.
Rub ingredients with your finger tips
Think of it like making shortbread or shortcrust pastry.
If you decide to make the cookies just by hand, rub the butter with the sugars until you have broken down the butter a little.
It doesn’t matter if there are still big chunks of butter.
When you add your dry ingredients, continue rubbing the dry mixture between your hands and fingers.
This will start to break down the butter even more, and you will end up with a bread crumb consistency.
Whisk your eggs
The secret with these cookies is to not over mix the cookie dough. There is no mixing, no whipping and no binding.
So, to make sure you don’t spend too much time handling the cookie dough, whisk the eggs in a separate bowl beforehand.
If you add them in whole, you will end up mixing the cookie dough more than you should in your attempt to completely mix in the eggs.
Adding them already cracked and whisked will make it much easier to mix in the eggs without over handling the dough.
Use chopped chocolate instead of chocolate chips
I mean, chocolate chips in cookies are okay, but chopped chocolate chunks will take your cookies to another dimension – NYC or not.
Chocolate chips don’t really fully melt, so you will never get that melted chocolate gooeyess like you would with chopped chocolate.
I like to have a good chunk of melted chocolate with every bite. So, if you’re like me, make sure you are generous with your chocolate and don’t be scared to add large chunks of chocolate to your cookie dough.
I use a mixture of dark and milk chocolate in my cookies. I feel like using both creates a nice balance between bitterness and sweetness.
If you are making triple chocolate cookies, add white chocolate chunks and prepare to be taken to the wonderful world of cookieland!
Weigh each cookie dough ball
You might think this is a bit unnecessary, but weigh your cookies! This will make sure they all bake nice and evenly in the oven.
If your cookies are all different sizes, they will bake unevenly and you’ll end up with some cookies being overcooked and burnt, and others that are undercooked and raw.
Don’t roll your cookie dough balls tightly
Rolling your cookies too tightly will make them very dense and won’t spread out as well in the oven.
You will know that you’ve rolled your cookies too tightly because they come out from the oven with a big dome in the middle.
Once you have weighed your cookie dough, firmly push it together between the palms of both hands until it resembles a ball, but do not squeeze the dough and definitely don’t roll it!
It’s okay if your cookie dough ball looks rough around the edges. It makes the cookie look more rustic and authentic when it comes out of the oven!
Wrap your cookie dough balls individually
Many cookie recipes will either bake the recipe straight away or chill the dough for an hour before baking the cookies in batches.
After you have weighed each cookie dough ball equally, wrap them up individually – there’s a good reason for doing this which you will find out below!
I wrap my cookie dough balls with cling film – I know, not environmentally friendly at all. But I am trying to find other ways to do this without having to use up and throw away cling film each time.
Freeze the cookie dough balls
Yes, you heard right, freeze them. Many recipes will call to chill the cookie dough for 30 minutes before baking the cookies to enhance the flavour.
Well, we are going one step further and freezing them! Freezing them not only enhances the flavour, it also helps keep a nice chunky structure when baking in the oven.
The best thing about freezing cookies is that you don’t have to bake them all at once. I hated having to throw away cookies because they had gone stale or because they had gone hard the next day.
Craving a cookie? Preheat the oven and pop a cookie in from the freezer! Not only do you have a constant supply of freshly baked cookies at your disposal you are also helping yourself by not eating them all at once! It’s a win-win really.
Bonus tip: Set your oven high
For the ultimate NYC cookie that is chunky, chewy and ridiculously gooey, set your oven to 190C/375F.
Because you’re baking your cookies from frozen, the outside will get nice and crispy and the inside will remain super soft and gooey.
If you want to try making the best NYC cookies check out this recipe!
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