copycat nyc levain bakery chocolate pb cookies

OK, so when I moved to NYC I had a slight/major obsession with Levain Bakery. They are some of the best cookies in the world. No joke! One is basically a meal since they are the size of a toddler....OK, maybe a newborn. Since I've been back in Utah, I've had LWS (Levain Withdrawal Syndrome). I searched and searched the internet in hopes of finding a remedy for my illness. 

Praise be to the cookie gods, I found one!

I made them last night and they are about 96% the same. The only things I would change is, it needs is a hair more cocoa powder and a little less chocolate & peanut butter chips (blasphemy, I know, but I want the dough to stick together a little better). Also, I'm gonna mix the chips together before I add them to the dough to have more uniform distribution. 

Here it is:

Sift dry ingredients together.

• 1.5 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup bread flour
• 5/8 cups (1/2 cup + 2 T) cocoa powder
• 5/8 teaspoon (1/2 t + 1/8 t) baking soda
• 5/8 teaspoon (1/2 t + 1/8 t) salt

Beat cold butter until pasty. Add sugars and beat until incorporated. Add vanilla and eggs. Don’t over beat at any step here; stop when ingredients are incorporated. Extra blending doesn’t improve flavor; it just warms the butter.

• 1 3/4 sticks unsalted butter, cold, cut into small pieces.
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk

Add dry ingredients until just incorporated. Add chips and fold in until evenly distributed.

• 1 cup peanut butter chips
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Roll the dough into a cylinder about 2 inches in diameter. Cut into twelve 1.5 inch or so segments. These cookies are supposed to be big. 

Rip each segment in half and conjoin the smooth ends, leaving the ragged ends exposed. The whole point is to increase the raggedness of the surface area to maximize crunch in the final product. This step really does improve the cookie.

Place all the uncooked cookies on parchment paper and cover loosely with plastic wrap.

Freeze for 1-2 hours.

Cook in center of oven for 17-18 minutes at 375. Adjust oven racks as needed to make sure the bottoms don’t burn.

Cookies are done when they are mostly firm on top (as opposed to doughy. They will still be delicate.) There should still be some darker spots here and there of not-quite-done cookie dough in most of the cookies.

Place on rack immediately.