Summer is upon us; Work and play! Levain Bakery Cookie Recipe copy cat

This summer we're mostly sticking around town besides our various church camps. The kids want to work and save money. Elisabeth is working full-time at a car wash and then sometimes at Subway. Charles is working fulltime as an electrician apprentice and then part time at the elementary school as a sweeper/custodian. Annabelle is wokring part time with Charles at the elementary as a custodian and she also has a couple families she babysits for regularly. Jane is walking dogs and taking care of them when their owners are out of town, plus she watches our neighbor Saige regularly (she has special needs) and she's done a few bake sales. The Levain Bakery style cookies we sell are always a hit; I've posted the recipes below. 

Nora and Emery were invited to go to Lagoon with their church teachers. Nora has never been and was super excited. The tickets were discounted because they were going with their work. 

Our water heater was leaking and we thought we were going to have to pay nearly $2000 because it looked like our warranty had just expired, but the second plumber we contacted to get an estimate from contacted the company that made our last heater and found out theyd still cover it! So we upgraded to a heater that was a little bigger and they got it done in a day. I'm grateful for the tender mercies of the Lord.

Jane has been into gel nails and has gotten pretty good. She likes to look up images online and copy them and she does great!

Cute Penny.

Levain Style Chocolate Chip Cookies- makes 2 dozen 

1 cup cold butter, cut into tbsp 

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

3 cups flour (can use half cake flour; but I often don't have that on hand)

1 tsp cornstarch

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp sea salt

2 1/2 cups chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 410 degrees (400 if using convection). In a large mixing bowl (I use a Bosch), cream together cold butter, brown sugar and sugar for 4 minutes or until creamy. 

Add eggs and vanilla and mix. (If using a Bosch, switch whisks to cooke dough paddles). 

Stir in flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt. Mix until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips. 

Using a large cookie scoop (think ice cream scoop size; or 2-3 Tbsp), make balls of dough. Place 9 on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 6-8 minutes, until the tops are turning golden. Let them rest on the cookie sheet for 10 minutes to set. Transfer to a cooling rack. Makes about 2 dozen cookies. 

*For Monster-sized cookies: separate dough into 8 large balls and place 4 on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake for 9-12 minutes, until golden on the top. Let them rest for 20 minutes to set. 

Recees Pieces Peanut Butter Cookies

• 1 cup unsalted butter, cut into cubes
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated white sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup cake flour
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups peanut butter chips
• 1 cups Reese's Pieces candies

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 410° degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone liners; set aside. (400 if using convection)
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the cubed butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar with the paddle attachment for 30 seconds on low speed. Increase speed to medium and beat for another 30 seconds, then increase to medium-high speed and beat for another 30 seconds until mixture is creamy and smooth. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla extract and peanut butter, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
• Add in the cornstarch, baking soda, salt, cake flour, and all-purpose flour and mix on low speed until just combined. Fold in the peanut butter chips and Reese's Pieces candies by hand until fully incorporated. Chill the dough uncovered in the fridge for 15 minutes.
• Using a digital kitchen scale for accuracy, weigh out 6 ounces of cookie dough in a loose, rough textured ball. I like to make my cookie dough balls kind of tall as well. You do not want the dough balls to be smooth and compacted. Place on the baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough balls, staggering on the baking sheet at least 3" apart from one another, and only placing 4 dough balls per baking sheet.
• Bake one baking sheet at a time in the center rack of the oven for 10-13 minutes or until the tops are light golden brown and the exterior is dry and dull looking. Centers will be slightly underdone and gooey; this is okay and the cookies will finish cooking some once removed from the oven. Let stand on the baking sheets for at least 30 minutes before serving; the cookies are very delicate and fragile once removed from the oven and need time to set before being moved. Keep remaining dough refrigerated while other cookies bake.

Notes

You can replace some of the peanut butter chips for chocolate chips if you prefer. 

31745SHARES

Ingredients

• 1 cup COLD unsalted butter, cut into cubes
• 1½ cups granulated white sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1½ cups cake flour
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup frosted circus animal cookies, roughly chopped like by Mother's brand
• 1 cup white chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup rainbow jimmies sprinkles

Instructions

• In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the cubed cold butter and the granulated sugar with the paddle attachment on low speed for 30 seconds.

  • Increase the speed to medium and continue mixing for 30 seconds. Lastly, increase the speed to high and mix for another 30 seconds until butter mixture is fluffy and light.
  • Beat in the eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla, until mixture is combined. Lastly, add in the cornstarch, baking soda, salt, cake flour, and all-purpose flour, mixing until incorporated. Lastly, stir in the chopped frosted circus animal cookies, white chocolate chips and the sprinkles until fully combined. Refrigerate the dough to chill for 20 minutes.
  • Preheat your oven to 400° degrees F. Line 1 baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a digital cooking scale, weigh out 6 ounces of dough and form it into a loosely packed, rough textured ball - I like to form my cookie dough balls kind of on the taller side. Place staggered 3" apart, 4 dough balls per sheet, on the baking sheet.
  • Bake in the center rack of the oven, one sheet at a time, for 10-13 minutes or until light golden brown and the exterior looks dull and dry. The centers should be gooey and underbaked. You can always test bake one cookie first to gauge what your best timing is. Remember, the cookies will continue to finish cooking as they cool on the baking sheet, so do not over-bake. Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheets for up to 30 minutes as cookies are quite fragile after being baked. Keep remaining dough refrigerated while other cookies are in the oven.