I have a lot of spots I adore in New York.  After living there for a summer and visiting more times than I can count, some of my favorite gems include Ess-a-Bagel, tea at the St. Regis, the booths at Bryant Park at Christmas time (Manhattan Vintage in particular), lunch at L’Ecole, any meal at Cafeteria, walking around Pearl River Mart, dinner at Rosa Mexicano – I could go on forever!

However my brother recently added a go-to spot to the list – the chocolate chip cookies at Levain Bakery.  It’s so tiny and hidden you might miss it (confession: I walked past it twice and didn’t notice it), but once you get inside and smell the intoxicating aroma of baked goodness…you can’t buy a chocolate chip cookie fast enough.

My mom found a replica recipe years ago and made them for the family when we were all at Watercolor in Florida.  Christian, the man with an endless sweet tooth, has been begging me to make them ever since.  I refused because they have so much butter.  I finally caved and found this recipe.  I reduced the butter to one and one-fourth stick (it called for two) and still think they came out great!

I’m sure if I just put all the butter in there they would be even better…so if you try the recipe as is, let me know what you think!

Happy eating!  Thanks for reading and let me know if you try this recipe! XO –