Levain Bakery Style Cookies- vegan recipe

By lucylox on March 28, 2025

This may be a recipe you've been eagerly waiting for - thick, gooey, decadent cookies, the sort that we in the UK called New York style cookies, but made dairy-free and egg-free. If it's a recipe trend, then it's definitely a band wagon i need to jump on, and make allergy-friendly in the process!

Everyone seems to be obsessed with Levain Bakery style cookies - big, chunky cookies that have a crisp exterior and an almost cookie dough like centre. Now, quick disclaimer, I've never eaten a Levain cookie so I can't compare these to anything I've actually tried, but after extensive research, I feel that these must have the correct texture and flavour profile. If you have tried the original, then i'd be very grateful if you gave this recipe a whirl and let me know what you think! 🙂

Although, i'm told that they're not so popular in the US and Levain Bakery is more of a tourist trap and a New York Cookie refers to one of those half black and half white iced cookies and not these giant chocolate chip affairs. But in the UK we seem to equate New York with huge chocolate chip cookies!

Levain Bakery style cookies seem to be very popular right now, everywhere you look the cookies on sale are huge and fully loaded. Normally these cookies are reliant on dairy and eggs for their flavour and texture, but i've managed to create a recipe that gives similar style cookies but is completely vegan and nut-free.

These Levain Bakery style cookies use strong bread flour and a long rest in the fridge to keep their thick and chunky shape, whilst a higher cooking temperature gives the crisp chewy exterior and gooey cookie dough like interior.

Apparently these cookies can have a malty taste so i've added a tablespoon of the new children's chocolate Horlicks that is free-from milk and nuts (it does contain wheat and barley) but gives a malty edge to the flavour. Equally this can be left out, but just make sure you add an extra tablespoon of flour to make the proportions correct.

This is a recipe for two giant cookies, which in my mind will easily feed four people, unless you want the full over overindulgence effect of a whole giant cookie to yourself. To make more cookies, simply multiply the recipe.

Levain Bakery Style Cookies - vegan recipe

giant cookies with a gooey interior and crispy edges

dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free, soya-free, sesame-free, vegetarian and vegan

baking sheet
sheet of non-stick baking paper

35 g dairy-free butter
50 g light, soft brown sugar
20 g granulated sugar
1 tbsp dairy-free milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp cornflour (or custard powder)
100 g strong bread flour
¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 pinch salt
1 tbsp malt drink powder (or use 1 extra tbsp flour)
80 g dairy-free chocolate chips (i used a mixture of dark and m*lk)
1 pinch flaky sea salt (to sprinkle on top)

Cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy
Stir in the milk, vanilla and cornflour (it may look a little split right now but that's fine it'll come good once the flour is added)
Stir in the flour, bicarbonate of soda, malt powder and salt. Bring together to a soft dough
stir in the chocolate chips and then form into 2 equal sized balls and place on the lined baking sheet. Cover and place in the fridge for at least 4 overs, but preferably overnight
Preheat the oven to 200℃. If you can, whilst it's heating pop the cookie dough balls in the freezer to 10 minutes or so. This helps keep the shape.
Sprinkle over the flaky salt and bake for 12-14 minutes
Leave to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before moving to a wire rack