Egg-free Levain-style Cookies
This is an easy to follow recipe to make big chunky Levain-style cookies at home! These are egg-free which means they can be adapted to a vegan diet by simply replacing the milk with a plant-based alternative.
Ingredients
Cookie Dough
- 180 g Butter softened
- 100 g White Sugar
- 150 g Brown Sugar
- 2 g Salt a pinch
- 55 g Milk
- 260 g Flour
- 13 g Baking Powder
- 70 g Walnuts chopped into chunks
- 140 g Dark Chocolate chopped into chunks
Decoration
- 100 g Chocolate Spread or Nut Butter
Instructions
Making the Cookie Dough
- Start by measuring 180 g of butter. Cut it into small cubes so it softens faster.
- In the meantime, prepare all the other ingredients. Chop 140 g of chocolate and 70 g of walnuts into big chunks.
- Once the butter is soft (see the video for this step if you're unsure), place it in a bowl together with 100 g white sugar, 150 g brown sugar and a pinch of salt (2 g). Cream the ingredients together until the colour of the butter has lightened and everything is well incorporated.
- Add 55 g of milk or your plant-based alternative if you're making vegan cookies. Mix everything together. If the liquid is a lot colder than the butter-sugar mix, the dough might lose its homogeneity. Don't worry - adding the flour and baking powder in the next step should solve the issue.
- Mix together 160 g flour and 13 g of baking powder and give it a stir. Add these powders into the dough. Important: Only mix in the flour until it is fully incorporated into the dough, then stop mixing.
- Add around 2/3 of the chocolate chunks and 2/3 of the walnuts chunks into the batter. Give it a quick mix. Set aside the remaining chocolate and walnuts for decoration.
- Divide the batter into seven balls of 120 g each. If there is any batter left, then place a bit on top of each ball. Ensure they are all the same size.
- Place the dough balls in the freezer for minimum 3 hours, you can also fully freeze them and take them out once you're ready to bake them.
Baking and Shaping the Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 180°C or 360 ° F.
- Place the frozen cookies on a baking tray lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Ensure they are spread out as they will flatten while baking.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes in the middle of the oven.
- Once they're golden on the surface, take them out of the oven. Optional: If you want the cookies to be round and less flat, use a cookie cutter slightly bigger than the cookie and shape it in circular movements.
- Let the cookies cool down completely.
Decorating
- Fill your favourite chocolate spread or nut butter into a piping bag. Cut of the tip and place several dollops on top of each cookie.
- Finish the cookies by sprinkling some chocolate and walnut chunks onto each cookie.
- Enjoy!