Levain

Oh Levain…a cookie icon in New York City. A cult following, a dozen recipes trying to replicate you at home, and a cookie legend. Obviously we had to try Levain while in NYC. Their menu is simple, only offering a few flavors. As soon as you walk into a store, you are greeted with the smell of fresh cookies baking away and that alone is intoxicating.

We grabbed a Two Chip Chocolate Chip and a Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip to try and share. Now, I know Levain is super famous and popular and recognized for having some of the best cookies out there. And I know what I type next is not going to be a super popular opinion, but honestly these cookies were just overly rich and sweet. For me they needed to be better balanced. The Two Chip was definitely the favorite of the two but it was missing some salt or something to help round it out. It was so much chocolate, which I do love, but after one bite I was having a sugar rush. The Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter was also a bit too much for me and it was a bit dry. Chocolate Base cookies tend to be a bit more dry and don’t have that gooey consistency and that is what happened here. The outside was also a bit on the crispy side, perhaps even overbaked a bit?

I know my opinion of Levain is not with the majority. I wanted to love these cookies so much, but they were just okay for me. Too sweet and they lacked texture and flavor profiles. If you’re looking for an ultra sweet cookie though, then this is definitely the spot for you!