divine cookies

ok, so typically i post healthy, wholesome recipes.  but you'll remember,  that my food philosophy is eat nutritious, natural foods 80% (or more) of the time and leave yourself 20% of wiggle room...

well, this post is about to consume all 20% of that wiggle room.  a month back, we visited friends in nyc, and they introduced us to levain bakery.  this whole-in-the-wall establishment on west 74th makes the most divine cookies i've ever, ever, ever eaten.

i searched the internet for the recipe, but (for good reason), they have it well protected.  but, i did stumble across a few copycat recipes and decided to try the most promising.  hello!  they weren't levain bakery good, but they were damn-near close.

so, here's the scoop
makes 10-12 cookies

preheat oven to 390 (yes, 390...)

1 c. butter (2 sticks)

1 1/2 c. brown sugar

2 eggs

cream all above ingredients until fluffy

add:

2 c. flour

1 tbsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

pinch of salt

1 tsp cinnamon

dash of nutmeg

1 tbsp. cornstarch

mix all ingredients until incorporated and a thick, creamy dough is created.

then mix in:

2 cups of oats

then i split the dough into equal parts.  and added separate mix-ins to each.

one 1/2 got 1 cup chocolate chips

the other 1/2 got 1 cup raisins

mix thoroughly and then pour onto countertop and knead dough to completely mix dough (this tip evidently comes from the levain ladies, themselves ; )

gently pull lemon-sized hunks of dough. be sure to keep the dough loose and airy and place the mounds on 2 cookie sheets.  you should get 10-12 cookies total.  (they are huge.)

bake for 10-12 minutes, rotating sheets once, until cookies are lightly browned around the edges.  (this recipe was adapted from cheeky kitchen's copycat cookie.)

then...come to mama!  enjoy!

on a different note, this weekend is my friend, cate's, wedding!  we've known each other for over 20 years, and i am super excited to celebrate with her tomorrow!  (i'll be posting pictures next week.)

what are you up to this weekend?  want a cookie?.