These thick, oversized Levain Bakery-Style Dark Chocolate Mint Chip Cookies are loaded with creamy, smooth mint flavor in a fudgy chocolate cookie base. They are perfect with a glass of cold milk and big enough to share!
These are AMAZING! I’ve been to Levains several times and these are better. I have made several copy cat recipes and this one is by far the best. Possibility the combo of cake flour with regular and cornstarch? I don’t know. But they are so yummy. Thank you! ~ Lizzie
One of my 2020 baking projects involved learning how to make Levain Bakery-style cookies at home. If you aren’t familiar, Levain Bakery is a New York institution famous for it’s oversized gourmet cookies with their unique texture and wonderful flavor combinations.
I’ve already shared some of their signature cookies like the Levain Chocolate Chip Cookies, Levain Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, and the Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies (my husband’s personal favorite). But this mint version needed a place all its own because I loved it so much!
The Ghiradelli green mint baking chips are wonderful and have the creamiest, best mint flavor that goes so well with the dark chocolate cookie base. If you don’t have them at your local store, it’s worth ordering online, although I’m also including some ideas for other options.
If you love all things chocolate and mint like we do, be sure to also check out our Fudgy Frosted Chocolate Mint Brownies, Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream, and Andes Mint Cookies next!
Why this recipe works
- It’s the same tried and tested dark chocolate cookie base that I’ve used in other recipes, so you know it’s gonna be good!
- The flavor and color combo of these cookies means they great for festive holidays like Christmas or St. Patrick’s Day, although we will honestly eat them at any time of the year.
- Levain-style cookies are all about the method: Creaming COLD butter to soften it, using a combinations of regular all-purpose flour and cake flour, and baking giant balls of dough at a higher-than-typical temperature all contribute to the deliciously thick and almost scone-like texture of their cookies.
Ingredient Notes
- Ghiradelli green mint chips: If you have trouble finding these, you could always order them online or instead use Andes mint chips (another personal favorite flavor-wise although they won’t have quite the same visual impact as the Ghiradelli chips).
- Cocoa powder: These can be made with regular unsweetened cocoa powder or your favorite dark cocoa powder without any other adjustments to the recipe. My favorite cocoa brands are Ghiradelli and Rodelle, but Hershey’s works just as well!
- Cake flour substitute: If you don’t have cake flour, you can increase the cornstarch to 2 Tablespoons + 1 teaspoon and increase the regular all-purpose flour to 2 ⅓ cups.
How to Make This Recipe
- Start by creaming the butter with both types of sugar. For this technique, you want to use butter that is cold, right out of the fridge, and just cut it into cubes. It will soften and combine with the sugars during the creaming process.
- Add the eggs and vanilla extract. This is one area where I deviate from traditional Levain Bakery cookies because they don’t use vanilla. However, I feel like it adds depth and complexity to the overall flavor of the cookie, so I like to include it in my recipes.
- Be sure to stop and scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl so everything gets mixed together evenly.
- Add both types of flour along with the cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix just until combined.
- Add the mint chips to the chocolate cookie dough base. Then shape the dough into 8 large balls and space them apart on two parchment-lined baking sheets.
- Bake for just 9-11 minutes in a 400°F preheated oven until set around the edges and on top. Remove from the oven and let the cookies continue to set up on the baking sheet for 15 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Recipe FAQ’s
These cookies are pretty huge, so it’s totally okay to make 16 half-size cookies (which will still be generous) rather than 8 enormous ones. Just decrease your bake time by a minute or two to account for the smaller size so you don’t overbake.
The key to keeping these cookies from spreading is both in using accurate amounts of flour, butter, and sugars, as well as in starting with cold butter instead of room temperature butter. The hefty amount of chips in the dough also contribute to the structural integrity of the cookies so they are mounded instead of thin.
Recipe Tips
- You want to let these cookies set, not just cool. Because of their unique size and baking method, they will still be on the raw-side if you break one open just 15 minutes after baking. But if you let them sit for a full hour to rest, the residual heat will continue to cook the cookie so it’s just set all the way through.
- Peppermint version: During the holidays when specialty peppermint chips abound, you could try using 1 ½ cups of Andes peppermint baking chips, Ghiradelli peppermint chunks, or an equivalent amount of peppermint bark that has been chopped into small pieces along with 1 cup each of white chocolate and semisweet chocolate chips.
- Mini-version: These cookies are enormous, so if you prefer more of a standard-size cookie you can make 16 (still generous) cookies that are about 3 to 3.5-ounces each. But in order to get them to bake the same and turn out thick, you will need to divide out the cookie dough and place them on the baking sheet, then refrigerate for AT LEAST 30 minutes before baking. Letting them chill first helps the dough set up and lowers the temperature of the dough so they don’t spread as quickly or as much during baking.
- Storage: These will be good for 4-5 days when stored in an airtight container at room temperature. You can also freeze them for up to 3 months. Thaw before enjoying. I recommend warming them in the microwave for a few seconds so they taste fresh and warm!
More Cookie Recipes
- Big Blue Monster Stuffed Cookies
- Almond Joy Cookies
- Fluffernutter Cookies
- Frosted Fruity Pebbles Cookies
Did you make this recipe?
Let me know what you thought with a comment and rating below. You can also take a picture and tag me on Instagram @houseofnasheats or share it on the Pinterest pin so I can see.
Levain-Style Dark Chocolate Mint Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup cold salted butter cubed (227g)
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200g)
- 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar (100g)
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (188g)
- 1 cup cake flour (118g)
- 1/2 cup dark cocoa powder (50g)
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 1/2 cups Ghiradelli green mint chips*
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar for 3-4 minutes on medium-high speed until light. Add the eggs and vanilla, beating well and scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl.1 cup cold salted butter, 1 cup granulated sugar, ½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar, 2 large eggs, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Add both types of flour, cocoa powder, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix on low speed just until combined. Stir in mint chips.1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, 1 cup cake flour, ½ cup dark cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon cornstarch, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt, 2 ½ cups Ghiradelli green mint chips*
- Divide the dough into 8 evenly-sized large balls and space them evenly on the baking sheets so they have room to spread while baking.
- Bake for 9-11 minutes until the cookies look set around the edges and dry on top. If they still look shiny, they probably need another minute, but don't overbake.
- Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for at least 15 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack to finish cooling.
Notes
- Ghiradelli green mint chips: If you have trouble finding these, you could always order them online or instead use Andes mint chips (another personal favorite flavor-wise although they won’t have quite the same visual impact as the Ghiradelli chips).
- Cocoa powder: These can be made with regular unsweetened cocoa powder or your favorite dark cocoa powder without any other adjustments to the recipe. My favorite cocoa brands are Ghiradelli and Rodelle, but Hershey’s works just as well!
- Peppermint version: During the holidays when specialty peppermint chips abound, you could try using 1 ½ cups of Andes peppermint baking chips, Ghiradelli peppermint chunks, or an equivalent amount of peppermint bark that has been chopped into small pieces along with 1 cup each of white chocolate and semisweet chocolate chips.
- Mini-version: These cookies are enormous, so if you prefer more of a standard-size cookie you can make 16 (still generous) cookies that are about 3 to 3.5-ounces each. But in order to get them to bake the same and turn out thick, you will need to divide out the cookie dough and place them on the baking sheet, then refrigerate for AT LEAST 30 minutes before baking. Letting them chill first helps the dough set up and lowers the temperature of the dough so they don’t spread as quickly or as much during baking.
- Cake flour substitute: If you don’t have cake flour, you can increase the cornstarch to 2 Tablespoons + 1 teaspoon and increase the regular all-purpose flour to 2 ⅓ cups.
- Storage: These will be good for 4-5 days when stored in an airtight container at room temperature. You can also freeze them for up to 3 months. Thaw before enjoying. I recommend warming them in the microwave for a few seconds so they taste fresh and warm!
You had me at “scone-like” as I love scones. The cookies look very good. The Andes peppermint cookie version sounds wonderful though to me.
OMG, these cookies were outrageously delicious! I’ve already got orders to make another batch!
The cookies were quite easy to make but tasted rich and decadent. A great choice for a cookie exchange.
I love the combination of Mint flavor to these Dark Chocolate cookies. Looks delicious and I need to definitely get my snack box ready for the week.
Wow! These cookies look really delicious. It makes my mouthwatering.
I will make this for everyone. Thank you!
Your recipe does not disappoint. The cookies came out amazing, and I love the levain bakery touch. This was such a winner recipe and easy to make. I will definitely make them again!
These cookies were perfect! We loved the little bursts of mint flavor and green. Will make these again soon!
My kid had a ball adding the green mint chips! His favorite color. Such a perfect Christmas recipe. So delicious, too!
I adore the combo of chocolate and mint and can’t get over how soft these cookies are! WIll be making these on repeat.
I made a double batch of these minty cookies for our Christmas cookie tray. They are absolutely amazing! I will be making these cookies again and again.
Can you use all regular flour instead of half regular and half cake flower?
Yes, absolutely.
You never put how much salt to add…. please update this recipe to include since guessing in baking is a surefire way to mess it all up
It’s 1/2 teaspoon salt. Sorry about that! I fixed it on the recipe card for future reference.
It’s OK… I did a teaspoon but they still came out great. I made them again today to bring to my office! I went with Andes mints and did all purpose flour only.
These are AMAZING! I’ve been to Levains several times and these are better. I have made several copy cat recipes and this one is by far the best. Possibility the combo of cake flour with regular and cornstarch? I don’t know. But they are so yummy. Thank you!
I’m so glad you love them! We think they are better too. 😉
One of my go-to cookie recipes – and a hit at the office! I don’t make them as large and cook for less time, just so there are more of them. But the recipe works fantastically the way I bake it, too.
Great! What a fun treat to bring to the office!