Levain Bakery Cookies by Mail

Wow, where does the time go?! The holidays were the craziest that I've ever experienced, with work being busy and trying to buy gifts and holiday parties and getting sick with a massive cold right in the middle of all that! I barely made it out alive. Then I seemed to get sick again right after! Plus on top of all that, it's been THE coldest and snowiest winter that I've been alive to experience. Those -20 temps that FEEL LIKE -45 were not very fun to walk to work in.

I don't think I would survive if I lived any further north. I can't wait for the temps to get above freezing for the first time next week, and that's just sad. So now that things have calmed down a little, I wanted to make sure that I post about my Christmas present to myself.

I've heard all about Levain Bakery in NYC from lots of people, and read about how their cookies are the best cookie they've ever eaten! Well I was tired of hearing it and not being able to try them myself. I knew I wasn't going to NYC anytime soon, and having someone bring one back for me seemed like a lot to ask, hoping that they would also still be fresh when I got it.

They aren't exactly cheap to order online, but I think that it was definitely worth it for a one-time special occasion tasting. I chose the sampler 4-pack, plus 2-day shipping, and it was around $40. The sampler was a chocolate chip with walnuts, chocolate chocolate chip, peanut butter chocolate chip, and oatmeal raisin. I could have done the pick 4 of your choice since I'm not a fan of oatmeal raisin, but it was $8 more!

They actually arrived in 3 days instead of 2 days, because I am an idiot. I had them shipped to my work, and accidentally put my home zip code. So they had to re-route them and I was so mad at myself because I didn’t want the cookies to be stale! Luckily, these cookies are so amazing they last for days and will still be good, especially if you heat them up so they get a little melty on the inside.

The first one I tried was the chocolate chip with walnuts. I didn’t heat this one up, so it wasn’t quite as soft and doughy as the freshly baked ones probably are, but it was still very, very, very tasty! It could do without the walnuts and still be an awesome cookie. The outside is crispy, and the inside is soft and chewy with not an overpowering taste, which makes them so interesting. I really loved it, and wish I had another one right now!

The next one was the peanut butter chocolate chip cookie. I heated this up in the microwave just so it would get a little softer, and it was soooo much better that way! The peanut butter chips were gooey, and the middle was more brownie-like. This might have been my favorite....

I knew we wouldn’t eat all 4 in 2 days, so I froze the chocolate chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin. They came with a little card that said if you can’t consume in a few days, freeze them and then when ready to eat, preheat your oven to 350 and bake 10 minutes or until warmed. I was afraid they wouldn’t taste as good, but they were about the same as the others, if not better from being warmed up and gooey.

I loved the chocolate chocolate chip, but the oatmeal raisin was just okay. The dough part was good, but I just am not a fan of soft raisins in my cookies.

 

The cookies came with 2 really cool postcards, and this one that shows just the insides of each cookie is SO awesome. I think I just want to keep it myself and not send it to anyone!

I would love to try a fresh one someday, but for now these will have to work. I am so glad I finally got to try a famous Levain cookie!  

Carmel, Pretzel and Chocolate Chip Cookies for The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap!

 

I was super duper excited to be a part of The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap this year. It's where you get to bake cookies and send them to 3 other food bloggers, and then 3 different food bloggers send their cookies to you! This was a great idea since I love baked goods from other people, and I love getting gifts in the mail!

I made these Carmel, Pretzel and Chocolate Chip cookies from Maggie's blog, and they are so salty and sweet at the same time, it's awesome! 

  

I think this cookie swap was so fun, and I'm definitely doing it again next year. It was a little hard to figure out the timing of making the cookies and then shipping them the next day so they don't get too stale by the time they arrive! But I hope they turned up okay to my 3 people.

 

The first batch of cookies I received was from Amanda k by the Bay, and they were really good! They were a ginger Swedish cookie called Pepper Kakor.

The next cookies I received were from Fatgirl Hedonist, and they were a Pistachio and Dark Chocolate Chip cookie. So yummyyy!

The last one's I received were from Not Starving Yet, and it was a classic Gingerbread Man cookie! How festive!

Is it sad I'm already looking forward to doing next year's cookie swap? 

Caramel, Pretzel and Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yields: approximately 2 dozen cookies

Ingredients

3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened (1 1/2 sticks)

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (OR semi-sweet)

1/2 cup caramel bits or chopped caramel (Kraft sells the caramel bits)

1/2 cup crushed pretzels

Sea salt, for sprinkling (optional)

 

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

 

In a medium bowl, combine flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt;  set aside.  In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugars until fluffy and light in color. Add egg and vanilla and blend in until thoroughly combined.

 

Add flour mixture, beating until just combined. Stir in chips, caramel bits and pretzels.

Using a large cookie scoop (about 2-3 tablespoons), drop dough onto a prepared baking sheet.  Top each cookie with a sprinkling of sea salt.  Bake for 9-12 minutes, until barely golden brown around the edges. The tops will not brown. I took mine out at about 11 minutes and the result was a perfectly soft, chewy center!

 

Let cool, on the sheet, on a wire rack for five minutes.   Remove from baking sheet and let cool completely.