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    the big apple's big cookie

    New York's most famous chocolate chip cookie now available in Houston

    Teresa Gubbins
    Aug 21, 2020 | 9:10 am
    Levain Bakery chocolate chip cookie
    Now you won't have to fly to New York to get them.
    Central Market

    UPDATE: Central Market says "today is the day" (Wednesday, September 2) that Levain cookies arrive in Texas stores. Look for them in the frozen section.

    -----

    If you're a cookie freak, you already know about the Levain chocolate chip cookie made by Levain Bakery in New York.

    This monstrous cookie weighs six ounces — twice as big as your typical chocolate chip cookie, with a crisp outside and gooey inside. They have such a following that fans have been known to make field trips to New York to get them. They've also been a holy grail for countless food bloggers such as Cookie Madness, who've tried to duplicate the recipe.

    Come September, you can buy them in Houston.

    Levain Bakery has launched Levain Bakery Frozen Cookies, a new line of frozen cookies, made from their signature recipes, that will be sold at Central Market locations throughout Texas.

    The cookies are unique because they are fully baked — not raw. You pop them in the oven for 5 minutes to get them to the desired crispy-outside-gooey-inside state, but you can also just defrost and eat at room temperature.

    Levain Bakery founders Connie McDonald and Pam Weekes say in a release that they began development of this new item nearly two years ago, and are confident it best reflects the experience customers line up for in NYC.

    "For years we've considered bringing packaged cookies to grocery stores, but it took time to come up with the perfect delicious cookie experience that would be a fitting representation of what our amazing customers have come to expect at the Bakery," they say. "We are eager to share the joy of our cookies with so many more people! Regardless of whether they are first trying the cookies in our bakeries or from the grocery store, we know they’re getting a true Levain Bakery experience."

    By doing a frozen cookie, they can also maintain their original recipes, without preservatives or texture-enhancing additives.

    Levain Bakery Frozen Cookies will come in four flavors:

    • Chocolate Chip Walnut
    • Oatmeal Raisin
    • Two Chip Chocolate Chip
    • Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip

    However: The new line will not be the super-sized cookie sold in New York but will instead be two-ounce versions, better for snacking.

    Weekes and McDonald founded Levain Bakery in 1995 as a small bread shop, and started making mammoth 6-ounce cookies as energy boosts that could keep up with their workout appetites. After finalizing the recipe, they offered the cookies for sale, and they became a smash hit. Levain now has seven locations and is expanding, with its first location outside New York, in Washington, DC, opening in mid-September.

    A box of eight cookies is $10. Initially, they'll be available at Central Market only, but negotiations are underway with other supermarkets for national distribution.

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    an offer he couldn't refuse

    Exclusive: Killen's Barbecue will soon shutter in The Woodlands

    Eric Sandler
    Dec 1, 2025 | 10:30 am
    Killen's barbecue meat platter with sides
    Photo by Robert Jacob Lerma
    undefined

    Fans of Killen’s Barbecue’s location in The Woodlands have a days to make one last visit. The restaurant will close this Sunday, December 7, chef-owner Ronnie Killen tells CultureMap.

    Open since 2021, Killen says that he’s in final negotiations to sell the location at 8800 Six Pines Dr. to Whataburger for a new location of the iconic Texas fast food restaurant. Neither the original location of Killen’s Barbecue in Pearland nor its Cypress location are affected by the closure of The Woodlands and will remain open.

    “Whataburger made me a deal I couldn’t pass up. It would take 10 years to do that kind of revenue,” Killen writes in a text, adding that the company recently made a significant payment to keep the deal’s window open through the end of the year.

    He added that the costs to operate the restaurant have gone up significantly. As one example, a cord of wood cost $175 when he opened the first Killen’s Barbecue in 2013. It costs $475 now, he writes.

    If the deal falls through, Killen states that he could look for a new buyer or convert the restaurant into a second location of Killen’s Burger, the retro-styled burger joint he operates in Pearland.

    The restaurant’s closure had been expected since February, when Killen sold The Woodlands’ location of Killen's Steakhouse. At the time, Killen said he also planned to find a buyer for his barbecue joint in the bustling suburb. He cited the driving distance from Pearland to The Woodlands as one reason he chose to divest both locations. He still operates Killen's Steakhouse in Pearland, comfort food restaurant Killen's near the Heights, Killen's Burger, and three other locations of Killen's Barbecue.

    As it approaches its 13th anniversary in the spring, Killen’s Barbecue remains a vital part of Houston’s barbecue scene. The restaurant recently earned an honorable mention from Texas Monthly and holds a Bib Gourmand designation in the Michelin Guide. In July, it opened a new location at Hobby Airport.

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