the big apple's big cookie
New York's most famous chocolate chip cookie now available in Houston
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.
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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.
Veterans will receive a 30-percent discount at Phat Eatery.
Photo by Dragana Harris