First off, I know Levain Bakery doesn’t put walnuts in their oatmeal raisin cookies. I got that. But I love walnuts in my oatmeal raisin cookies, so my recipe – my choice. And to be completely up front with you, I’ve surmised that Levain Bakery doesn’t use vanilla either. But I just couldn’t see myself building an oatmeal cookie without vanilla. (Hence the “almost knockoff” part of the recipe title.)

Now another thing you should know. I have never actually tasted a Levain Bakery cookie. So, I thought to remedy the situation, I would order a package. I quickly changed my mind. $27 for 4 – 6 oz. cookies, plus a $49 shipping charge. Well then, that sure as heck wasn’t going to be happening. At least not on my watch! Holy moly! I could build several batches (16 count each for the size I prefer, 8 count for a full 6-ounce cookie) for that amount of money and enjoy them any darn time I felt the inclination. So, I would just have to build my own unsubstantiated “Levain Bakery” cookies. Possible warts and all! Like I did with my Knockoff Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies. (See recipe on site.)

I started by comparing several knockoff recipes on-line. Then after much deliberation and a fair bit of cookie baking knowledge, I cobbled this recipe together. And I must say, these are the best oatmeal raisin cookies I have ever tasted or produced. They are semi gooey in the middle (the trademark of a Levain Bakery cookie) and sweet, but not too sweet. With a bit of crunch from the nuts. And a delicate hint of the essence of the vanilla bean. In other words – perfect. I also enjoy the occasional burst of salt from using coarse sea salt. Just another dimension of yummy as far as I’m concerned. (And remember – it’s really, just all about me!)

Anyway, I would love to have you bake up a batch of these delicious cookies. And because I couldn’t make up my mind about golden versus regular raisins, I used a combination. (Nothing like compromise for finding the perfect solution.) And no, you don’t have to include nuts. Just add a few more raisins. And if you don’t choose to use vanilla, I won’t think less of you either. You would be wrong, but that’s on you!

So as always, have a blast in your kitchen. Try new recipes to keep yourself invested in the whole business of keeping everyone in your family well fed. If nothing else, it might help stave off boredom for yourself and your family. And boredom is a serious concern for many of us right now, especially with the holidays so close at hand.

I miss going to plays, concerts, live music performances given by Mr. C. and his musician buddies, restaurants, and all the other cultural events that are such a vital part of our lives. I miss getting on an airplane and visiting foreign lands. (Well not the airplane part, but you catch my drift!) I also really miss all the places and natural wonders that we can visit while towing our travel trailer all over God’s creation. But mainly I miss visiting our family and friends and having them in our home. (My normal minimum weekly hug quotient is way off the bottom of the scale and I am severely feeling the loss! I know. Everyone is in the same boat.)

So, I continue to pray daily, to every deity I can think of, for a speedy resolution to the covid-19 crisis. But I know until that happens, I can’t let down my guard. So, I mainly stay at home, continue to cook up a storm, try new recipes, and if they work – post them on my blog. That’s how I have chosen to keep joy alive in my life. (Plus keeping myself on the right side of sane while this crazy world sorts itself out! I pray about that daily too!)

I fervently hope you too have found joy, peace, and love in your life. Happy Thanksgiving.

1 c. (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

1 c. light brown sugar, packed

½ c. granulated white sugar

2 lg. eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract 

½ c. cake flour (fluffed)

2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour (fluffed)

1 T. cornstarch

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. coarse sea salt

½ tsp. ground cinnamon

1½ c. old-fashioned oats 

1½ c. raisins (golden, regular, or a combination)

1 c. chopped walnuts, opt. (but why?) 

Place the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugars on medium low speed until smooth and completely blended, 2-3 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla. Beat just until the eggs and vanilla are incorporated with the butter/sugar mixture.

In a small mixing bowl, whisk the cake flour, all-purpose flour, cornstarch, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and oats together. Add to the wet ingredients and mix only until combined. Add the raisins and walnuts and slowly mix until combined. Refrigerate dough for 15 minutes.  

And now the hard decision has to happen. Do you want cookies the size that made the Levain Bakery in NYC famous? Or do you wish to make a smaller, more manageable version? My choice – smaller. But for those purists out there, I’m providing both ways to enjoy these incredible cookies.

Purist (8 cookies per batch)  

Divide the dough into 8 equal parts, about 6-ounces each. Line two half sheet baking pans (roughly 18 x 13-inches) with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.  Use your hands to shape the dough. Place in a staggered pattern, 3″ apart on the baking sheet with only 4 cookies to a pan. Do not flatten the dough. The cookies are meant to be roughly shaped. Refrigerate for about an hour. Start heating your oven to 400 degrees after the cookies have been cooling in the refrigerator for about 45 minutes.  

Bake one sheet at a time on the middle rack of your pre-heated 400- degree oven for 9-12 minutes or until the cookies appear dull and light golden brown on top.  Do not over-bake. The top should look done, but the cookies should not be fully set. 

Remove from oven. Cookies will continue to finish cooking as they set and cool on the baking sheets for at least 20 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. The cookies are quite delicate after just baking, so handle them carefully. They should still be plenty gooey inside.

Bigger than normal cookies, but half the size of Purist (16 cookies per batch)

Divide the dough into 16 equal parts, about 3-ounces each. (Or as equally portioned as possible.) Drop dough onto parchment paper or silicone mat lined baking pans about 3 inches apart. (I used three half sheet (roughly 18 x 13-inch) baking pans. Six cookies on sheets 1 & 2. Four cookies on sheet number 3.) Do not flatten the dough. (I round the dough in my #10 ice cream scoop and proceed from there. Cheating I know, but I’m lazy!) Refrigerate for about an hour. (To make life easier on myself, and because I don’t have room in my refrigerator for 3 sheet pans, I plop the balls of dough close together on one of the parchment paper lined pans. Then I refrigerate the whole mess. When I’m ready to bake the little darlings, I take 6 from the fridge and place on another of the parchment paper lined baking sheets. The others dough balls I just leave in the fridge until I am ready to bake them off.) 

Bake in a pre-heated 400-degree oven for between 8-10 minutes. I found, after baking each of the three pans of cookies a different way, that 5 minutes regular heat and 4 minutes convection heat worked the best for me. But you may find your oven works differently than mine.  Just don’t over-bake the cookies. The top should look done (browned), but the cookies should not be fully set.  

Remove from oven and let cool for at least 15 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling completely.

Store the cookies in an airtight container on your kitchen counter.