Thin and crispy or soft and chewy?  In terms of cookies, both have merit, but no matter what side you’re on for this sometimes-polarizing issue, there is one thing that both cookie connoisseurs and just straight up dessert lovers alike can agree on – Levain Bakery has the best cookies anywhere and they are in a category all by themselves.

Drive down Amsterdam Avenue in New York City and as you approach 74th street, look to your left.  On any given day, you’ll see a long line curling around the block, leading down to a dark blue awning below street level.  Almost as iconic as the cookies themselves is the line, often spanning half an hour, that you’ll need to stand on to acquire these mouthwatering confections. You can be assured that the wait will be worth it once you finally make it to the front of the line.  Inside the cozy cookie heart of Manhattan, be prepared to be greeted by their 5 finger-licking worthy flavors: Two-Chip Chocolate Chip, Chocolate Chip Walnut, Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip, Oatmeal Raisin, and my personal favorite, Dark Chocolate Chip, plus a gluten free version of the popular Chocolate Chip Walnut variety.  Slightly crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside, at about 6 ounces each, trying to eat one of these massive treats is a memorable experience in of itself.  The cookies are served to you fresh out of the oven and ripping apart the warm indulgence as its aroma surrounds you to reveal gooey, chocolate goodness, feels like opening a present during the holidays.  The cookies literally melt in your mouth and I can personally guarantee that your stomach will confirm just how well worth both your time and money will have been spent.

Since opening its original Upper West Side location in 1995, Levain has opened several others in the Hamptons, Harlem, the Upper East Side, NoHo, Williamsburg, Maryland, and Washington, D.C., as well as another location just three blocks north of the original to help ease the crowds, enabling many more people to enjoy the magic of their cookies.  A new location is scheduled to open in Boston and I think we should all petition for one in Westchester!  Since the pandemic began, Levain has also ramped up both their nationwide delivery services, where you can order online and have fresh cookies at your door in an average of 2-3 days, as well as their frozen cookies that are conveniently sold at several local supermarkets including Balducci’s, ShopRite, DeCicco & Sons and Whole Foods.  While not quite the same as baked fresh at their bakery, either of these are great ways for you and I, here in Scarsdale, to enjoy Levain’s delights.