Levain Bakery Raspberry Pistachio Cookie Recipe

These Levain Bakery Raspberry Pistachio cookies are a homemade copycat of the bakery’s new summer flavor, combining tart raspberry chips, crunchy pistachios, and creamy white chocolate in a signature tall, bakery-style cookie. This version uses an easy homemade raspberry chip made from crushed freeze-dried raspberries mixed into melted white chocolate, giving bright raspberry flavor without specialty baking chips. The result: thick, gooey cookies packed with raspberry tang, rich white chocolate, and buttery pistachio crunch in every bite.

I’ve been recreating Levain Bakery cookies at home for years because I can’t always get to New York to satisfy a cookie craving. When Levain released a raspberry pistachio cookie, I had to try it, analyze it, and recreate it. The combination of tart raspberry, white chocolate, and pistachio felt like the perfect summer cookie.

Rather than buy expensive raspberry chocolate disks used by the bakery, I made my own. Using freeze-dried raspberries ground into a powder and stirred into melted white chocolate + a little neutral oil, I piped small disks onto parchment and chilled them to set. The homemade chips were intensely fruity, nicely pink, and far less costly than specialty chocolate disks.

The cookies themselves follow Levain-style technique: cold cubed butter in the dough keeps the cookies tall and prevents excessive spreading during baking. A higher proportion of brown sugar creates a tender, slightly chewy interior while cake flour keeps the crumb soft. The dough is studded with the raspberry chocolate disks, extra white chocolate chips, and chopped pistachios for texture and flavor contrast.

Ingredients:

• Cold Butter – Cold, cubed butter helps the cookies keep a tall, bakery-style shape and prevents spreading.
• Granulated Sugar + Brown Sugar – More brown sugar than white sugar yields a moist, slightly chewy interior with subtle caramel notes.
• Eggs – Use large eggs for consistent results.
• Cake Flour – Lower protein content yields a softer crumb. If you don’t have cake flour, use all-purpose flour as noted in the recipe notes.
• All-Purpose Flour – Blended with cake flour for structure and the classic Levain texture.
• Baking Soda
• Cornstarch – Helps keep the cookie thick yet tender.
• Salt

Raspberry Chocolate (homemade) — Make these chips at home: grind freeze-dried raspberries into a powder, melt white chocolate with a small amount of neutral oil, stir in the raspberry powder, pipe small disks on parchment, and chill until set. This creates concentrated raspberry chips that won’t add moisture to the dough like fresh fruit would.

• White Chocolate Chips or Ruby Chocolate — Adds creamy pockets of sweetness that balance the tart raspberry.
• Pistachios (chopped, shelled, unsalted or lightly salted) — Rough chop for both small flecks and larger crunchy pieces throughout the cookie.

How to make Copycat Levain Raspberry Pistachio Cookies:

• Make raspberry chocolate disks first. Grind freeze-dried raspberries to a powder. Gently melt white chocolate with 3 teaspoons neutral oil in short bursts, stirring frequently to avoid burning. Stir in the raspberry powder until smooth. Pipe or drop small round disks (nickel- to quarter-size) onto parchment and let set at room temperature (1–2 hours) or refrigerate 15–25 minutes, then break into chip-sized pieces.

• Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C). In a large bowl, cream cold cubed butter with brown sugar and granulated sugar for about 4 minutes until creamy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing after each.
• Combine dry ingredients. Stir in all-purpose flour, cake flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt until just combined. Fold in raspberry chocolate disks, white chocolate chips, and chopped pistachios, mixing only until combined so some raspberry bits break up but the dough doesn’t get overmixed.
• Shape dough into large 6-ounce balls. Place on light-colored baking sheets with room for four cookies per sheet. Bake in the center of the oven so cookies rise evenly. This batch makes eight extra-large cookies.
• Bake 9–12 minutes or until the tops are golden. Remove from the oven and let rest at least 10 minutes to set before serving.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Storage:

Room Temperature: Store baked cookies in an airtight container for up to 2 days. They’re best within the first day for the soft, gooey center.

Refrigerator: Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Warm briefly in the microwave for 10–15 seconds to revive the gooey texture.

Freezer (recommended): Freeze baked cookies for up to 2 months. Wrap individually, store in a freezer bag, then thaw at room temperature or warm for 15–20 seconds in the microwave before serving.

Recipe Notes

• You need 3 cups of flour total (1 1/2 cups all-purpose + 1 1/2 cups cake flour). If you don’t have cake flour, you can substitute 3 cups of all-purpose flour.
• Levain uses premium raspberry chocolate disks; this recipe provides a cost-effective homemade version using freeze-dried raspberries and white chocolate with a bit of oil.
• These cookies are large and rich—portion size and bake time may vary depending on your oven and cookie size.