Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Stand mixer or hand mixer
• •Large mixing bowl
• •Medium cookie scoop (2 tablespoon capacity)
• •Baking sheets
• •Parchment paper
• •Wire cooling rack

Instructions

1. 1

   Whisk the dry ingredients

   In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt until evenly combined. Set aside. This takes thirty seconds and prevents streaks of baking soda that would leave bitter spots in your finished cookies.

2. 2

   Cream butter and sugars

   In a large bowl with a hand mixer, or in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the softened butter with both sugars on medium speed. Stop when the mixture is just combined and slightly lightened, about 2 minutes. You're not making buttercream here. Overbeating incorporates too much air and produces cakey cookies instead of chewy ones. The texture should be thick and paste-like, not fluffy.

   Properly softened butter should yield to gentle pressure but still hold its shape. If you can poke it and your finger goes straight through, it's too soft. Put it in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
3. 3

   Add eggs and vanilla

   Add the eggs one at a time, beating on medium speed until each is just incorporated before adding the next. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Add the vanilla extract and mix briefly to combine. The mixture may look slightly curdled. This is fine and will smooth out when you add the flour.

4. 4

   Incorporate the flour

   Add the flour mixture all at once. Mix on low speed just until the flour disappears into the dough, about 30 seconds. Stop the mixer when you can still see a few streaks of flour. Finish mixing by hand with a sturdy spatula, folding from the bottom of the bowl. The moment gluten starts developing, your cookies get tough. Work quickly and stop the instant the dough comes together.

   If you can see individual patches of butter in the dough, you haven't mixed enough. If the dough looks shiny and smooth like bread dough, you've gone too far.
5. 5

   Fold in chocolate chips

   Add the chocolate chips and fold them through the dough with your spatula until evenly distributed. Resist the temptation to add more chips than the recipe calls for. Two cups is plenty, and overloading the dough makes cookies that fall apart.

6. 6

   Chill the dough

   Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap pressed directly against the surface of the dough. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight. This step is non-negotiable. Cold dough spreads slowly in the oven, giving you thick cookies with chewy centers. It also allows the flour to fully hydrate and develops deeper flavor as the sugars dissolve. Patience here is the difference between good cookies and great ones.

   For even better flavor, chill the dough for 24 to 48 hours. The longer rest produces cookies with more complex, almost toffee-like notes.
7. 7

   Prepare for baking

   When ready to bake, position a rack in the center of your oven and preheat to 350°F (175°C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove the dough from the refrigerator. It will be firm but still scoopable.

8. 8

   Portion the dough

   Using a medium cookie scoop or two spoons, portion the dough into 2-tablespoon balls, roughly the size of golf balls. Place them on the prepared baking sheets with 2 inches between each cookie. They will spread. Do not flatten them. The height of the dough ball determines the thickness of your finished cookie.

9. 9

   Bake until just set

   Bake one sheet at a time for 10 to 12 minutes. Here is the critical moment: pull the cookies when the edges are golden brown but the centers still look pale, slightly puffed, and almost underdone. They will appear too soft. They are not. The cookies continue baking on the hot sheet for several minutes after leaving the oven. If you wait until they look done, they'll be overbaked by the time they cool.

10. 10

    Cool and finish

    Let cookies rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. They'll deflate slightly and the centers will set while remaining soft. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, or eat them warm while the chocolate is still molten. The edges should be crisp and golden. The center should bend rather than snap. If you press the top gently, it should feel like a soft pillow, not a firm disc.

Chef Tips

• •Use a kitchen scale if you have one. Flour measurements vary wildly depending on how you scoop. Too much flour is the most common cause of dry, tough cookies.
• •Dark brown sugar contains more molasses than light, which adds moisture and chew. Don't substitute light brown sugar here unless you want a different cookie.
• •Let your eggs come to room temperature by placing them in a bowl of warm water for 10 minutes. Cold eggs can cause the creamed butter to seize up.
• •For bakery-style presentation, press a few extra chocolate chips onto the tops of the dough balls just before baking.
• •These cookies are at their absolute best eaten within 4 hours of baking, when the edges are still crisp and the centers haven't firmed up from cooling. After that, they're still excellent. Just different.

Advance Preparation

• •Dough can be refrigerated for up to 5 days. The flavor actually improves over the first 48 hours.
• •Portioned dough balls can be frozen on a baking sheet, then transferred to a freezer bag for up to 3 months. Bake directly from frozen, adding 2 to 3 minutes to the bake time.
• •Baked cookies keep in an airtight container at room temperature for 5 days. Add a slice of bread to the container to keep them soft.
• •To refresh day-old cookies, microwave individually for 8 to 10 seconds. The chocolate will re-melt and the center will soften.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 44g)