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1
Prepare oven and pans Heat oven to 350F, with one rack in center and one rack in bottom third.
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2
Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper.
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3
Combine dry ingredients In a bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking soda.
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4
Cream butter and sugars Place butter and both sugars in a mixing bowl.
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5
Mash and stir with a wooden spoon until mixture is very light and fluffy (this can take up to 6 minutes, or 2 to 3 minutes if youre using an electric mixer).
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6
Add eggs one at a time, beating until thoroughly incorporated after each.
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7
Stir in vanilla.
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8
Add dry ingredients and mix-ins Add dry ingredients in three additions, stirring until completely incorporated after each.
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9
Stir in desired add-ins.
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10
(Or, if making several types of cookies, first divide dough into equal parts and then stir in appropriate amounts of add-ins: 1 rounded cup for dough split in half, 3/4 cup for dough divided into thirds.)
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11
Bake and cool Using a 1 1/2-inch ice-cream scoop, drop dough onto prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart Bake, rotating sheets top to bottom and back to front halfway through, until golden brown at edges and set in center, 13 to 15 minutes.
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12
Let cool on sheets 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
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13
Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week, or frozen up to 1 month.
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14
If your cookies turn out dense and hard, you might be using ingredients that are too cold and not creaming them enough.
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15
If your cookies spread too much in the oven and are too thin, on the other hand, you might be overdoing the creaming step or using ingredients that are too warm.
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16
Its worth the time to chill your dough before baking; this will help to control how much it spreads in the oven as it bakes.
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17
Before incorporating chopped nuts into doughs or batters, sift out the fine dust in a sieve.
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18
This will keep the particles from clouding the color or imparting a grainy texture.
