Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F with oven rack in center position. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicon baking pads, e.g., Silpad, if desired (*see note); set aside. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt; set aside. In bowl of standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment (or an electric mixer, or by hand), beat butter at medium-high speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Add granulated and brown sugars and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes (or 5 to 6 minutes by hand), stopping to scrape down bowl as necessary. Reduce speed to medium-low and add in eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition until well incorporated. Add vanilla and beat until incorporated. Reduce speed to lowest setting (or gently stir by hand); gradually add in dry ingredients, scraping down bowl as necessary, and beating until just incorporated; don't overmix. Fold in chocolate chips. (If you find that the dough is very soft, cover and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.) Using one heaping tablespoon of batter per cookie, drop cookies 2-inches apart, in staggered rows of 3-2-3-2-3 (**see note), on ungreased or prepared baking sheets. Place one baking sheet at a time onto center rack of preheated 350 degree F oven. Bake until cookies are golden around the edges, still have pale tops, and are soft in the center, about 8 to 10 minutes. (Do not overbake! They will firm up more during cooling.) Remove from oven, and let cool on baking sheet for at least two minutes before transferring to wire rack to cool completely. If you used parchment paper, remove baking sheet from oven and immediately slide cookies on parchment directly onto cooling racks. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. Cookies freeze well. Makes about 3 dozen. *Note: Parchment paper or silicon baking pads are not a necessity but does make for easy cookie removal and cleanup. **Note: By staggering the rows of cookie batter, it's easy to fit 13 cookies (2-inches apart) on a single large cookie sheet. Make Ahead Note: You can freeze this dough. If you want to have ready-to-bake cookies, form the dough into balls and place on a parchment lined baking sheet and place in the freezer until the dough is frozen firm. Then, place frozen cookie dough in a plastic bag, seal, and keep frozen until ready to bake. When baking, simply place the frozen balls of dough on a baking sheet and bake as directed -- expect the frozen cookies to take a few minutes longer to bake than normal.