v1 Initial recipe by @spencerfletcher
v3 Chill the dough and shift the sugar toward brown — thicker cookies, less cloying by @spencerfletcher

Ingredients

  2¼ cups all-purpose flour
  1 tsp baking soda
  1 tsp salt
  1 cup unsalted butter, softened
~ ¾ ½ cup granulated sugar
~ ¾ 1 cup packed brown sugar
~ 1 2 tsp vanilla extract
  2 large eggs
  2 cups chocolate chips
+ ¼ tsp espresso powder
+ 1 tsp flaky sea salt, for topping

Steps

  1 Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
  2 Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
  3 Beat butter and both sugars with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
  4 Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla extract.
~ 5 Gradually stir in the flour mixture until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips, reserving a handful to press into the tops. Cover and chill the dough at least 2 hours — cold dough spreads less, so the extra brown sugar reads as chew rather than sprawl.
~ 6 Drop rounded tablespoons of chilled dough onto prepared baking sheets, pressing the reserved chips into the tops. Bake 9–11 minutes until edges are golden. CoolSprinkle with flaky sea salt while still hot, then cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring.