Tara O'Brady's Basic, Great Chocolate Chip cookies

 1 cup unsalted butter, chopped

3 1/4 cups flour (415g)

1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 1/2 cups (320g) packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

12 ounces semisweet chopped chocolate

Preheat oven to 360 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper

In a medium saucepan over the lowest heat possible, melt the butter. There should be no sizzle, crackling or pops; let the butter ooze into liquid, without boiling, so minimal moisture is lost. Stir regularly until the butter is almost completely melted.

IN a bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside

Pour melted butter into a large bowl, and then whisk in the sugars. The mixture may look to size, but will relax with a few seconds of stirring. Add the eggs, one at a time, whisking briskly after each addition, but only to combine. Stir in the vanilla. Use a wooden spoon or silicone spatula to stir in the dry ingredients. Once mostly blended, fold the chocolate into the dough until the remaining flour is incorporated and the dough no longer looks dusty. Bring any stray ingredients up from the bottom of the bowl. Do not over mix.

If the dough seems warm or looks overly glossy, refrigerate for 5 minutes. Roll into balls using 3 tablespoons of dough for each.  Arrange on the prepared pans, leaving 3 inches in between each. Sprinkle with sea salt, if using. Bake in the hot oven until the tops are cracked and lightly golden, yet still soft at the center, 10 10 12 minutes, rotating pan half way through cooking. Leave the cookies on the sheet pan for 2 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool. Continue shaping and baking cookies with the remaining dough, making sure to use a cold sheet pan for each batch.