First things first, go ahead and preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). While it's warming up, line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Trust me on the parchment paper; it makes cleanup a breeze and helps prevent sticking.

In a medium bowl, I usually grab my trusty whisk and combine the all purpose flour, baking soda, and salt. Give it a good whisk until everything is well mixed. This step ensures all those leavening agents are evenly distributed, so your cookies rise beautifully.

Now for the fun part! In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the softened unsalted butter with the granulated sugar and light brown sugar. I like to beat it on medium speed until it’s light and fluffy, usually about 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl a couple of times to make sure everything gets combined. This creaming process adds air to your dough, which makes for soft cookies.

With the mixer still going on medium low, beat in the eggs one at a time, making sure each one is fully incorporated before adding the next. Then, stir in the vanilla extract. Finally, add that instant pudding mix powder to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. It will look a little thick, and that’s totally normal.

Reduce your mixer speed to low, and gradually add the dry ingredient mixture to the wet ingredients. Mix only until just combined. It’s super important not to overmix here, otherwise, you’ll end up with tough cookies. I usually stop as soon as I don’t see any streaks of flour.

Remove the bowl from the mixer and, using a sturdy spatula, gently fold in your chocolate chips. I like to do this by hand to avoid crushing the chips and to make sure they’re evenly distributed throughout the dough.

Drop rounded tablespoon sized scoops of dough onto your prepared baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between each cookie. Now, here’s my personal secret for perfectly thick, chewy cookies: I like to chill the scooped dough for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator. If you’re short on time, you can skip it, but I promise the texture is better if you let them chill.

Pop those baking sheets into your preheated oven. Bake for 9 to 12 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden brown and the centers still look a little soft. Remember, every oven is different, so keep an eye on them. I usually pull mine out right when the edges set, because I love a gooey center.

Once they’re out of the oven, let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for about 5 minutes. They’ll continue to set up during this time. Then, carefully transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. Or, if you’re like me, enjoy one warm, right off the tray!