A couple of notes to start:

Like all other cooking, quality ingredients are absolutely necessary for these cookies to come out as good as they do. Because of that remember the following:

Chocolate chips are not the same as baking bars of chocolate, the chips have a higher fat content and both are used here. Real chocolate is absolutely necessary for this, not chocolatly or chocolate flavored chips and bars. Real chocolate is a bit more expensive, and the better the chocolate you buy the better the cookies will be. There is no chocolate in white chocolate, but that isn’t any reason to skimp there. Nestles, Bakers, and Hershey work fine, Ghirardelli or Lindt will be better and more expensive.

Unsalted butter is not the same as regular butter, and it is certainly not the same as butter flavored shortening. The stress is on "real" not flavored in everything we cook. Real vanilla extract is not the same as imitation vanilla. Real granulated sugar is not the same as some of those disgusting sugar blends out on the market. Kosher salt simply tastes better then regular salt and is the only thing Martha Stewart and I agree on.

Using airbake cookie sheets will make these cook better. Unless your oven uses both the top and bottom elements to maintain temperature, use only two trays at a time, on different racks, and rotate them after 4 minutes in the oven.

If you have ever had the cookies you know all of the above makes a difference.

Lastly, this starts out as the recipe on the back of every bag of chocolate chips you buy no matter who makes them. It's what's added at the end of it that makes them special.

• 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened (not melted)

• 3/4 cup granulated sugar

• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

• 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 2 extra large or jumbo eggs (room temp)

• (here's where we part from the package)

• 3 cups (which is 18 ounces) semi sweet chocolate morsels

• (baking bars come in a box packaged as one or two ounce bars, look at the box and just count the squares here)

• 2 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate, coarsely chopped

• 2 ounces semi sweet (or bittersweet if that's what's available in your area) coarsely chopped

• 2 ounces white chocolate (sometimes called white confectionery bars), coarsely chopped (try not to use candy bars here, they have more fat then the baking bars)

• If you like nuts in your cookies then 1 cup of chopped toasted walnuts, if you don't like nuts then leave them out.

Preheat the oven to 375, put the rack in the middle of the oven, not on the bottom.

Mix the flour, soda, and salt, put aside.

Cut the butter into pieces and beat with the sugars and vanilla until it is starting to get fluffy. You don't want any lumps of butter or the brown sugars left. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each one.

Slowly beat in the flour mixture.

Add the chocolates and the nuts if using them, and beat only until it is all mixed (assuming you haven't burned out the mixer yet).

Drop by rounded tablespoons onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Leave plenty of room around each cookie so they do not touch. I put only six on a normal sized cookie sheet.

Bake for seven or eight minutes then start watching them. As they go from their pale color towards a golden color remove them from the oven. The package says golden brown, but I like them slightly undercooked.

Let cool on the pans without touching them for 2 minutes to firm up a bit, then remove them to a rack to finish cooling. Wipe the spatula every time it gets dirty or you may have trouble removing the next cookie. The unsweetened chocolate does not firm up too quickly, so if there was a piece on the bottom of the cookie it may drip for a minute or two. Wipe the pan clean to remove any melted chocolate, and let it cool down before starting the next batch.

When completely cool put in plastic containers to keep them chewey.

If white chocolate is more your taste then the dark increase the white chocolate to 18 ounces, eliminate the unsweetend chocolate, and use 4 ounces (2/3 cup) chips, and 2 ounces semi sweet bars.

If you want chocolate cookies add 1/4 to 1/2 cup cocoa to the batter (depending on the brand you use, some are much stronger than others).

If you want darker cookies use all dark brown sugar.

If you want a taste nobody will be able to figure out use all dark brown sugar and a couple of tablespoons of dark rum.

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