Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. This step ensures that your cookies don’t stick, and it makes clean-up a breeze.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the freshly milled flour, baking soda, and salt. Set this aside for later. Freshly milled flour adds a delightful depth of flavor and a unique texture to the cookies that you can’t get with regular store-bought flour.

In a large bowl, beat the softened butter with the brown sugar and granulated sugar using an electric mixer or by hand with a whisk. Beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy—this should take about 3-4 minutes. The creaming process is crucial for achieving that perfect chewy texture.

Add the eggs, one at a time, and continue to beat until incorporated. Then, mix in the vanilla extract. This combination of ingredients will provide a nice, rich flavor base for your cookies.

Gradually add the dry flour mixture to the wet ingredients, mixing until fully incorporated. Be careful not to overmix; we want the dough to stay light and fluffy.

Finally, fold in the chocolate chips until evenly distributed throughout the dough. I personally love the extra indulgence of semisweet chips, but you can go for milk chocolate or dark chocolate if that’s more your style.

Use a cookie scoop or tablespoon to portion out the dough into balls about 1 to 1.5 inches in diameter. Place them onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown, but the centers remain slightly soft. The cookies will continue to cook on the hot baking sheet once you remove them from the oven, so don't worry if they seem a little underdone!

Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. Then, grab a glass of milk and enjoy the fruits of your labor!