Start by setting your oven to preheat at 375°F (190°C) so it reaches the right temperature by the time the dough is ready. Line baking sheets with parchment paper if you like easy cleanup or follow my original direction and use ungreased baking sheets for a lightly crisp bottom. Having a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or a hand mixer ready will make the creaming step faster and help you achieve a smooth, fluffy base for the dough. Keep a rubber spatula nearby to scrape down the sides of the bowl so no pockets of sugar or butter stay unmixed.​​

In a medium bowl, whisk together the all purpose flour, salt, baking soda, and ground cinnamon until everything looks evenly combined. This quick step prevents the baking soda or salt from clumping in one spot and helps the cookies rise and brown evenly in the oven. The pinch of cinnamon is subtle; it does not make the cookies taste like a spice cookie, but it deepens the overall flavor and enhances the chocolate without being obvious. Once mixed, set this bowl aside so you can add it to the wet ingredients in one go later.​​

In the bowl of your mixer, add the room-temperature butter, vegetable shortening, granulated sugar, and brown sugar. Beat this mixture on medium speed until it looks light in color and creamy in texture, which usually takes a few minutes and is essential for creating a tender yet slightly crisp cookie. The combination of butter and shortening is important here: butter brings rich flavor, while shortening helps the cookies hold their shape and gives them a lovely texture that doesn’t spread too thin. Pause once or twice to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl so every bit of sugar blends into the fat.​​

Crack in the two eggs and pour in the vanilla extract, then beat again until the mixture looks smooth and uniform. The eggs help bind the dough and contribute to the structure and chew, while vanilla adds that familiar bakery-style aroma and flavor that fills the kitchen as the cookies bake. Make sure there are no streaks of egg left; if you see any, mix just a bit longer and scrape the bowl again so the wet mixture is completely homogenous before adding the dry ingredients.​​

With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredient mixture to the bowl and mix just until the flour disappears into the dough. Avoid overmixing at this stage, because beating the flour too long can develop gluten and make the cookies tougher instead of soft and tender. When the dough looks mostly combined, stop the mixer and use a spatula to give it a few folds by hand, checking the bottom of the bowl to be sure no pockets of dry flour are hiding there.​

Add the semisweet chocolate chips to the bowl and mix briefly on low speed or fold them in by hand until they are evenly dispersed throughout the dough. Semisweet chips balance the sweetness of the dough and give you a classic chocolate chip cookie flavor that is not overly sugary. Be gentle during this step so you don’t overwork the dough; you want to keep the texture soft and slightly airy while ensuring every scoop of dough holds plenty of chocolate.​

Using a small ice cream scoop or a rounded tablespoon, drop portions of dough onto your baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches of space between each mound. This spacing allows the cookies to spread without running into each other, so each one bakes into a neat round with golden edges. Keeping the scoop size consistent helps the batch bake evenly, so all the cookies finish at the same time and you don’t end up with some underbaked and some too dark.​

Place one tray at a time into the preheated 375°F oven and bake for about 10 to 12 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly golden brown around the edges. The centers will still look slightly soft when you pull them out, but they will continue to firm up as they cool on the hot baking sheet, which keeps the interior tender. If you prefer a crisper cookie, you can let them go an extra minute, but watch closely near the end because they can go from perfectly golden to too dark quite quickly.​

Once the cookies come out of the oven, leave them on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. This short rest helps them set and makes it easier to lift them without breaking, while the residual heat finishes cooking the center just enough for that ideal texture. When they are cool enough to handle, serve them slightly warm so the chocolate is still soft, or let them cool completely and store them in an airtight container to keep them fresh for several days.