Use an electric mixer to cream the butter with granulated and brown sugar. Mix until smooth and creamy. It is essential to achieve a soft cream before following the next step.

Add both of the eggs, one at a time, mixing very well after each addition. Eggs should be at room temperature; otherwise, they will break the butter emulsion, resulting in crispy and hard cookies.

Next, add vanilla extract and mix to combine.

Mix the dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking soda, and spices) in a different bowl. Then add them to the creamy batter. Use a spatula to combine instead of the mixer; the result should be a stiff batter.

Cover the bowl in and let it chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours. The chilling process is key to the flavor and chewiness of the cookies. If possible, refrigerate it overnight.

Before baking the cookies, preheat the oven to 350F and prepare at least two baking trays with baking paper. Scoop the cookie dough into the prepared baking tray, leaving 2 inches between them. Lightly flatten the top with the bottom of a glass.

Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes or until the edges are set and lightly golden. More cooking time will result in crispy cookies, less cooking time more chewy cookies. For example, I baked these for 12 minutes, rotating the trays to get even baking in every cookie, and the result was chewy cookies in the center while crispy in the edges.

After baking, let the cookies cool on a cooling rack. They will slightly harden when cool.

If decorating the cookies with chocolate, melt the chocolate in the microwave in 60-second batches until fully melted.