Get Ready! First things first, preheat your oven to a cozy 350°F (180°C). Go ahead and line your baking sheets with parchment paper or those handy silicone baking mats. Set them aside for now.

Mix Your Dry Goodies! In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Just give them a good mix so they're all friends. Set this bowl aside too.

Cream the Butter and Sugars! In a large mixing bowl (I love using my stand mixer for this, but a hand mixer works great too!), cream together your room temperature butter, the granulated sugar, AND that special 2 tablespoons of light brown sugar. Mix them on medium speed until they're light in color and look all fluffy. This usually takes about 2-3 minutes. You’ll really see the change happen!

Add the Egg! Crack in your large egg and mix it in until it’s just well combined. We don’t want to overdo it here.

Vanilla Time! Now, pour in that lovely vanilla extract and mix again until it’s just combined. Oh, it’s starting to smell amazing, isn’t it?

Combine Wet and Dry! Time to introduce your dry ingredients to the wet mixture. Add them in slowly, mixing on low speed until the dough is just combined. It’s going to be a bit thick, and it shouldn’t be sticky. Be careful not to over mix! Once it’s all together, you can use a rubber spatula to help bring it into a nice, cohesive ball of dough.

Roll and Sugar Coat! This is the fun part! Create little balls of cookie dough, about 1 ½ tablespoons each. Gently roll each one into a nice round ball, and then roll it in that additional ¼ cup of granulated sugar to give it a lovely coating. Place your sugar-coated dough balls onto your prepared baking sheets, leaving a little space between them. While these are drop cookies and not Cut Out Sugar Cookies, this rolling step gives them a beautiful finish.

Bake to Perfection! Pop those baking sheets into your preheated oven and bake for about 7-8 minutes. The cookies will spread out, and the centers will still look a bit soft, but they should look ‘done’ overall. You’ll want to pull them out just before the edges start to turn golden. Please, don’t overbake them – that’s key to keeping them chewy! They’ll be a little puffy when they first come out, but they’ll settle a bit as they cool.

Cool Them Down! Once they’re out of the oven, let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for about 4-5 minutes. This helps them set up a bit. Then, carefully transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. This is the hardest part – waiting!