Position racks in upper and lower thirds of oven. Preheat oven to 375°F/190° Line two half-sheet baking pans with parchment paper.

Sprinkle the flour over the wet mixture along with the baking soda and salt, stirring as you go. When a few floury streaks remain, stir in the chocolate and nuts if using (see headnote above under One Recipe - Three Versions). If you want some of the cookies to have nuts, simply divide the dough at this point and stir in HALF the amount of nuts listed above in the ingredient list. Proceed to baking or cover dough with plastic wrap and chill for 2 hours or overnight.

Form golf ball sized balls and place the cookies 8 per pan, spaced evenly apart. No need to press them down. Bake for about 9 to 12 minutes total, rotating the pans front to back and moving from upper rack to lower rack halfway through baking, until lightly browned with the edges firmer than the centers, which should be soft. This will give you chewy cookies with a thin, crispy edge. If you want your cookies crisp through and through simply bake a minute or two longer until golden brown all over. Remember that the cookies firm up tremendously upon cooling.

Cool cookies completely on pans set on racks. (Make subsequent batches with cooled pans). Cookies are best served the same day but may be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days.