- Brown sugar is key. Brown sugar has molasses in it which is like a more liquid ingredient. This keeps the dough kind of wet/moist when baking through. It is also used for soft cookies as the overall cookie dough wouldn't spread as much as compared to white sugar.
- Use baking soda / powder. It helps give your cookie a little rise which makes the center a little more chewy/cakey hence sort.
- Freeze your cookie dough before scooping. When the dough is cold, the center tends to take a little more time to cook. This in a way prevents it from over spreading. Just make sure you bake at a slightly lower temperature to ensure you cookies don't cook too fast from the outside in and burn.