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underbaking is your best friend here - pull them out when the edges look set but the center still looks slightly raw, and they'll firm up as they cool. use brown sugar instead of all white sugar since it holds moisture better, and let the dough rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before baking so the edges spread and crisp while the middle stays thick. baking on a darker sheet helps too since it conducts heat faster around the perimeter, giving you that contrast you want.
ever notice how cookies keep firming up on the cooling rack even after you pull them out? that's your secret - take them out when the centers still look slightly underdone and a bit glossy, maybe 1-2 minutes before they look "done" to your eye. the big thing people mess up is leaving them on the hot baking sheet too long after pulling them from the oven; transfer them to a wire rack right away or they'll keep cooking from the residual heat and lose that soft middle you're after.
What temperature are you baking at? That's actually what most people get wrong. The underbaking advice is solid, but if your oven runs hot or cool, you'll mess it up every time - I've watched cookies go from perfect to overdone in a minute when the temperature's off. Get an oven thermometer and verify it's actually hitting what you set, then you can reliably pull them at that glossy-center stage. One thing those other answers don't mention: the baking sheet itself matters hugely. Dark or nonstick sheets cook the bottoms faster and can turn those edges crispy-burnt before the middle sets up right. Light-colored aluminum or parchment on a regular sheet gives you way better control over that edge-crispy, center-soft balance.
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