Sometimes it's important to be mindful of the importance of healthy treats... and then there are times to forget that noise! How about taking a common ingredient found in most cookies and bringing out its hidden potential and flavors? For a decadent treat that will wow your diners, the kitchens of Full Moon Cuisine have come up with quite the cookie. Here's what you'll need:

- 1 1/2 cups butter at room temp (3 sticks... yes, you read that correctly)
- 2 cups light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs (at room temp)
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 cup pecans (chopped and toasted)
- Pinch of salt

Note: This recipe will make approximately 3 dozen cookies.

To begin, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F, get out a pan, and set a stove burner to medium. Melt the three sticks of butter in the pan, stirring occasionally, and allow the butter to cook. As it heats, it will begin to bubble and foam (totally natural), and after approximately 5 minutes it will develop a nut brown color. When this happens, remove from the burner and allow the butter to cool for a few minutes (don't let the butter burn!), then pour into a large mixing bowl with your brown sugar. Use an electric mixer to combine the two and keep mixing until the butter is no longer hot. Add in your eggs, one at a time, and then the vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine your dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt) and then incorporate the dry into your wet ingredients in thirds or fourths. Finish by mixing in the toasted, chopped pecans.

Take a baking sheet (this time not lined with parchment paper) and portion out heaping tablespoons. Bake for 10 minutes, rotating your tray halfway through. When complete, allow the cookies to rest on the baking sheet for another few minutes before moving to a wire rack to cool. Store in an airtight container and be sure to have coffee on hand to accompany these treats!

Butter is so ubiquitous in baking. And yet, there are deeper flavors to be found in this common ingredient. The deep, nutty flavor that emerges will add a whole new dimension to your cookies. You might just not want to tell your diners just how much butter went into these treats... but then again, cookies are meant to be a small indulgence, right? To help make sure there is enough butter to go around, the kitchen will be staying open late tonight. Care to place an order?

Want to know what this challenge is all about? Check out my journal and feel free to send in recipes for cookies! http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/3096204/