After months and months of baking, with the 2012...-13 Cookie Challenge winding down to a conclusion, the kitchens of Full Moon Cuisine pondered making a simple, normal treat to close out the year. Then we said f@#$ that noise and decided to go out with a bang. And thus it was decided to go out in a BIG way. In fact, the kitchens looked to our good friends , , and and decided we needed to think macro. Take a delicious cookie recipe and simply... think macro. If you have some basic ingredients and ONE piece of bakeware (which is optional), you can make quite the showstopper. Here's what you'll need:

- 2 sticks of butter (at room temp)
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup light brown sugar (lightly packed)
- 2 large eggs (at room temp)
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 2 cups + 2 tbsp all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup milk chocolate chips
- 3/4 cup white chocolate chips
- 1 cup walnuts (toasted and chopped)

Note: This recipe will make ONE cookie!

To begin, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Throughout this entire challenge, we have shied away from having to purchase specialized hardware. No one likes having a uni-tasker around their kitchen! However, for this cookie, we did purchase a pizza pan. You can do this (this one was bought for $5 at the grocery store), or you could use a large baking sheet, your choice! Either way, line your tray with parchment paper and grease that paper with butter or nonstick spray.

In a mixing bowl, combine your flour, salt, and baking soda together, sifting them together to remove any lumps. In a large bowl, cream together your butter and both types of sugar, then add in the eggs, one at a time. After, mix in your vanilla and then incorporate your dry ingredients to your wet, in thirds. Finally, add in your toasted/chopped walnuts and both types of chocolate chips.

Use a spatula to transfer your dough (it will be quite sticky) onto your baking tray. With damp hands, gently spread the dough around the pan (I had a 14" pizza pan), leaving approximately a 1" border (the dough will spread when baking). Bake in your oven for approximately 15-20 minutes, rotating halfway through. You'll want to see golden brown edges, with the center remaining somewhat soft. Remove from the oven and allow to rest in the tray for 10 minutes before moving to a wire rack to cool completely.

Sometimes less is more... but mostly MORE is MORE! When you serve a giant cookie to your diners, they will be in quite a bit of shock! And then you cut the cookie into wedges, to serve like cake (say, with whipped cream?), just enjoy with your favorite macro (along with a barrel of milk!). This treat has a lot of presence and is a great way to bring the 2012 Cookie Challenge to a conclusion! Making sure we keep our macro friends rolling in treats, the kitchen will be staying open late one last time. Care to place an order?

I will be writing a journal to detail my thoughts and reflections on the Challenge, as well as to provide some stats. Thanks for your support, comments, recipes, and appetites throughout this Challenge. See you in the next one!