Toblerone (Chocolate, Almond, and Honey) Cookies

A little while ago, my friend Gary asked me about doing a Toblerone cookie. Since then, I've been trying to think of a way to make these more than just standard chocolate cookies made with one particular brand of chocolate.

I thought about different methods for getting the chocolate into the recipe. Using shaved, chopped, or even melted chocolate would work, but what could I do that would really speak to the nature of the key ingredient? What could I do to make these chocolate cookies Toblerone chocolate cookies?

I couldn't come up with any solid ideas, so I decided to pull together ingredients and brainstorm. And there was the answer--right in front of me--printed on the triangular tube: "Swiss Milk Chocolate with Honey and Almond Nougat."

Aha! What makes this particular kind of chocolate unique--aside from it's great taste--are the sweet, nutty, crunchy, chewy bits of nougat studded throughout.

And so I found my answer: This recipe includes Toblerone chocolate (of course), almonds, and honey.

Makes 3 dozen cookies. (To see this recipe in process, check out Picturing Toblerone (Chocolate, Almond, and Honey) Cookies.)

Creamables	1 stick butter 1/4 cup white sugar 1/4 cup honey
Wet Ingredients	1 egg 1 tablespoon vanilla
Dry Ingredients	1 3/4 cups finely ground oatmeal 1 1/2 cups roughly chopped almonds 1 14-oz Toblerone bar: 1/2 shaved, 1/2 chopped 1/2 cup flour 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 350º.
2. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients and then add to the creamables. Mix together until smooth.
4. Add the combined wet ingredients to the creamables. Mix together until well incorporated.
5. In a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed.
6. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the combined creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
7. Shape dough into balls--about 2 tablespoons each.
8. Place dough balls about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
   
9. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown around the edges. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.