Bronco Mendenhall's Blue Ribbon Almond Roca Cookies

Bronco Mendenhall's Blue Ribbon Almond Roca Cookies

(Kay Bragg via Jacque Schmidt)

serves 3 dozen

2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup dark brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup butter, room temp

2 eggs, room temp

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 pkg toffee bits

1 cup coarsely ground almonds

4 ounces milk chocolate

1/2 Tbsp vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 300 degrees

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, blend sugars together on medium speed. Add butter and mix to form grainy paste. Add eggs and vanilla and mix at medium speed until light and fluffy. At low speed, slowly add the flour mixture and then the toffee bits. Mix until just blended; do not over-mix.

Place ground nuts in a small bowl. Using hands, roll balls of dough into 1 - 1 1/2-inch balls, then roll in the ground nuts. Place on cookie sheets several inches apart. Bake approximately 22 minutes and then transfer cookies to a cooling rack.

Melt the chocolate with the vegetable oil in a double boiler or in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Drizzle melted chocolate over cooler cookies. Place cookies on a cookie sheet and place in freezer or refrigerator until chocolate is firmly set.