Enjoy these delicious cookies while bleeding to death!

I came across a dessert recipe on Nigella Lawson's site, and a key ingredient is a tonka bean, although she says you can substitute vanilla if you can't find a tonka bean. I'd never heard of this ingredient, so I googled it.

I learned that "Tonka beans have an incredibly sweet fragrance and flavor which is reminiscent of vanilla, almonds, cinnamon and cloves." Oh, lovely. Vanilla plus!

But then I learned, "One of its active constituents is coumarin, an anticoagulant which may be toxic to the liver and is suspected of being carcinogenic....Because it contains coumarin, which is suspected of being toxic and carcinogenic it is banned from being used as a food ingredient in the US." And, "Taking Tonka bean in large amounts may trigger bleeding and affect the ability of blood to clot, and may also cause severe (yet reversible) liver damage."

I think I'll pass on using tonka beans in my desserts, thanks. We already have one person in our family with liver damage.