Fig & Almond Cookies

The other day I was at the glorious foodie oasis that is Trader Joe's and I came across a flat of California figs. A few thoughts ran through my mind:

1. Ooohhh, those are pretty

2. Hmmm, I don't really like fresh figs... 

3. I bet if I keep trying, I'll start to like them

4. But I've never had a good experience with fresh figs

5. There's GOT to be a way I can make them my friends, I'm a foodie after all and I refuse to not like figs!!!

5. They're only $4.99, I can't just leave them sitting there

And so, after much ado about produce, I placed the figs in my cart and hoped for the best.

See what I mean about pretty??

That night I decided to make a little home-gourmet plate of sliced figs, honey, feta, fresh banana peppers and ritz crackers (so much for gourmet) and you know what, I LIKED figs. The sweet/spicy/salty combo was perfect. The gooey texture of the figs and the crunch of the pepper was music to my palate. YUM!!! Well, that took care of about oh, 5 figs. Now what to do with the rest of them!

I wanted to make something sweet. I initially thought of fig pie. Then I started thinking of the term "figgy pudding" and before long it was the whole Christmas tune. Sorry for Mr. B but he got to listen to me mindlessly singing "bring us some figgy pudding, oh bring us some figgy pudding", it's not even November yet. Sorry babe. Seriously, can't believe those are actual lyrics in a Christmas carol, but I digress. 

After deciding against figgy pie or pudding, I narrowed in on cookies. I found recipes with all sorts of variations but I decided to do a basic cookie and tweak it to my taste.

Ingredients
* 1 cup granulated/white sugar
* 1/2 cup butter
* 1 egg
* 2 cups flour
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
* 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
* 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
* 1 cup chopped fresh figs
* 1/2 cup chopped and toasted almonds

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F .

Once oven is preheated, toast chopped almonds on foil lined baking sheet for about ten minutes or until they become fragrant

Cream sugar and butter

Beat the egg and add to the butter/sugar mixture.

Sift dry ingredients.

Add the dry ingredients to the mixture.

Fold in the figs.

Fold in the nuts.

Drop cookies by tablespoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes.

I love the way the cloves and cinnamon make this cookie scream fall and the tender chewiness of the figs make this an awesome accompaniment for coffee, tea, or milk!

These were a big hit, not only with Mr. B but also the office mates. One clever co-worker told me "They taste like an oatmeal raisin cookie, except they're good." Ahahaha, success!!!