Figgy kind of day....

Big, thick, healthy cookies... and they even taste good! I've been looking for a recipe that would work for a quick breakfast on the go or a substantial midday snack - I think we've found one that we both really like!

Breakfast Fig and Nut Cookies uses a mixture of whole wheat flour, all purpose flour and wheat bran. They are packed full of chopped mission figs, dried cranberries and toasted sliced almonds. Lightly spiced with cinnamon and allspice, they have a slightly sweet and wholesome taste. They are a little hard to describe texture wise, the best I can come up with is the cookies are like a muffin top that meets a sturdy cookie. They are not melt-in-your mouth cake-like, but not chewy/crisp either. There is a healthy flavor to them, but definitely not in a bad way. The cookies are almost 4" across and 3/4 of an inch thick! I want to tinker around with the recipe to try to add oats for some texture, and test other fruit combinations. I was going to use turbinado sugar on top, but glad I stuck with the granulated. I think with these golden cookies, the smaller grains scattered on top work better than the chunky raw sugar.

Keeping the fig theme of the day going, we had Chicken with Balsamic-Fig Sauce for dinner tonight. The chicken is seasoned with thyme then seared off just until they are no longer pink in the center. To the bits left in the pan, balsamic vinegar along with chicken broth, soy sauce and chopped mission figs are added in. As the mixture bubbles away, the figs plump up by soaking in the deep flavorful mixture. Meanwhile, the chicken is cut into long strips and when ready, the warm mixture is spooned over the top. There is quite a bit of sauce, so I think this would be great served over brown rice to absorb the tangy drippings. Lots of flavors and textures happening for such a quick dish.

I made Cumin Potatoes as a side for dinner, but alas - no figs hiding in this! This one starts out by boiling chunky russet potatoes until tender, but not falling apart. They are then quickly rinsed in cold water to halt them from continuing to cook. To enhance the cumin flavor, the seeds are quickly toasted with some oil in a hot skillet. The potatoes along with other seasonings are added in and left to form a rich crust. After a couple quick flips, they have a warm moist interior with a crisp outer coating. We had a hard time trying to stop at one serving each!

Recipes
Cumin Potatoes
Breakfast Fig and Nut Cookies
Chicken with Balsamic-Fig Sauce

*I also updated the recipe section to the left today - you may have to hit refresh to see the additions!