Get your kids to love figs!

Our friends who moved left behind a huge fig tree in their backyard. Not wanting fresh fruit to go to waste, we dropped by their old house to help ourselves to the bounty. E and A had a great time picking the figs, but when it came time to eat them.... Honestly, you'd think I was offering them mouse brains.

If there's one thing my girls will eat, it's cookies. So out came the baking supplies, and in went the cookies! They disappeared at an alarming rate into my girls' mouths.

When I brought what was left to Bible study, those ladies gobbled them up just as fast! (You know you love me, Michelle!)

So what was this magical, fig-transformative recipe?

Fresh Fig Cookies
adapted from Allrecipes

Ingredients

1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup chopped fresh figs
1/2 cup chopped pecans 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cream sugar and butter. Add the beaten egg.
3. Add dry ingredients to the creamed mixture.
4. Fold in figs and nuts.
5. Drop by spoonfuls on baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes.

Enjoy!

The Sweetest Fig by Chris Van Allsburg

Chris Van Allsburg is one of my favorite illustrators, but I think it's his stories that really set him apart. From Jumanji to The Polar Express, his books are full of adventure, mystery, wonder, and danger. The Sweetest Fig is no exception.

The story follows a fussy French dentist who is given two "magic" figs as payment for pulling a tooth. The old woman who gives them promises they will make his dreams come true. When the dentist wakes up the next day to find the Eiffel tower drooped over, he realizes the woman was telling the truth. With one fig left, he trains himself to dream he is the richest man in the world. It looks like he'll get his wish, until his abused dog beats him to the punch.

The story definitely has dark undertones, but the pictures are mesmerizing, and while I wouldn't recommend this story for little ones, I think older children will enjoy seeing the dentist receive his just desserts.