Fig-honey muffin recipe

Whew. August sure flew by, didn't it?

We had two weekends out of town, five days home with a cold, four days with my sister visiting, two family birthdays, three dentist appointments, two pool parties, and three weeks of 100-degree weather! I guess it's no wonder I didn't make much progress getting the garden ready for fall planting. I barely managed to keep things watered and harvested.

We lost quite a few of figs to the beetles, birds and ground. But I also made some really yummy fig muffins. Here's the recipe in case you have a fig tree or know someone with a fig tree. I'm sure they won't mind if you offer to pick a few! Be sure to pick the ones that are soft and squishy. I adapted this recipe from a cookie recipe I found online. The first batch baked up like muffin tops, so I decided to make muffins instead, and they're perfect that way.

* 1 + 3/4 cup whole pastry or all-purpose flour
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* A pinch of salt
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* A pinch of ground nutmeg
* A pinch of ground cloves
* 1/2 cup honey
* 1/4 cup butter
* 1/4 cup applesauce
* 2 eggs
* 1 cup fresh ripe figs, washed and stems removed, and chopped in food processor
* 1 + 1/3 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
* 1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional -- they're good without, but the boys insisted!)

- Preheat oven to 350F. Line two cookie sheets with baking paper
- In a saucepan, heat the honey and butter until the butter melts. Set aside.
- Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices. Set aside.
- In a bowl whisk the eggs. Add applesauce. Pour in the honey mixture (once it’s cooled) and continue to whisk until blended. Stir in the dry ingredients. Lastly, add the figs and the walnuts and stir until just incorporated.
- Use ice cream scoop to drop into muffin tins. Bake in the oven for 10-14 minutes, or until the tops are slightly browned and spring back when gently pressed. Cool completely and try not to eat them all at once! (You'll be nice and cleaned out if you do, they're full of fiber.)