Fig Cookies

I had got some fresh figs in sheer nostalgia. The only place I had fresh figs was in England, and what luscious fruits they were. Figs at home (called anjeer) were always of the dried kind used in sweets/milk drinks or eaten as snacks. These figs I had got in Bangalore were very, very, very bland. Very little flavour and you could barely taste the sweetness. But since I am really against dumping food into the bin, I bravely tried to munch through them. And then I found this recipe for fresh fig cookies. Perfect for Chef Vyom to try out with mamma.

This is the recipe:

Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup shortening
1 egg
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup fresh figs, peeled, chopped
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a stand up mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream sugar and shortening and add beaten egg. In a medium-sized bowl, sift dry ingredients. Add flour mixture to creamed mixture, blending on low speed. Use a spatula to fold in figs and nuts. Drop by spoonfuls on greased sheet. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Store cooled cookies in an airtight container in the pantry for up to a week.

I modified it (as usual), used brown sugar instead of white (and about 3/4th cup) , ground cinnamon instead of cloves, pecans instead of walnuts, left out baking soda and used butter instead of shortening. I thought the mixture was too dry, so added about 2 tbsp milk. And on Vyom's insistence, a fistful of hershey's kisses. The cookies came out more cake-ish than crunchy, so maybe I should have left out the milk. Vyom, me and thamma had them warm, straight out of the oven and they tasted quite nice. The chocolate actually added to the otherwise subtle flavour (remember these figs were not really flavorsome). I want to try them again, so am thinking of substituting with dry figs or some other fresh fruit? Pineapple, maybe?