They look like regular chocolate chip cookies, but there’s a chewy surprise waiting in every tempting bite. Figs bring a richness of flavour and a healthy dose of calcium, vitamins, and fibre. Your family might not know there’s good stuff inside each cookie, but they will know they taste amazing!

Yield: 28 cookies
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

• 188 g / 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 120 g / 1 cup bread flour
• 5 g / 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 g / 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 3 g / 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 g / 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 170 g / 3/4 cup Mirage Margarine, melted
• 145 g / 2/3 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
• 67 g / 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 15 ml / 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 170 g / 1 cup dark chocolate chips
• 103 g / 2/3 cup dried figs, chopped fine

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl whisk together the all-purpose flour, bread flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon until well combined.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together the melted Mirage Margarine and both sugars on medium speed; about 2 minutes.

4. Add in the egg and vanilla extract and mix until egg is fully incorporated into the batter.

5. Add in half of the dry ingredients, mix on low speed until just combined. Add in the remaining dry ingredients. Mix on medium-low speed until well blended; 2 minutes.

6. Sprinkle in the dark chocolate chips and the finely chopped figs. Mix on low speed until evenly blended into the dough.

7. Cover bowl and chill dough for at least an hour. Allow chilled dough to come to room temperature; about 10 minutes.

8. With a small ice cream scoop, or a tablespoon, scoop even-sized balls of dough onto the prepared baking sheet. Roll the dough into balls.

9. Gently flatten the tops of the cookies with the bottom of a flat-bottomed glass. Place back into the fridge to chill; about 10 minutes.

10. Place into the preheated oven and bake for about 10 minutes.

11. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before carefully transferring cookies to a wire cooling rack; cool completely.

Chef’s Notes

• Use any kind of dried figs (mission, calimyrna, turkish, etc.) for this recipe as long as they are soft. If the figs have hardened, soften by placing dried figs into a small bowl and just covering them with hot water for several minutes. Drain, pat dry, and finely chop.
• Sprinkle the chopped dried figs with some of the flour used in the recipe to keep the figs from clumping together.
• This dough can be made a few days in advance. Place dough into the fridge wrapped tightly in plastic wrap or in an airtight container. Bring to room temperature before scooping. Alternatively, scoop dough, roll into balls, flatten, and place onto a baking sheet. Place baking sheet in freezer until dough is frozen. Remove from baking sheet and place into an airtight container or resealable freezer bags. Bake from frozen as needed, adding about 5 minutes to the baking time.