Gluten Free Fig Coconut Chocolate Chip Breakfast Cookies

In the midst of the revelry of the "International Food Bloggers Conference" I managed to leave my Nikon camera behind on a lonesome cocktail table.  It's the camera that my husband surprised me with for Christmas. The camera that I planned to use for a digital photography class in September that my parents gifted me for my birthday.  The camera that had a "big" photographic story on it for a guest post that I have been working on for weeks for a little (ha!) website you may have heard of called "AllRecipes".

It's hard to believe that so much hinged on a "thing".  A "thing" that happens to be the center of both my hobby and passion.  I feel as lost without my camera as I did when my smart phone decided to take a swim in a hotel pool a few years ago! That darn phone slipped from my hands, bounced on the pool floor and fell right into the chlorine-filled water.

My smart phone had plans that didn't include me.  Kinda like the camera. Apparently my camera didn't want to leave the Conference or Portland.  Thankfully, not every sad story has a bad ending. Double Tree housekeeping called today.  An anonymous person turned my beloved camera in & it will be mailed to my home. This experience renews my faith in our communities. There are great people out there doing amazing and anonymous things for perfect strangers. I'm now tasked with paying it forward. Over and over again.

As I brainstorm anonymous good deeds, I'm going to create a gluten free recipe for my sister and brother in law that I can enter into the Made In Nature "Fall for Figs" recipe contest.  While I was busily leaving my prized possessions behind, my sister and brother in law were kind enough to take my kids to Ross Lake Resort.

I've created a super yummy, low sugar, low fat, gluten free drop breakfast cookie. I used a cookie scoop for portion control, because, after all, who needs an enormous cookie for breakfast?

Here's what you need to pay it forward:

• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup Unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup Made in Nature organic dried figs, diced into small pieces
• 1 1/2 cup Oat Meal
• 1 cup Almond Meal
• 1/2 cup Chocolate chips
• 1 cup Coconut flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon Allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon Baking soda
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1/3 cup Blue Agave
• Cookie scoop for near perfect shaped cookies

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a large bowl, mix oat meal, almond meal, coconut, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, and salt.

In an electric mixer, add butter, eggs and agave. Mix for a few minutes. Add dry ingredients and mix again.  Toss in the chocolate chips and figs. Mix for about 15 seconds.

Use a cookie scoop and place cookies about half an inch apart on a cookie sheet.

Bake for 13 minutes.

Remove and place on a cooling rack.

Once completely cooled wrap in wax paper and tie with a ribbon for an easy grab-and-go meal!

                    What has a perfect stranger done for you?