Figanut Cupcakes.

I was clearing out the refrigerator crisper section yesterday morning and found a bag of figs.
The figs looked as fresh as the day I bought them home from Costco earlier last week (as usual, Costco makes you buy in bulk and really, 1.5 pounds of figs is too much for just the two of us). Since there was only about a dozen or so of the leftover figs, I knew it wasn't enough to make preserves or bake using them as the star ingredient. What can I do with 'em figs? Rummaged through my recipe collection in my FoodNetwork recipe box and came across their popular Banana Walnut Bread recipe (over 200+ reviews with overall rating of 4.5 stars). Hmm, I have bananas....I have walnuts, I can add in the figs and hey, it's Fig-a-nut!

Figanut Cupcake recipe (adapted from Food Network's Banana Nut Bread)

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for preparing the pan
1 cup sugar
3 very ripe bananas, peeled, and mashed with a fork (about 1 cup)
1/2 cup toasted walnut pieces
1/2 cup figs (chopped)

For streusel topping (optional):
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour
3 Tbsp light brown sugar

Directions
Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl, set aside. Whisk the eggs and vanilla together in a liquid measuring cup with a spout, set aside. Line cupcake pans with paper cupcake liners (cups) Preheat the oven to 330 degrees F.

In a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or with an electric hand-held mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Gradually pour the egg mixture into the butter while mixing until incorporated. Add the bananas and remove the bowl from the mixer.

With a rubber spatula, mix in the flour mixture until just incorporated. Fold in the nuts & chopped figs; transfer the batter to the cupcake liners. Top with streusel topping (optional) Bake for ~20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean. Cool the bread in the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Garnish with sliced figs.