Hermit Cookie Recipe: How to Make Hermit Cookies
Written by MasterClass
Last updated: Apr 17, 2023 • 2 min read
Hermit cookies are a type of spice cookie beloved from Connecticut to Maine. Learn how to make them at home with this simple recipe.
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What Are Hermit Cookies?
Hermit cookies, also known as hermit bars, are molasses cookies from New England. They are flavored with spices like cinnamon, clove, and allspice and dried fruit such as raisins. Hermit cookies are typically chewy and baked in a jelly roll pan before being cut into squares or rectangles. Sometimes they are baked as a rectangular log before being cut, much like biscotti. After baking, they get drizzled with icing or sprinkled with turbinado sugar. Hermits can also be made as drop cookies, but they will be a little less chewy when prepared this way.
What Are the Origins of Hermit Cookies?
Hermit cookies as we know them now—square, brown, and flavored with molasses and gingerbread spices—were first mentioned in New England cookbooks in the 1920s. In the mid-1800s, the name “hermit cookie” referred to an entirely different cookie, one that was round and white but also contained raisins. How these cookies got their name is somewhat of a mystery. They may have been inspired by a British book about a hermit who made layered bar cookies, or a reference to the molasses cookies’ brown color reminiscent of a hermit's robe. Another theory suggests that the cookies' long shelf life is what makes them perfect for hermits.
Classic Hermit Cookie Recipe
makes
About 16 cookiesprep time
25 mintotal time
1 hr 15 mincook time
20 minIngredients
- 1
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- 2
Line a baking sheet or jelly roll pan with parchment paper.
- 3
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides as needed. Beat for about 4 minutes on medium speed.
- 4
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, spices, and salt. Set aside.
- 5
Add the egg and vanilla extract to the butter and sugar mixture and continue to beat on medium speed, scraping down the sides as needed until fully incorporated and smooth—about 2 minutes.
- 6
Add the molasses and continue to beat on medium speed, scraping down the sides as needed until fully incorporated—about 1 minute.
- 7
Carefully add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low speed until almost incorporated.
- 8
Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the dried fruit. Continue mixing on low speed until just incorporated.
- 9
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a clean, slightly damp kitchen towel and let the dough sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- 10
Divide the cookie dough into two balls.
- 11
On a lightly floured surface, roll each dough ball into a log a little shorter than the long side of your cookie sheet.
- 12
Place the logs 3 inches apart on the prepared pan. Press each one down slightly so that they both have a ½-inch-thick rectangle shape. Bake for 18 minutes.
- 13
Sprinkle the logs with the turbinado sugar, then return them to the oven to bake for 2 more minutes.
- 14
While still warm, cut the logs into 1½-inch wide bars. Let the cut cookies cool completely on a wire rack before storing them in an airtight container for up to one week.
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