One would wonder why on a hot and very humid Saturday One would decide to bake cookies. The answer is The One likes to bake and does not mind sweating to make a good cookie!
This hermit recipe is one that my Mom used to make all the time. They offer a rich spice flavor with the mixture of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves & ginger and are nice and chewy inside and crisp on the end. Molasses is not something I use very often, but love the smell of it combined with these spices. This was my first time making Hermits so I followed her recipe exactly which means I used shortening aka Crisco. Shortening, as is margarine, is made with hydrogenated fat. OK, so not the healthiest option, but hey these are a must try cookie. Now that I think of it, most of my baking is not the lowest in calories though to me it is all about moderation!
You can certainly substitute butter for shortening. Your cookies will turn out a little differently. Shortening makes a cookie that is crisp on the edge and chewy on the inside. Butter will make your cookies crispier throughout. Also, they will tend to spread more during baking due to the moisture in butter. I have read that you can counteract some of the spread and crispiness that butter will produce by adding another egg. I have never tried this so if someone has or does, let me know how it works!
I was laughing when I first read through the recipe. Not sure why my Mother wrote it down as I know she knew it by heart and I must say the directions were a little skimpy!
Chewy Hermits
Makes about 3 dozen
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
1 1/2 cups shortening (Crisco)
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup dark molasses
4 tsp soda (for you and me, this means baking soda!)
1/2 tsp salt
4 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp each: nutmeg, cloves, & ginger
1 1/2 cups raisins
Mix shortening, sugar, eggs, and molasses. Sift dry ingredients. Add gradually and mix well. Add raisins.
Wet hands and roll dough about 1" thick on ungreased sheet. Press with glass dipped in water. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 9-13 minutes. Cool slightly before cutting.
I told you the directions were a little skimpy! I did wet my hands a little and then took about two handfuls of dough and placed on a silpat on a cookie sheet. I shaped it into a loaf and then pressed down to about 1 " with my hands. I don't remember when my Mom used to make these if she made them the width of two cookies and cut down the middle or did a narrower bar. Now that I think of it, I think she did narrower. The first sheet was a little thicker and wider. I adjusted the time in the oven a little. Do not over bake as you want to ensure they are chewy inside! I definitely need a little more practice shaping these out.
After baking, I let these cool for a little and then cut down the middle with a pizza cutter and then at an angle. I used most of the dough in this format. I also tried scooping about one tablespoon of dough and just dropped on the cookie sheet as well as scooping the dough out and then pressing down with the bottom of a glass that has been dipped in water. In the picture of the plated cookies, the center ones are the bars, ones on the right were just scoops dropped on the cookie sheet, and the ones on the left were scoops that were flattened with a glass.
Lastly, does anyone know where the name of the cookie originated?
This hermit recipe is one that my Mom used to make all the time. They offer a rich spice flavor with the mixture of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves & ginger and are nice and chewy inside and crisp on the end. Molasses is not something I use very often, but love the smell of it combined with these spices. This was my first time making Hermits so I followed her recipe exactly which means I used shortening aka Crisco. Shortening, as is margarine, is made with hydrogenated fat. OK, so not the healthiest option, but hey these are a must try cookie. Now that I think of it, most of my baking is not the lowest in calories though to me it is all about moderation!
You can certainly substitute butter for shortening. Your cookies will turn out a little differently. Shortening makes a cookie that is crisp on the edge and chewy on the inside. Butter will make your cookies crispier throughout. Also, they will tend to spread more during baking due to the moisture in butter. I have read that you can counteract some of the spread and crispiness that butter will produce by adding another egg. I have never tried this so if someone has or does, let me know how it works!
I was laughing when I first read through the recipe. Not sure why my Mother wrote it down as I know she knew it by heart and I must say the directions were a little skimpy!
Chewy Hermits
Makes about 3 dozen
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
1 1/2 cups shortening (Crisco)
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup dark molasses
4 tsp soda (for you and me, this means baking soda!)
1/2 tsp salt
4 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp each: nutmeg, cloves, & ginger
1 1/2 cups raisins
Mix shortening, sugar, eggs, and molasses. Sift dry ingredients. Add gradually and mix well. Add raisins.
Wet hands and roll dough about 1" thick on ungreased sheet. Press with glass dipped in water. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 9-13 minutes. Cool slightly before cutting.
I told you the directions were a little skimpy! I did wet my hands a little and then took about two handfuls of dough and placed on a silpat on a cookie sheet. I shaped it into a loaf and then pressed down to about 1 " with my hands. I don't remember when my Mom used to make these if she made them the width of two cookies and cut down the middle or did a narrower bar. Now that I think of it, I think she did narrower. The first sheet was a little thicker and wider. I adjusted the time in the oven a little. Do not over bake as you want to ensure they are chewy inside! I definitely need a little more practice shaping these out.
After baking, I let these cool for a little and then cut down the middle with a pizza cutter and then at an angle. I used most of the dough in this format. I also tried scooping about one tablespoon of dough and just dropped on the cookie sheet as well as scooping the dough out and then pressing down with the bottom of a glass that has been dipped in water. In the picture of the plated cookies, the center ones are the bars, ones on the right were just scoops dropped on the cookie sheet, and the ones on the left were scoops that were flattened with a glass.
Lastly, does anyone know where the name of the cookie originated?
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5 comments:
I've never heard of the hermit cookie before. It sounds terrific!
They are one of my favorites as not a too sweet cookie, but instead very flavorful due to the spices!
My mom loves hermits. I've been on the lookout for a good recipe so I can make them for her. I'll have to try yours.
I read that they are called hermits because they get better with time, so you "hermit" them away instead of eating them right away.
Megan - If you try them, let me know what you think!
These are my favorite cookies of all time, my mom would only bake them around the holidays & I'd crave them all year long. I was just looking up a recipe & found the origins of the name in Martha Stewart's cookie cookbook - "Hermits, which originated in colonial New England, supposedly gained their name because the flavor of the cookie improves after being stowed away - like a hermit - for a few days."
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