Hermits
Serves 8 Time 30 minutes Difficulty 3/5 Ingredients 12 Steps 9
Hermits are chewy molasses spice cookies. This version is on the strong side of the spectrum so those who prefer less hot-tasting food should hold back on the cloves and ginger.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (275 g/9.7 oz) all-purpose flour
- ⅔ cup (65 g) seedless raisins (a handful more if you like them)
- ⅔ cup (120 g) packed dark brown sugar
- 2½ teaspoons ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (175 g) molasses
- 6 tablespoons butter, melted
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 egg
Steps
- Preheat oven to 375°F/190°C.
- Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
- Stir flour, raisins, brown sugar, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, baking powder and salt in a large bowl until well combined. Break up brown sugar clumps.
- Stir in molasses, butter, vanilla and egg until fully integrated.
- Shape the dough into two strips (approximately 6 x) at least 1.5 in apart on the sheet pan.
- Bake 12–15 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the strips comes out dry.
- Cool slightly. Move the hermits on their parchment to cooling racks. Cool completely, including the bottoms; they should be only slightly warmer than room temperature.
- Move the hermits on their parchment to a counter. Cut into 1.5 in wide strips (a pizza cutter works). Scrape away from the parchment with a thin spatula.
- Serve with milk or tea.
Notes from the original
- Although nice when warm these hermits will be even better after a night in an air-tight tin. They should last about a week.
- A buttered sheet pan works if you have no parchment, but it makes cooling and cutting more difficult and damaging to the sheet pan.
Source. Adapted from “Cookbook:Hermits” by Wikibooks contributors, revision of 2025-06-20, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Changes. Steps rewritten into short commands. Introduction shortened. Wiki formatting removed. This adapted recipe is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.