Hermit Cookies (1894)

So…Hermits. Were you expecting dark, molasses-y cookies, spiced with cinnamon, and studded with raisins? Until recently, that’s what I’d have expected too. That’s the type of “old fashioned” hermits I grew up with.

Interestingly, none of the oldest hermit recipes I’ve found call for molasses. They’re made with sugar (like Miss Parloa’s recipe from 1881), or brown sugar (like today’s recipe from 1894.)

Spices and raisins you can count on though. Another little thing of interest is that all of the early hermit recipes call for not just stoning, but chopping, the raisins. What a fascinating thing to watch recipes evolve with the decades, isn’t it?

Here’s a photo of the recipe as it appears in the cookbook:

A FEW COOKING NOTES THAT MAY HELP: 

OVEN TEMPERATURE: 

I used 375°F for baking these, and found that it worked well. (A quick oven would be about 400-425 or a little higher)

SPICES: 

These are not a very sweet cookie, so I found myself wanting to go a little heavier on the spices. One teaspoon of cinnamon, one teaspoon of nutmeg, and half a teaspoon of cloves is what I used, and felt they were nicely spicy without being overpowering. (It’s also a similar amount to the two teaspoons of spice called for in Miss Parloa’s contemporary recipe, which is a little sweeter.)

HOW MUCH FLOUR TO USE: 

The short answer, I felt that about 2 ½ cups worked well, with extra for rolling.

Long answer: I struggled with this, trying everything from barely-stiff-enough-to-roll, to pretty stiff. In one ear, I was hearing the advice of one of these cookbook authors (I am SO sorry I’ve misplaced which one), that the trick with cookies and cakes that are “rolled upon the board” is to use as much flour as is needed to roll without sticking, and not a speck more. In the other ear, I was comparing this with other similar recipes that used as much as 5-6 cups of flour. After experimenting a bit, I found that about 2 ½ cups gave a cookie that rose and didn’t sharply hold it’s shape, while also not spreading much. They also had crispy edges while keeping a center that remained slightly soft, when the edges were brown and centers were set. 

BAKING TIME: 

I cut my cookies about 1.25″ square, and at that size they took 6-7 minutes. 

If you make these, I’d love to hear how they turn out for you!

📖 Recipe