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New England Hermit Cookie Bars

Liz DellaCroce Avatar

LIZ DELLA CROCE

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With a delightful resemblance to gingerbread cookies, these New England Hermit Cookie Bars are delectable treats that boast a soft and chewy texture, crafted with a harmonious blend of ginger, molasses, and raisins.

Ingredients

  • Flour: Provides the structure for the cookie bars.
  • Warm spices: Cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves all give these cookie bars a delicious, warm, autumn-like taste.
  • Baking powder & baking soda: While these cookie bars don’t need to rise a whole lot, the baking powder and soda do give the necessary lift.
  • Salt: Balances out the sweetness, and enhances the flavors of the other ingredients.
  • Brown sugar: Has a deeper, richer flavor of sweet compared to white sugar.
  • Butter: Adds moisture to the dough.
  • Molasses: Aids in giving the signature flavor to many baked goods, including gingerbread, as it has a darker, more caramel like flavor.
  • Eggs: Eggs act as the binding agent in baking cookies.
  • Raisins: Adds texture and pockets of added sweetness to the hermit cookies.

Easy Substitutions

  • Swap the raisins. You could use other dried fruits or nuts in place of the raisins, like chopped walnuts or cranberries!
  • Add some chocolate. Plenty of people will throw in some chocolate chips with their hermit cookie bars.

When it comes to the perfect baked goods, I prefer them well balanced, soft, not overly sweet, with just a pinch of salt. A few of my favorites include pumpkin bars, my Ema’s Jewish apple cake, double dark chocolate cookies and my chewy healthy oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. If you love gingerbread cookies, you MUST try my husband’s famous New England Hermit Cookie Bars.

A Boston Massachusetts native, when he was growing up he would find these cookies in a local bakery and purchase them by the bag for a couple of dollars. To how I understand it, these cookies date back to the Pilgrims. For long voyages these cookies travelled well in sea chests. What made them special was that they were dense and stayed moist for close to two weeks making them ideal for travel or prepping ahead.

  • They are cookies with a history dating back over 100 years!
  • Soft, chewy, and contain many fall spices!
  • Great to gift to friends and family or make for a party.
  • 100% guarentee people will comment on how good they are!
A greased and floured jelly roll pan on a counter.

Step 1. Using Crisco and flour, grease your pan and set it aside.

Adding cinnamon to a mixing bowl of flour.

Step 2. Take a large mixing bowl and add the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves.

Whisking flour with spices in a glass mixing bowl.

Step 3. Whisk all of the dry ingredients together, then set aside.

Adding sticks of butter to a glass bowl of a stand mixer.

Step 4. Add the brown sugar to the bowl of your stand mixer, then add the softened butter and cream together until fluffy and creamy.

Pouring Molasses into the bowl of a stand mixer.

Step 5. Pour in your molasses while mixing on low.

Adding two eggs to the bowl of a stand mixer.

Step 6. Add in your eggs, and mix until fully incorporated.

Pouring flour mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer with wet batter.

Step 7. With your mixer on low, slowly add your dry ingredients to the wet until fully mixed.

Slowly adding raisins to cookie dough in stand mixer bowl.

Step 8. Fold in your raisins, either with a wooden spoon or your mixer on the lowest setting.

Liz pressing out hermit bar dough onto a prepared baking pan.

Step 9. Take your dough and spread it evenly on your prepared baking sheet. Toss them in the oven at 350 for roughly 17 minutes.

Using a pizza cutter to cut baked hermit bars into squares.

Step 10. Let the hermit bars cool, then cut into squares with either a pizza cutter or a knife.

Picking up a New England hermit cookie bar off of a plate.

Serve and enjoy your New England Hermit Cookie Bars!

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you store hermit cookies?

Hermit cookies store well. Up to a week in an airtight container at room temperature and they will still taste great!

Why are hermit cookies called hermits?

Because of it’s longevity, this cookie was often sent with sailors and other travelers as something to eat on longer journeys. So it traveled, as hermits often did.

What’s the easiest way to cut cookie bars?

Use a pizza cutter or knife and cut them into squares (or any shape you prefer).

New England hermit cookie bars cut into squares on a plate, with the rest of the tray in the background.

More Sweet Snacks

Eat It, Like It, Share It!

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Whip up a batch of these soft and chewy hermit cookie bars for your next cookie swap, classroom party, hostess gift, or holiday open house!

No fork required.

New England Hermit Cookie Bars

4.51 stars average
With a delightful resemblance to gingerbread cookies, these delectable treats boast a soft and chewy texture, crafted with a harmonious blend of ginger, molasses, and raisins.
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 17 minutes
Total Time 37 minutes
Serves64
CourseDessert
Calories105

Ingredients
 
 

  • 4 cups all purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cloves If you have whole cloves you will need a mortar and pestle to grind them up
  • 2 cups brown sugar packed
  • 1 cup butter softened – preferably unsalted
  • cup molasses
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 cups raisins

Instructions
 

  1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Grease and flour one standard jelly roll pan (standard cookie sheet) and set aside. For best results, I would grease with either Crisco or coconut oil.
  3. In a large bowl, whisk together dry ingredients: flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, ginger, nutmeg, salt, and cloves.
    4 cups all purpose flour, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves, 1/2 teaspoon salt
  4. With the mixer on medium, beat together brown sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add in molasses then egg and mix until well combined.
    2 cups brown sugar, 1 cup butter, 2/3 cup molasses, 2 large eggs
  5. Reduce mixer speed to low and slowly add in the dry ingredients until just combined.
  6. Use a spoon to stir in raisins.
    2 cups raisins
  7. Scrape edges of the bowl with a plastic spatula to get the mixture together in a ball then scrape out onto a cookie sheet.
  8. Flour hands then carefully press dough into even layer on the floured cookie sheet.
  9. Bake 17-19 minutes depending on oven. Typically I'll spend half the time on the top rack and the other half on the bottom. Remove from the oven when toothpick comes out clean.
  10. Let cool completely before slicing into bars.

Nutrition

Calories: 105kcalCarbohydrates: 19gProtein: 1gFat: 3gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 15mgSodium: 80mg

Video

Liz’s Notes

These cookies age well and can handle air exposure. They are very moist and last several days (if they last that long!)
Slicing Tip: A pizza slicer is a great way to ensure even slicing.
I use a 17×11 baking sheet.

Have you tried this?

Let us know how it was!

4.51 from 257 votes (187 ratings without comment)

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167 responses to “New England Hermit Cookie Bars”

  1. Julie Avatar
    Julie

    Loved this recipe! I grew up in Danvers so I love knowing these came from Saugus/Lynn native! Really nice and moist.

    1. Liz DellaCroce Avatar
      Liz DellaCroce

      Oh that’s so cool!! Rich used to take me to Hilltop on Route 1 when we were dating. :)

  2. Jeanette Devevo Avatar
    Jeanette Devevo

    These were great! Best recipe for hermits. Have gone through many others. This’ one of my favorite cookies–from Em’s Bake Shop in Avon Connecticut when I was a kid. Now your recipe is the one I will always use.

  3. Maine Grammy Linda Avatar
    Maine Grammy Linda

    LOVE these bars! Flavor is PERFECT!!! Only problem I had was using wrong size pan (my idea of standard jelly roll pan is different) and had to bake way longer than stated. The correct size must be what I consider a large cookie sheet (12×17). Thanks for sharing this great recipe!

  4. Suzeraine Avatar
    Suzeraine

    Every autumn my grandfather would drive down from NY to FL for a month long visit with all sorts of goodies in his car. One of those goodies was Freihoffer’s Hermit cookies. I don’t think Freihoffer’s exists any more, and I haven’t seen any sort of hermit cookie in YEARS. But I had a hankerin’ and went looking on the internet…

    Made these and they brought back so many memories! Even my kid who doesn’t like raisins liked these – they were gone in about 4 days, which says a lot around here. Superb recipe! Thanks so much!

  5. Dave H. Avatar
    Dave H.

    Hermit cookies were always a huge favorite in and around my childhood city of Portland, Maine. This recipe is not only easy, it is the best I’ve come across to replicate that ole time taste!
    Thank-you!

    1. Bonnie Avatar
      Bonnie

      I first made what I remembered as Hermit Cookies that I found the recipe on an Egg Carton when I was in High School In NH. No longer have the recipe question is does this batter work fine as scoops from a spoon drop for round appearance? This recipe sounds familiar with the molasses and spices!

      1. Liz DellaCroce Avatar
        Liz DellaCroce

        We’ve never made it as drop cookies but if you try report back ok? Enjoy Bonnie!!

  6. Judy Avatar
    Judy

    Dear girl thank you so much for this recipe. My mother loved Hermits they are big in the New England area where I live. I baked these for a bake sale at work and people were scooping up five and six of them at a time !!!!!

  7. MJ Paley Avatar
    MJ Paley

    Great recipe! Just what I’ve been searching for. Rich in flavor and moist and chewy. Thanks!!! This is definitely a Keeper!

  8. Audrey Avatar
    Audrey

    On wow!!! These are delicious!! I make these every Christmas and signed up just to comment. Thank you for the recipe!

    1. Audrey Avatar
      Audrey

      I also added about two tablespoons of instant coffee. The coffee didn’t change the texture and made them extra yummy.

      1. Dave H. Avatar
        Dave H.

        Another trick is to allow the raisins to soak in coffee. Gives a little extra flavor and moisture.

  9. Julie Belanger Avatar
    Julie Belanger

    HERMITS – CHEWY MOLASSES COOKIE BARS
    Wow! Lovely recipe. Cooking time was bang on for 19 minutes with a gas oven. I cut them up into squares and left them on the counter overnight. Chewy and delicious! I added walnuts.

    They just may become a Canadian Thank`s Giving tradition in my home.

    .jb

  10. Kathy Avatar
    Kathy

    Have you made these as a cookie? Making to give away and a cookie would be easier to package. When I made these this summer it took much longer to bake than called for, the insides were still very gooey at 17 min. so want to do cookies to be on the safe side. Otherwise they were AWESOME, I loved them. Just not sure how long to bake for. thanks!