A New England molasses cookie, these hermit cookies are soft and chewy and made with ginger, molasses and raisins. Perfectly balanced with a pinch of salt.
Credit must be given where credit is due: Hermit Cookie bars are my husband’s specialty. 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. Many people ask where these hermit cookies came from. As far as he could tell, they originated in New England back in the 1800’s. Dense and moist, hermits age very well and were given to sailors in tins to last on long expeditions.
Sweet, chewy, spicy (from the ginger), buttery and perfectly balanced with the right amount of salt, a chef friend of ours describes hermits as “sweet crack.”
I concur. A fantastic edible holiday gift, these babies will stay moist and delicious for weeks – if you can avoid eating them all first! Whip up a batch of these soft and chewy hermit bar cookies for your next cookie swap, classroom party, hostess gift or holiday open house!
Rich made a video on Facebook live a few months back to demonstrate how easy they are to make. Feel free to take a look!
No forks required.
New England Hermit Cookies
Ingredients
- 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
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 2 cups brown sugar packed
- 1 cup butter 2 sticks softened
- 2/3 cup dark molasses
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups raisins
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
- Grease and flour one standard jelly roll pan (cookie sheet) and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together dry ingredients: flour, cinnamon, baking power, baking soda, ginger, nutmeg, salt and cloves.
- With mixer on medium, beat together brown sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add in molasses then egg and mix until combined.
- Reduce speed to low and slowly add in the dry ingredients until just combined.
- Use a spoon to stir in raisins.
- Scrape edges of bowl with a plastic spatula.
- Flour hands then carefully press dough into even layer on the floured cookie sheet.
- Bake 17-19 minutes depending on oven. Remove when toothpick comes out clean.
- Let cool completely before slicing into bars.
Video
Recipe Notes:
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!
Oh this makes me so happy!!! I love this story!
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!
YES!! Aren’t they the best?!?
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 !!!!!
Oh that makes me so happy!!!!! So glad to hear Judy!
Great recipe! Just what I’ve been searching for. Rich in flavor and moist and chewy. Thanks!!! This is definitely a Keeper!
Aren’t they so good??
On wow!!! These are delicious!! I make these every Christmas and signed up just to comment. Thank you for the recipe!
I also added about two tablespoons of instant coffee. The coffee didn’t change the texture and made them extra yummy.
Great idea!!!!!!!
Another trick is to allow the raisins to soak in coffee. Gives a little extra flavor and moisture.
That’s a great idea!! I’m going to tell my husband!
So glad you like them Audrey!!
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
So glad you enjoy them!!
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!
You know I’ve only ever made them as a bar! I’m glad you liked the flavor!
Salted or unsalted butter?
Unsalted!
These look so tasty and I can’t get over the name. I can’t wait to try them!
Did you make them yet?!
I made these bars and they were perfect! I grew up eating them in Boston and they hit the exact same notes I was looking for. 5-stars, thank you!
So happy to hear it!!
As a child I loved Nelson’s Bakery’s hermits in Maplewood,(Malden) MA and have not found a comparable recipe until now. Thank you for renewing wonderful memories!
Oh I’m so thrilled to hear that! My husband is from Saugus/Lynn area!!
Wow small world!!!
I grew up in Maplewood Square and loved Nelson’s Bakery. I have been searching for the recipe for those wonderful coffee rolls that were frosted and sprinkled with walnuts. If you know of that recipe could you please respond back to me. I have so many fond memories of Maplewood Square and growing up there.
Hi Carolyn – We don’t know a recipe for those but they sound delicious!! I hope you try these hermits – they are so good!
Hi Carolyh, I would love to share my Swedish nut roll recipe with you. Could be communicate by email? Don’t know how to do this, but hope we can figure it. Out!
I have to make these for my husband. He would love them!
Oh man they are the best!!! Let me know if he likes them!!
I made these today and they came out wonderfully. I had to cook mine for about 25 minutes. Thanks for a great recipe, it’s nice to see something different out in the blog world.
Oh I’m so thrilled to hear it!! They are the best! I’ll be sure to let my husband know!
Have you tried making these with gluten free flour?
You know, I have not!! It is certainly worth a shot. I love Bob’s Red Mill AP Gluten Free Flour mix if you haven’t tried it!
I think I will try it. Been using Bob’s AP GF flour too for converting things, have had a lot of luck with cookies and bars.
Let me know how it turns out!!