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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!

Did you try this recipe and like it? The next time you make it, snap a picture and share it to your socials! Tag @thelemonbowl and #thelemonbowl so we can admire and share your dish.

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. Stacey Legasse Avatar
    Stacey Legasse

    I am also from Portsmouth, with all of.the new add ins of old, I add 1/4 cup of poppy seed and flax seed to my nanny,s hermit recipe. That’s both equaling 1/4 cup together…so yum yum

    1. Liz DellaCroce Avatar
      Liz DellaCroce

      That sounds delicious!

  2. Anna Avatar
    Anna

    Thank you for this! I am also from Massachusetts, these remind me of childhood. I had forgotten they existed but I had leftover molasses to use up from making gingerbread at Christmas and I found this recipe. I cut the recipe in half, it only made 27 cookies for me, but that’ll last me several days. I made them with gluten-free flour and they came out great. Yum!

    1. Liz DellaCroce Avatar
      Liz DellaCroce

      So glad you liked them!

  3. Liz Avatar
    Liz

    For the 1/2 batch recipe, please change the butter amount in parentheses (it says 2 sticks softened which equal 1 cup) – the 1/2 recipe calls for 0.5 cups of butter. I almost added too much butter by not reading carefully. Mine are in the oven and smell great – my elderly father from Massachusetts, who now lives down south, asked me to find a recipe and make them. Thanks!

    1. Liz DellaCroce Avatar
      Liz DellaCroce

      The quantities for halving or doubling a batch is done automatically by a program, so I’ll see what’s up with that, thanks for letting me know!

  4. Barbara Cresta Avatar
    Barbara Cresta

    I am going to make 1/2 batch of these this afternoon while my husband is out bowling. I am so excited, cannot wait for him to leave so I can get started. We are both from Portsmouth, NH (now living in CT), and Hermits have always been one of our favorites. I know I can give this 5 stars because of the ingredients. I have made Hermits before but it has been years !!! I do not care for any type of glaze on these. To me the glaze ruins the Hermits.

  5. Aislinn Avatar
    Aislinn

    I have been looking for a recipe that is close to the carrot cookies the local grocery store has. They are very like hermit bars but taste like carrot cake. I think your recipe will get me really close.
    I will be using half molasses and half Lyle’s Golden Syrup and adding a cup of shredded carrots to the raisins.
    Wish me luck!

    1. Liz DellaCroce Avatar
      Liz DellaCroce

      I’m curious to know how they turn out! Let me know :)

      1. Aislinn Avatar
        Aislinn

        Liz,
        It turned out beautifully. Not exactly like the stores, but still very tasty. I am looking forward to seeing how it tastes tomorrow! As I mentioned before I used half molasses and half Lyle’s Golden Syrup. I also added 1 c. of shredded carrots and 1 c. of coconut. This is definitely going into my repertoire.

        1. Liz DellaCroce Avatar
          Liz DellaCroce

          I’ll have to see if I can convince Rich to switch it up next time so we can try it ourselves;) Thanks for sharing!

  6. Frank Avatar
    Frank

    Hmmm…something isn’t right with final amount of this recipe. Let me first say that I like the final result after baking, this makes a very nice cookie. But, the recipe amount/instructions saying to use “one jelly roll pan” and the picture instructions don’t seem to line up. The pictures are showing a jelly roll (not sure which size jelly roll pan was used) with the pan about 1/2 to 2/3 full.

    I followed the x1 recipe the first time I made this and easily filled a half sheet pan (which is slightly larger than a jelly roll pan) with more than a 1/2 inch thickness of the dough. Since this was the first time making this recipe I barreled ahead with the bake and after 20 minutes it was very clear that the center was very wet. It took me almost a full 60 minutes to bake this through.

    I would suggest halving the recipe or divide the dough into two pans.

    I’m sure this is just a mistake in the recipe, I’ve certainly made them myself. Again, the cookies are really nice and I’ll make them again with some adjustments. I just want to help others have success using this recipe.

    1. Liz DellaCroce Avatar
      Liz DellaCroce

      I use a standard sized cookie sheet, same as you by what you mentioned. The only times I’ve been told people had trouble with this recipe and it taking too long to bake is when they use a cake pan or something smaller than a cookie sheet. I have no idea why it would’ve taken 60 minutes on a standard cookie sheet to bake!

  7. Cindy Johnson Avatar
    Cindy Johnson

    I am looking to make some of these for my 93 year old dad for Father’s Day. I remember my grandmother making these and they were everyone’s favorite. I’ve researched recipes, and this is the only one that calls for a “jelly roll” pan, which is what I remember my Gram using, so I think I’ll try this one, but I also remember that hers were much darker than the ones in these photos. Any thoughts on what would’ve made hers darker in color than these?

    1. Liz DellaCroce Avatar
      Liz DellaCroce

      Oh thank you so much Cindy. My husband read your comment and it made his day!! Do you think she used a darker molasses?

    2. Sheila Avatar
      Sheila

      Cindy,
      I just made these with dark brown sugar and blackstrap molasses. They were so dark, everyone thought they were brownies! They were gone in one sitting.
      Sheila

      1. Liz DellaCroce Avatar
        Liz DellaCroce

        Oh what a great idea!!! Enjoy!

    3. Brenda Avatar
      Brenda

      Wow! These bars are wonderfully addictive! I added 1.5 cups of golden raisins and 1 cup of chopped walnuts.
      The bars baked beautifully. I will have to say for my oven I would use the bottom shelf only. I followed your directions to start with top shelf and change to the bottom one but it took an additional 7 minutes for it to be fully baked. But it ended well!

      1. Liz DellaCroce Avatar
        Liz DellaCroce

        Love the additions you made!!! Raisins sound great!

  8. ann chaney Avatar
    ann chaney

    when I was a kid (I’m 75 now) we bought bars just like this at Christmas. I have longed for a recipe that tasted like them, and found it here! Chewy, deep-flavored, ginger and molassesy. Absolutely delicious! Thank you for this gift! This recipe is huge, so I thought I would never eat them all (they freeze perfectly) and gave half to my house cleaner (she loves all the baked goods I give her and she has a toddler who loves them too)! The surviving batch of bars are dwindling fast.

    1. Liz DellaCroce Avatar
      Liz DellaCroce

      I’m so glad you found this recipe, Ann! I’m so happy you’re spreading the love and sharing them too. :)

  9. Rose Swigart Avatar
    Rose Swigart

    Thanks for posting. I’ve made hermit cookies years ago and lost the recipe. Wanted to give you my tip,. I melt butter, sugars and spices together on the stove, then add the golden raisins, simmer 5 minutes. Then I let cool a bit, then process about half. I don’t add nuts, but if I did would add them. After. Just a suggestion.

    1. Liz DellaCroce Avatar
      Liz DellaCroce

      What a great idea Rose!! Thank you so much!

  10. MJ Avatar
    MJ

    These are amazing and fun to make. I switched out raisins for chopped walnuts. After placing dough on the baking sheet, I placed a piece of waxed paper stop and shaped the dough with the waxed paper. These are the perfect gingerbread. I froze half of the batch for after Christmas goodness. Easy to make and made the house smell like Christmas morning while baking. Thanks for sharing this recipe. Merry Christmas!

    1. Liz DellaCroce Avatar
      Liz DellaCroce

      That’s a great idea MJ!!! Merry Christmas!

    2. Kat Avatar
      Kat

      Made these in a jelly roll pan but they came out delicious but quite thick. Could you let me know the size pan you are using for these? Thank you.

      1. Liz DellaCroce Avatar
        Liz DellaCroce

        Hmmm they are usually a bit thick. We use a normal jelly roll pan also. Were they not fully cooked in middle? Usually when we spread the dough it doesn’t even fully reach the edges.