Hermits

Posted: July 17, 2010

By Lisa McKinnon of the Ventura County Star 

"Vintage" recipes for Hermits tend to come in two variations: drop cookies and bars. 

Here's one of each. 

MARTHA'S VINEYARD HERMITS

"Recipes for Hermits are very old. They probably came with the first settlers," Maida Heatter writes in her 1995 cookbook, "Maida Heatter's Brand-New Book of Great Cookies" (Random House). "Some are baked in a pan like brownies and then cut into bars. Some are drop cookies like these ... loaded with raisins and toasted pecans and flavored with an exotic but mild combination of spices." Heatter likes to brush them with a thin, white glaze that "melts and becomes shiny" as soon as they come out of the oven. 

For the cookies

6 ounces (1 1/2 cups pecans

1 3/4 cups sifted unbleached flour

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon salt

6 ounces (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter

1 packed cup light brown sugar

2 large eggs

3 tablespoons sour cream

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

5 ounces (1 cup) raisins 

For the glaze 

3/4 cup sifted confectioners (powdered) sugar

1 tablespoon soft butter (salted or unsalted)

1 1/2 tablespoons or a bit more of heavy cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pinch of salt 

For the cookies: Adjust two racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or aluminum foil, shiny side up, and set aside. 

Toast the pecans in a shallow pan in the oven for 10 to 13 minutes, stirring once or twice, until they are very hot to the touch but not darker in color. Cool and the break into large pieces. Set aside 

Sift together the flour, spices and salt and set aside. 

In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter until soft. Add the sugar and beat until well mixed. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. In a small cup, stir the sour cream and baking soda to mix well, then beat it into the butter mixture. Add the sifted dry ingredients and beat on low speed only until incorporated. Remove the bowl from the mixer. 

Stir in the raisins and nuts. 

Use a rounded tablespoon of the dough for each cookie. Place the mounds at least 2 inches apart on the lined cookie sheets. 

Start by placing only one sheet of cookies in the oven, on the lower rack. While the first sheet is baking, prepare the glaze. 

Making and using the glaze: In a small bowl, beat all of the ingredients together until smooth. The glaze should be the consistency of mayonnaise. Add a bit more cream if necessary. Cover the glaze when you are not using it. 

Each sheet of cookies should bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until lightly browned and until they spring back when gently pressed with a fingertip. 

When the first sheet is half baked, move it to the top rack and reverse it front to back. At the same time, place another sheet of cookies on the lower rack 

As soon as a sheet of cookies is baked, remove it from the oven and place a generous dab (about 1/2 teaspoon) of the glaze on top of each cookie. As the heat melts the glaze, use a pastry brush to spread it over the cookie. 

Then, with a wide metal spatula, transfer the cookies to a rack to cool. When the glaze has dried (it takes only a few minutes) the cookies can be stored in an airtight container. 

THE VERY BEST HERMIT BARS EVER 

"Hermits, which have a history dating to Colonial America, came by their name honestly: like the human hermit, they're happy to be by themselves for days on end, staying chewy and fresh without any intervention from their baker," write the authors of "The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion" (The Countryman Press, 2004). 

For the bars 

1 1/3 cup (91/4 ounces) sugar

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (4 ounces) vegetable shortening

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick, 2 ounces) unsalted butter

1/4 cup (3 ounces) molasses

3/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon ground allspice

3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 3/4 teaspoons baking soda

2 large eggs

5 cups (20 ounces) cake flour

1/3 cup (25/8 ounces) water

2 cups (12 ounces) raisins, packed 

For the glaze 

3 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) milk

1 cup (4 ounces) confectioners sugar

To make the bars: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 10-by-15-inch jelly roll pan, a 14-inch round deep-dish pizza pan or similar-sized pan. 

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the sugar, shortening and butter, beating at medium speed until fluffy. Add the molasses, salt, spices and baking soda. Mix for 1 minute, then stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. 

Add half the flour. Once it's mixed in, add the water, then the other half of the flour. When the batter is mixed completely, add the raisins and stir until well combined. Spread the batter in the prepared pan. 

Bake the Hermits for 18 to 20 minutes, until the edges are light brown. They'll puff up in the oven and the top will get shiny. As soon as you see this, pull the pan from the oven. The top will fall back down and the interior will have an almost fudgy consistency. (If you leave it in the oven longer, the result will be a more cake-like brownie that is not as moist or as irresistible.) 

Remove the Hermits from the oven and cool them in the pan on a rack before glazing.

To make and use the glaze: In a small bowl, stir together the milk and confectioners sugar until smooth. The glaze will be quite thin. Use a pastry brush to brush it on top of the Hermits before cutting the bars.