Hermits (Mary Livingston) by Barbara
Hermits are a bar cookie I remember fondly from my college days in Providence, Rhode Island. Sold in squares at the library and served in the dining hall. Common in New England but I don't find them anywhere else.
I have been searching for years for an authentic, easy to make recipe at home. I wanted one which uses butter, not shortening, even though Crisco is what was probably used in the 1970's when I was in college. None of them were quite what I remembered. Until I found a family recipe by Mary Livingston who lives on the border of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. It's the way that she makes them by really fluffing the butter and sugar and omitting ginger that makes them "right." These are soft and moist. She posted this recipe on her blog in 2012.
I tweaked her recipe by soaking the raisins in advance and using sparkling sugar for crunch on top. Made them three times before posting the recipe to be sure the timing and technique would work.
Most of my other attempts using other recipes came out as hard as rocks. Tried Yankee Magazine's, King Arthur's, Fanny Farmer's and some others.
Research says that hermits were named as such for their shelf life. They could hide like a hermit for a long time in a cookie jar.
---Barbara
Hermits
Makes a 9x13 inch baking pan or 24 squares
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup light brown sugar, soft
1/4 cup molasses
1 large egg, room temperature
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
1 t. ground cinnamon
1/2 t. ground cloves
1/4 t. ground nutmeg
3/4 cup raisins, soaked and well-drained
1 T. sparkling sugar for the top (or regular sugar)
Note from B: Make sure your butter and brown sugar are really soft and the egg and molasses are at room temperature before beginning.
Also, soak the raisins in water in advance. A few hours or the day before. Drain very, very well.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Grease a 13 x 9 pan with butter, on the bottom, in the corners and up the sides. Be generous. I did not use baking spray.
Then beat in the molasses and egg for a full minute or until well blended.
In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients (flour, spices, salt, baking soda) and whisk together.
Stir the dry ingredients into the butter mixture JUST until blended. You can do this by hand with a large spatula.
It will be a very thick, cookie dough like, batter. Turn it into the buttered 9 x 13” pan.
Spread batter evenly in your prepared baking dish
and sprinkle top with the tablespoon of sparkling sugar.
Bake for 20-23 minutes or until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean. The perfect time in my oven was 23 minutes, but start checking earlier.
Slice into squares.
Hermits freeze well. Pack them in portions of two or four in plastic bags and then place them in a bigger plastic bag, for protection from freezer burn. Take a few out and gently defrost them in at 160 degrees in toaster oven for 10 minutes which brings out the spices. Or, let them come to room temperature which will take longer.
B
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