Hermit Cookie Recipe
Spicy, sweet, and studded with raisins and currants, this hermit cookies recipe makes a classic New England sweet treat.
By Yankee Magazine|Jan 11 2022|
Coffee By Design | Portland, Maine
Photo Credit : Katherine KeenanSpicy, sweet, and studded with raisins and currants, hermit cookies are a classic New England sweet treat.
This chewy hermit cookie recipe was a first place prize winner in our August, 1952, issue. Learn more about the much-loved hermit cookies: Hermit Cookies | Yankee Recipe Archives (1952)
SEE MORE:
Old-Fashioned Hermit Bars
Joe Froggers Cookies
75 Classic New England Foods
Yield:
32 cookiesIngredients
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 tablespoons buttermilk or milk
2 large eggs
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup raisins
1 cup currants
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment.
Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, stopping to scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as necessary. Add the buttermilk (or milk).
In a separate bowl, whisk together 1 cup of the flour, baking soda, spices, and salt. In another, place the chopped raisins and currants with the final cup of flour. Toss to coat.
Combine the flour mixture with the fruit mixture, then slowly add into the butter mixture and beat until combined.
Drop by the spoonful onto the prepared cookie sheet, allowing 2 inches between each cookie for spreading.
Bake 13-15 minutes or until puffed and lightly golden. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
I’ve never had the cookie version but will give these Hermits a try.
Thanks Yankee
I have a separate recipe that has cloves and coffee…tastes just like the ones Freihoffers used to make here in NY…
Can you share that- that is what I am looking for.
Its been years since I have eaten Hermit Cookies!!! My Nana use to make them all the time. Am looking forward to trying this recipe soon!
Hi Chris! It’s an easy and tasty recipe — hope you enjoy them!
Hi Michelle! We’ve seen some hermit recipes that call for instant coffee, which sounds intriguing. I bet it makes the spicy flavors of the cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, etc. even better. Yum!
You’re welcome, JFD! We know a lot of folks remember hermits as squares or bars, but this recipe (first published in Yankee in 1952) proves there must have been some New Englanders that preferred their hermits round! Either way, they’re delicious! Hope you enjoy the recipe. 🙂
Could you give me the amounts of coffee and cloves in your recipe?
Can I replace currants with something else also someone mentioned coffee and cloves how much thanks
Hi Susan! Instead of currants, you can use all raisins, or substitute another dried fruit like cranberries or chopped, dried cherries.
As for the coffee and cloves, let’s hope Michelle shares her recipe! Or you could try Googling for a version that contains both. Thanks!
I made this recipe this evening, threw it together and baked it as directed,
I got 45 cookies out of it…
I used freshly-purchased raisins and currants, I think next time I make these I will “plump” them in hot coffee to hydrate them a bit before mixing them into the batter.
I note that the cookies turned out crispy rather than chewy.
I loved these cookies. It was hard to stop eating them. Delicious.
these are NOT the cookies I grew up eating, the cookie had a darker color, as they had molasses in them…I used to buy them in a Polish bakery where I lived… this is a close recipe to what they were like: Soft Spicy Hermits
Cream together:
1 cup sugar
½ cup butter and lard mixed [or ½ butter]
Sift together:
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon soda
and add this mixture alternately with:
½ cup molasses
½ cup sour milk (to sour sweet milk, bring milk to room temperature and add 1½ teaspoons vinegar)
Finally add:
1 egg, beaten
1 cup chopped raisins or dates or both…Heat oven:
350 degrees…Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet. Flatten with a spatula dipped in milk. Bake 12 to 14 minutes. This method made excellent hermits.
These drop cookies are not what we had as kids.They were bar cookies from the Bakery,They were not crispy they were soft and moist .and delicious No recipe yet is to be found .
No these are not hermit bar cookies but there is a link at the top of this article for a wonderful recipe for the bar cookies.
Waaay back (1960s!) when TV Guide used to publish recipes on the last page, there was a recipe for hermits……..of course, it’s been long gone from my collection, sad to say! Do recall molasses being one of the ingredients, and the batter was spread in a pan, then cut into bars after baking. In the same time frame, TV Guide also published a wonderful recipe for Indian Pudding…..which I’ve also lost track of!
I was introduced to Hermits at Smith College Friday afternoon tea. They were a bar with light icing. I would pay for a copy of the recipe! Class of 1976.
There’s a place in North Smithfield, RI that makes Hermit bar cookies and they are awesome!!! The name of the place is Wright’s Dairy Farm. They have a bakery as well as dairy products that they sell there. I now live in GA so I can’t get Hermits but these were the best all around that I’ve ever tasted. I understand that they have shipped them to those who wants to order them but the aren’t cheap. At least a few years ago they did this. Now you’re all making me want some hermits too.
Just finished baking these cookies. I used dried cranberries, 40% less sugar and Ghirardelli chocolate chips. One cup of each,made 48 cookies. Amazing flavor combination. Will make again.
I made a double batch of these Hermit cookies yesterday and they are delicious. The hermits that I remember as a child were the bar type but these are moist and flavorful. I used currants but the only raisins that I had in the house (during an ice storm so I couldn’t go to the grocery store) were the golden ones and they were perfect. I would definitely make these again.
These are a family favorite. I always make a double batch with golden raisins, bake a couple dozen, and ball up the rest as drop cookies, freez then on a cookie sheet, and zip-lock bag the rest. When we’re in the mood for more I put a dozen on a parchment-covered cookie sheet, and by the time the oven is hot they are thawed enough for baking. They are the best, and I often take them to a pot luck. They are always a hit.
The ingredients section doesn’t mention chopping the raisins and currants, but the instructions refer to them as chopped — would you please clarify? Thanks
I make them all the time, but my recipe also calls for molasses, ground cloves and ginger. I bake them as two logs and then cut them into squares. The mixture needs to be refrigerated before baking to make it easier to roll into logs. Kitchen Aid mixer is quick and easy process.