Here in New England, the love for cookies runs long and deep (Massachusetts is home to the original Toll House Cookies, after all), and hermit cookies are another regional classic. Most often made with brown sugar/molasses, dried fruit (usually raisins and currants), spices, and sometimes nuts, you’re just as likely to see them in bar form as you are as a drop cookie — maybe more. Mostly the shape is a matter of preference, but if you make them in bar form, you can tell yourself that you’re enjoying an early ancestor of the modern day brownie or blondie. Praised for their ability to keep, it’s thought that hermits were a favorite among sailors and nomads, but they’re still mighty popular today.
I tracked down a drop cookie recipe for hermit cookies in the Yankee archives from August, 1952, and it was just what the winter blues ordered.
Hermit Cookies Photo Credit : Aimee Seavey
In that same 1952 issue (which cost only 25 cents!) were pieces on “Bostonians Take to Outdoor Art,” a profile on humorous sculptor John Rogers, and about a million ads for New England travel destinations and inns.
Yankee Magazine | August 1952 A peek inside the August 1952 issue of Yankee.
In this era of Yankee history, the food section was called “Yankee Recipes” and featured seasonal recipes from editor Nancy Dixon, plus recipe contest winners. That month, Mrs. Ida L. Wilbur of Franklin, Maine, won first prize ($5.00) for this hermit cookie recipe, which she called “Great Grandma’s Harmony Hermits.” They had many of the things I think about when I think of hermit cookies — namely brown sugar (which has molasses), raisins, currants, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
The only tweak I made to the recipe was to swap out the shortening for butter and substitute milk for the buttermilk since the amount called for (just 2 tablespoons) was so small. The dough for these hermit cookies was a normal looking drop-cookie dough. You can eyeball the amounts with a teaspoon but I like using a cookie scoop to ensure my cookies are all the same size — not because I’m a perfectionist, but because same-size cookies will bake at the same speed, meaning no overdone or underdone cookies in the batch.
Hermit Cookies Cooling Photo Credit : Aimee Seavey
After baking, the hermit cookies emerged wonderfully fragrant with slightly crisp edges and dense, chewy centers. Just the way I like them. Despite the brown sugar, they’re also not overly sweet, which (for me) is another plus. It’s easier to tell yourself it’s not to bad for you if it’s not stuffed with chocolate.
Hermit Cookies Photo Credit : Aimee Seavey
These hermit cookies went quickly when I brought them into the office for sampling. Editor Mel Allen even declared them to be one of the best cookies I’ve ever made, so if you like a slightly-sweet cookie with spicy flavor and lots of dried fruit, you should add these to your to-bake list. I suspect they’d also be a welcome treat for a friend or relative that’s equally fed up with winter.
Are you a fan of hermit cookies?
This post was first published in 2015 and has been updated.
Aimee Tucker is Yankee Magazine’s Home Editor and the Senior Digital Editor of NewEngland.com. A lifelong New Englander and Yankee contributor since 2010, Aimee has written columns devoted to history, foliage, retro food, and architecture, and regularly shares her experiences in New England travel, home, and gardening. Her most memorable Yankee experiences to date include meeting Stephen King, singing along to a James Taylor Fourth of July concert at Tanglewood, and taking to the skies in the Hood blimp for an open-air tour of the Massachusetts coastline.
