Old Fashioned Hermit Cookies

Hermit cookies are a soft and spicy bar cookie made with brown sugar, molasses and gingerbread spices. These bar cookies are easy to make, dairy free, and have all the flavor of the old fashioned New England classic.

Hermit cookies, chock full of molasses and raisins, are spiced like gingerbread and molasses cookies, but also have a uniquely candy flavor thanks to the addition of raisins marinated in fresh coffee.

A classic cookie, native to my home base New England, this hermit cookies recipe produces the best cookie to wash down with a cup of tea or glass of milk. As when baking my gingerbread cookies or even my pumpkin bread or baked apple spice donuts, your kitchen will smell like a spicy holiday dream.

Jump to:

• Why You'll Love Hermits
• Main Ingredients
• Equipment Needed
• How to Bake Hermit Cookies
• Recipe Tips
• How to Store & Make in Advance
• Substitutions & Additions
• FAQS
• Other Cookie Recipes
• 📖 Recipe

Why You'll Love Hermits

Hermit cookies with molasses are delicious. Full of cinnamon, molasses, and winter spices such as cloves, ginger and nutmeg, these cookies are a cousin to gingerbread cookies and molasses cookies alike and are a delight to bake.

They are nourishing. Using apple sauce for eggs, no oil, and a mix of whole wheat flour and all purpose, these cookies are full of fiber and protein, potassium, and very high in iron.

They are special diet friendly. If you need a vegan or dairy-free cookie, this recipe fits the bill using a healthier nutritious red palm shortening instead of butter, and apple sauce instead of eggs. To adjust them to be gluten-free, I provide an option in the recipe card.

Main Ingredients

Flour - I used a mix of whole wheat and all purpose and sometimes use gluten-free all purpose.

Apple sauce - Or you can  use flax seed eggs to replace the two eggs found in the classic recipe. One tablespoon of ground flax seed with 3 tablespoon of water equals one egg.

Brown sugar - I use coconut palm sugar which is a healthier brown sugar but regular brown sugar is also fine.

Molasses  - This syrup is dark and smokey in flavor, and brings on the quintessential gingerbread flavors. Molasses comes in three flavors, black strap, light, and dark. All three can contain sulfur, but I try to buy dark and unsulphured for a better flavor. Some brands call this version "original."

Shortening - I used a plant-based shortening that is actually nutritious, a mix of red palm and coconut oils. Look for Spectrum and Nutiva brands. 

Spices - I chose winter spices such as cloves, cinnamon, ginger, and allspice.

Raisins marinated in coffee is a special twist in this recipe that adds an incredible burst of flavor with each bite.

See the recipe card at the bottom for full information on ingredients and quantities.

Equipment Needed

• measuring cups, spoons
• hand mixer or stand mixer
• mixing bowls
• cookie sheets, parchment paper
• whisk, spatula
• cooling rack

How to Bake Hermit Cookies

For more detail, visit the complete recipe at the bottom of this post, but here are general steps.

Step 1: Gather ingredients, measure them, make the coffee and soak the raisins in the warm coffee.

Step 2: Mix up the wet ingredients.

Step 3. Mix up the dry ingredients.

Step 4. Add the wet to the dry and combine with a mixer.

Step 5. Drain the raisins, but reserve the coffee. Be sure the coffee is still at ⅓ cup (add water if it lost liquid to the raisins), and be sure it is at room temperature, then add it to the batter. Mix the batter, then fold in raisins.

Step 6. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and put it in the refrigerator. Chill the dough 30-minutes to an 1 hour.

Step 7. Bake the dough. Here are two ways to bake these hermit cookie bars:

1. As a square bar: Put the batter into 2 (8-inch square) pans, press flat and bake as bar cookies. Cool, slice into squares and eat.
2. As biscotti-style bars: The biscotti-slice bar is the traditional way to slice and serve the classic old fashioned hermit cookie. To make them that way divide the batter into 4 sections and roll each into a flattish log about 10-inches by 2 ½ inches wide. Bake two at a time on a quarter cookie sheet lined with parchment.

Recipe Tips

1. If you choose the log baking method as you see above, form the logs in sets of two on two cookie sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake one pan and refrigerate the other while the first is baking. Chilling keeps the cookie logs from spreading too much.

2. Use parchment paper instead of greasing the pan for a less-greasy cookie bottom.

3. Apple sauce. Instead of apple sauce, you can use flax seed or chia seed eggs. These are meant to replace eggs in the traditional recipe.

4. Soak the raisins in coffee. This recipe is unusually delicious in part because the raisins are soaked in coffee. This gives the raisins a delicious molasses flavor. No, you don't taste coffee. Use a cup of instant coffee or freshly brewed.

5. Use quality molasses. For best flavor, pay close attention to the molasses you use. I recommend you use Grandma's Original Molasses for best flavor. If you can't buy that brand, make sure you buy one that is unsulphured since the process of sulphering (to preserve it) changes the flavor negatively.

6. To make the hermit cookie dairy free, plant-based and vegan, this recipe uses a non-GMO plant-based shortening, and apple sauce instead of eggs. Vegan butter can be used instead of shortening - use the type in a tub for adequate moisture.

7. Gluten-free option. To make it gluten-free, replace the whole wheat flour and all purpose flour with 2 cups of 1 to1 gluten-free baking flour and 1 cup of oat flour.

8. Since there is no raw egg in this batter, feel free to taste-test the batter before baking and decide if it needs more spices. You could consider increasing the cinnamon to 2 tablespoons, and adding ½ teaspoon of nutmeg.

How to Store & Make in Advance

Storage. New England hermit cookies store beautifully at room temperature and frozen. They stay soft and fresh if stored in a seal container at room temperature for a week, making them an ideal gift. Frozen, the baked cookies stay fresh and perfect in a sealed container for up to three months.

Make in Advance. To make this dough in advance, mix it up and refrigerate the dough sealed well in cling wrap or in a sealed container for up to a week before baking.

1. To make logs, wrap each log separately in several layers of cling wrap before chilling. To bake, put the logs two at a time on a baking sheet and bake straight out of the refrigerator.
2. To make square bars, press the dough into 2 (8-inch) square pans lined with parchment paper, then remove them from the pan, fold the parchment paper down on the squares of dough, and wrap those squares of dough tightly in cling wrap and chill. To bake, put each dough square back in a 8-inch square pan, fold back the parchment paper and bake.

Substitutions & Additions

Raisins. Instead of raisins, use Medjool dates, pitted and chopped into small bits.

Shortening. Use butter instead but the cookie will be much softer and might break apart.

Mix-ins. Choose a mix-in or two off the list below, and add 1 cup to ½ cup to the batter:

• coarsely chopped dates
• chopped walnuts or pecans
• mini chocolate chips
• chopped dried apples
• chopped dried cranberries

FAQS

Why are they called hermit cookies?

One theory is the hermit cookie, which dates back to the early 1800s, is named as such because a local Vermont baker would make brown sugar cookies stuffed with spices and raisins and serve them to local hermits, and lonely elderly. Another theory is the cookie was named hermits for New England sailors, who traveled alone, and brought the cookie on long voyages because it stored well.

What are hermit cookies made of?

Hermit cookies are a soft chewy bar cookie made with molasses, raisins, and gingerbread spices such as cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves, making the delicious treat ideal for the holidays.

Other Cookie Recipes

• Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Linzer Cookies
• Chocolate Sugar Cookies
• 2-Ingredient Sugar Cookies
• Samoa Cookies
• Healthy M&M Cookies
• Milano Cookies

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