This hermit cookie recipe creates a soft and spicy bar cookie made with brown sugar, molasses and gingerbread spices. These simple old fashioned hermit cookies are an old fashioned New England classic. Make them dairy free, egg free, vegan and gluten free.
This hermit cookie recipe is chock full of molasses and raisins, spiced like gingerbread and molasses cookies, has a delicious traditional flavor thanks to marinating the raisins in fresh coffee.
I grew up in Boston, lived in New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont, vacation annually in Martha's Vineyard, and thus have deep roots in New England. As such, this traditional spicy bar cookie was always in my lunch box. Add these cookies to your holiday cookie buffet or cookie box, along with my gingerbread cookies , pumpkin bread or baked apple spice donuts.
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Why You'll Love Hermits
- Hermit cookies with molasses are full of cinnamon, molasses, and winter spices such as cloves, ginger and nutmeg.
- My recipe is healthier, low in oil and egg free. Using applesauce 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.
- These simple hermit cookies are special diet friendly. This hermit cookie recipe is dairy free, egg free, plant based, vegan and low in oil.
Ingredients in Hermit Cookies
- Flour - I used a mix of whole wheat and all purpose, or use gluten-free all purpose flour to make them gluten free.
- Applesauce - Unsweetened applesauce or pureed apples have pectin that react as do eggs.
- Brown sugar - I use coconut sugar to make the hermit cookies refined sugar free, but regular light or dark 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." Grandmas is my favorite brand.
- Shortening - Use a healthy shortening - not Crisco! - made with highly nutritious red palm and coconut oil such as Spectrum and Nutiva brands.
- Spices - Winter spices such as cloves, cinnamon, ginger, and allspice.
Pro tip for Hermit Cookie Recipe: Marinate the raisins in coffee to add a more traditional flavor to this old fashioned hermit bar cookie. A special twist that adds a burst of flavor!
See the recipe card at the bottom for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Hermit Cookies
For more detail, visit the complete recipe at the bottom of this post, but here are general steps.
Step 1: Preheat oven, line a pan with parchment paper, add raisins to coffee to marinate, measure out all other ingredients.
Step 2: Add ingredients to a single bowl.
Step 3. Drain the raisins. Reserve the coffee, add water to get it back up to ⅓ cup, pour coffee into batter.
Step 4. Mix batter with a spoon or mixer. Fold in raisins. Chill the dough. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and put it in the refrigerator. Chill the dough 30-minutes to an 1 hour.
Step 5. Make logs. Split the dough into two amounts. Use hands to form logs as you see in the picture.
Step 6. Bake the dough. Bake, cool then cut at an angle in 2-3 inch widths.
Expert Recipe Tips
- You can also bake this batter pressed into a cookie sheet, and cut into squares after baking.
- To make the hermit cookie dairy free, plant-based and vegan, this recipe uses a non-GMO plant-based shortening, and applesauce instead of eggs. Vegan butter can be used instead of shortening - use the type in a tub for adequate moisture.
- 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.
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Make aHead & Storage Tips
Storage. Store classic hermit cookies at room temperature and frozen. If stored in a seal container, the cookies last for a week at room temperature. Frozen, the dough or baked cookies stay fresh for up to three months.
Make ahead Tips. 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.
Substitutions & Additions
- Make gluten-free cookies. To make hermit cookie recipe that is gluten free, use all gluten-free all purpose baking flour.
- Shortening. You can use butter - plant-based butter or regular butter- instead of shortening but the cookie will be much softer and might break apart.
- Applesauce. You can use 1 egg instead of ⅓ cup applesauce
Recipe FAQS
Yes, you can use 2 eggs instead of applesauce if you want to add eggs, but the applesauce works perfectly to replace eggs in this classic hermit cookie recipe.
Yankee Magazine says hermit cookies, which date back to the early 1800s, are named for a local Vermont baker who made brown sugar cookies stuffed with spices and raisins and serve them to local hermits, and lonely elderly.
Related Healthy Cookie Recipes
- Applesauce Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Linzer Cookies
- Chocolate Sugar Cookies
- 2-Ingredient Sugar Cookies
- Samoa Cookies
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📖 Recipe
Old Fashioned Hermit Cookies (easy bar cookie recipe)
Equipment
- Hand mixer or stand mixer
- Cookie sheets, parchment paper
Ingredients
- ½ cup (125ml) molasses (I used original or dark)
- ½ cup (95g) organic shortening
- ½ cup (100g) cane sugar
- ½ cup (100g) coconut sugar (or regular brown sugar)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ⅓ cup applesauce or pureed apple
- 1 cup (125g) all-purpose flour or gluten free baking flour
- 2 cup (270g) whole wheat flour or gluten free baking flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
Additional spices
- 2 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon cloves
- ¼ teaspoon allspice
- 1 teaspoon ginger
Mix-ins
- 2 cups (400g) raisins
- ⅓ cup (78ml) brewed coffee, warm
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Instructions
Prep
- Gather and measure ingredients. Line baking pans with parchment paper.
- Marinate raisins. Make or brew ⅓ cup of strong coffee. Add the raisins to it and set the mixture aside to cool and marinate.⅓ cup (78ml) brewed coffee, warm, 2 cups (400g) raisins
Mix the cookies
- To a bowl, add wet ingredients and sugars. Mix with a spoon or mixer.½ cup (95g) organic shortening, ½ cup (100g) cane sugar, ⅓ cup applesauce, ½ cup (100g) coconut sugar
- Stir in the molasses, then add dry ingredients. Again, mix with a spoon or mixer.½ cup (125ml) molasses
- Add the coffee from raisins. Drain the raisins, and reserve the coffee. If needed, add enough water to the coffee to make sure the level of liquid reaches ⅓ cup. Then add the coffee to the batter and mix the batter again, just enough to work the liquid into the batter.⅓ cup (78ml) brewed coffee, warm
- Fold in the raisins.2 cups (400g) raisins
- Chill the batter. Cover the batter in the bowl with foil or plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30-minutes to 1 hour.
- When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350F.
Bake the cookies
- Split the dough into two halves. Form two logs and lay them on the parchment lined pans.
- Bake the logs for 18-20 minutes at 350 F. The cookie logs are done when a few cracks appear on top.
- Cool for 10 minutes and then slice each log at an angle, at 2-3 inches wide intervals.
Store Hermits
- They stay soft and stay fresh covered and at room temperature for a week. Then refrigerate or freeze in a container as you would other cookies.
Video
Notes
Shortening. You can use butter - plant-based butter or regular butter- instead of shortening but the cookie will be much softer and might break apart.
Applesauce. You can use 1 egg instead of ⅓ cup applesauce
Courtney says
Absolutely delicious! I used the gluten free blend as recommended, along with the flax, and it came out perfectly! Great recipe, thank you!
Dee Dine says
Thank you for the feedback Courtney! So glad you like them.
Pat says
I’ve been making Hermits for 45 years and and I’ve found that unless they are from Massachusetts, they have no idea what I’m talking about. This recipe is pretty close to mine except I bake my in a 9x13 cookie sheet. I divide the batter into thirds and place on the cookie sheet into strips.
Dee Dine says
Yes, another member of the secret hermit club, lol! Yes, a 9x13 would be perfect for a regular oven. I normally use a counter oven, so thanks for suggesting this option!
Jen says
What are flax eggs
Dee Dine says
It's a way to replace eggs. Just mix 2 tbsp of ground flaxseed + 6 tbsp water or for this recipe, you can use 1/3 cup apple sauce instead of 2 flaxseed eggs. Flaxseed can be found online or in grocery stores in the baking area.
Jen says
When do you add the egg/flax back in?
Dee Dine says
Hi Jen, with the shortening.
Diána says
Hi Dee,
Can I use all white flour? Why do I need whole wheat flour?
Thank you! 🙂
Dee Dine says
You can trade the whole wheat flour for more all purpose flour but the color will be much lighter, closer to sugar cookies in color.
Ela Vegan says
These cookies look fantastic, Dee! I love spicy cookies so much and I am sure I would adore these!
Lots of love, Ela
Dee says
Ela, thank you!