With a delightful resemblance to gingerbread cookies, these New England Hermit Cookie Bars are delectable treats that boast a soft and chewy texture, crafted with a harmonious blend of ginger, molasses, and raisins.
History:
Hermits originally were a plain cookie with spices and raisins or currants added. They started out with brown sugar in the Champlain Valley of New York which is across Lake Champlain from New England’s Vermont. In New England Hermits started out with white sugar which continued up until the 1930’s. A decade or two later white sugar and molasses came into use by New Englanders which has become the modern day standard.
From: New England Recipes.Org
Ingredients
- Flour: Provides the structure for the cookie bars.
- Warm spices: Cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves all give these cookie bars a delicious, warm, autumn-like taste.
- Baking powder & baking soda: While these cookie bars don’t need to rise a whole lot, the baking powder and soda do give the necessary lift.
- Salt: Balances out the sweetness, and enhances the flavors of the other ingredients.
- Brown sugar: Has a deeper, richer flavor of sweet compared to white sugar.
- Butter: Adds moisture to the dough.
- Molasses: Aids in giving the signature flavor to many baked goods, including gingerbread, as it has a darker, more caramel like flavor.
- Eggs: Eggs act as the binding agent in baking cookies.
- Raisins: Adds texture and pockets of added sweetness to the hermit cookies.
Easy Substitutions
- Swap the raisins. You could use other dried fruits or nuts in place of the raisins, like chopped walnuts or cranberries!
- Add some chocolate. Plenty of people will throw in some chocolate chips with their hermit cookie bars.
When it comes to the perfect baked goods, I prefer them well balanced, soft, not overly sweet, with just a pinch of salt. A few of my favorites include pumpkin bars, my Ema’s Jewish apple cake, double dark chocolate cookies and my chewy healthy oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. If you love gingerbread cookies, you MUST try my husband’s famous New England Hermit Cookie Bars.
A Boston Massachusetts native, when he was growing up he would find these cookies in a local bakery and purchase them by the bag for a couple of dollars. To how I understand it, these cookies date back to the Pilgrims. For long voyages these cookies travelled well in sea chests. What made them special was that they were dense and stayed moist for close to two weeks making them ideal for travel or prepping ahead.
Why You’ll Love these New England Hermit Cookie Bars!
- They are cookies with a history dating back over 100 years!
- Soft, chewy, and contain many fall spices!
- Great to gift to friends and family or make for a party.
- 100% guarentee people will comment on how good they are!
How to Make New England Hermit Cookie Bars
Step 1. Using Crisco and flour, grease your pan and set it aside.
Step 2. Take a large mixing bowl and add the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves.
Step 3. Whisk all of the dry ingredients together, then set aside.
Step 4. Add the brown sugar to the bowl of your stand mixer, then add the softened butter and cream together until fluffy and creamy.
Step 5. Pour in your molasses while mixing on low.
Step 6. Add in your eggs, and mix until fully incorporated.
Step 7. With your mixer on low, slowly add your dry ingredients to the wet until fully mixed.
Step 8. Fold in your raisins, either with a wooden spoon or your mixer on the lowest setting.
Step 9. Take your dough and spread it evenly on your prepared baking sheet. Toss them in the oven at 350 for roughly 17 minutes.
Step 10. Let the hermit bars cool, then cut into squares with either a pizza cutter or a knife.
Serve and enjoy your New England Hermit Cookie Bars!
Where To Buy:
If you’re looking to buy hermit cookes you’ll find many bakeries in the Northeast sell them. The picture below was taken from a bakery in Peabody Massachusetts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Hermit cookies store well. Up to a week in an airtight container at room temperature and they will still taste great!
Because of it’s longevity, this cookie was often sent with sailors and other travelers as something to eat on longer journeys. So it traveled, as hermits often did.
Use a pizza cutter or knife and cut them into squares (or any shape you prefer).
More Sweet Snacks
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Energy Balls
- Healthy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Pumpkin Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Chocolate Zucchini Carrot Bread
Eat It, Like It, Share It!
Did you try this recipe and like it? The next time you make it, snap a picture and share it to your socials! Tag @thelemonbowl and #thelemonbowl so we can admire and share your dish.
Whip up a batch of these soft and chewy hermit cookie bars for your next cookie swap, classroom party, hostess gift, or holiday open house!
No fork required.
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Ingredients
Video
Equipment
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
- Grease and flour one standard jelly roll pan (standard cookie sheet) and set aside. For best results, I would grease with either Crisco or coconut oil.
- In a large bowl, whisk together dry ingredients: flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, ginger, nutmeg, salt, and cloves.4 cups all purpose flour, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves, 1/2 teaspoon salt
- With the mixer on medium, beat together brown sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add in molasses then egg and mix until well combined.2 cups brown sugar, 1 cup butter, 2/3 cup molasses, 2 large eggs
- Reduce mixer speed to low and slowly add in the dry ingredients until just combined.
- Use a spoon to stir in raisins.2 cups raisins
- Scrape edges of the bowl with a plastic spatula to get the mixture together in a ball then scrape out onto a cookie sheet.
- Flour hands then carefully press dough into even layer on the floured cookie sheet.
- Bake 17-19 minutes depending on oven. Typically I'll spend half the time on the top rack and the other half on the bottom. Remove from the oven when toothpick comes out clean.
- Let cool completely before slicing into bars.
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