Old Fashioned Hermits Food

OLD-FASHIONED HERMIT COOKIES

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Preheat the oven to 375 F. Lightly grease a cookie sheet or line it with parchment paper. Set aside.
• In a medium bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, and cloves, if using. Set aside.
• With the help of an electric mixer, or in the large bowl of a standing mixer, beat the vegetable shortening, butter, and brown sugar until light and fluffy.
• Once the fats are creamed with the sugar, add the egg and cold coffee. Beat on low speed until well blended.
• Little by little, add the flour mixture into the butter mixture and stir until well combined. Use low speed to fold all of the ingredients into a sticky dough. Stop the mixer once you have a nice creamy consistency.
• Fold in the dates or raisins and the walnuts.
• Drop the cookie dough by rounded teaspoon or small cookie scoop onto the prepared cookie sheet, leaving about 2 inches between cookies. They will spread out when cooking.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes, or until light brown.
• Remove the cookies immediately and place them on top of a cooling rack. As they cool off, the texture will get chewier.
• Enjoy!

HERMITS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly butter and flour 3 baking sheets.
• Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and salt together in a large bowl.
• Beat the butter and brown sugar together in another bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, 3 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each addition. Add the molasses and beat until smooth. While mixing slowly, add the flour mixture to make a sticky batter, being careful not to overmix. Fold in the raisins, cranberries, walnuts and ginger.
• Divide dough into 6 pieces and with slightly damp hands, shape each piece into a 1-inch wide log. Place 2 logs on each of the prepared cookie sheets, leaving plenty of space between each log, since the cookies spread considerably when baked. Brush with egg. Bake cookies, rotating the pans halfway through baking, until dark golden but still soft, about 15 minutes, Cool completely.
• Cut crosswise into 1 1/2-inch wide bar cookies. Serve, or store hermits covered at room temperature for up to 1 week.

HERMIT BARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter an 8-by-8-by-2-inch pan and line with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang. Butter parchment; set pan aside. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, salt, and cloves; set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg; beat until combined, scraping down sides of bowl once. Add molasses; beat until combined and scrape down sides of bowl. Add the flour mixture and raisins; beat on low until dough just comes together, about 1 minute. Press dough into prepared pan. Bake until golden but still very soft to the touch, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool completely. Cut into bars. Hermit bars can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.

HERMITS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°. Cover raisins with boiling water. Let stand for 5 minutes; drain and set aside. , Whisk together next 6 ingredients. In another bowl, combine molasses, butter, egg white and vanilla; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in walnuts and raisins (batter will be wet)., Divide batter in half; spread each half (wetting hands, if necessary) into a 12x2-in. rectangle 2 in. apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake until edges are lightly browned and set, 10-15 minutes., Transfer rectangles to a cutting board; with a serrated knife, cut diagonally into 1-1/2-in. bars. Remove to wire racks to cool. Store in an airtight container.

OLD FASHIONED HERMITS

Steps:

• Cream the butter and sugar, add the egg and beat well.
• Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, cloves, cinnamon and ginger.
• Mix together the molasses and water.
• Add alternately to creamed mixture, fold in raisins and chopped nuts.
• Batter will be quite thick.
• Spread out on floured surface and cut into shape.
• Bake on cookie sheet 20 minutes at 375 degrees.

HERMIT BARS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F Spray a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with the nonstick spray. Line the pan with a piece of parchment, leaving an overhang on two sides; spray the parchment with the nonstick spray.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and salt.
• With an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium-high until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, then the molasses. Reduce speed to low and gradually add the flour mixture, mixing just until incorporated. Mix in the raisins and walnuts.
• Spread the batter in the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs, 30 to 35 minutes.
• Cool completely in the pan. Holding both sides of the paper overhang, lift the cake out of the pan, transfer to a cutting board, and cut into 24 squares.

HERMITS II

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• In a medium sized bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and allspice. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer on medium, cream the sugar and butter until light yellow and fluffy. Add the molasses, egg whites, and egg; beat well.
• Using a wooden spoon, stir in flour mixture until flour disappears. Fold in raisins and nuts.
• Drop by tablespoons, 2 inches apart, onto lightly greased cookie sheets. Bake 8-9 minutes. Lightly sift confectioners' sugar over if you like.