Hermit Cookies
These soft, spiced hermit cookies come straight from a 1940s cookbook, packed with warm cinnamon, allspice, brown sugar, raisins, and nuts. Unlike crisp cookies, these bake up cakey and tender, and they actually taste even better a day or two after baking. This old fashioned hermit cookies recipe is a genuine vintage find, easy to make with pantry staples you probably already have on hand.
Servings 48 Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4½ Cups Cake Flour sifted
- 2½ teaspoons Baking Powder
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon Allspice
- 1 Cup Shortening
- 2 Cups Brown Sugar
- 1 Cup Milk
- 2 Eggs beaten
- 1 Cup Walnuts chopped
- 1 Cup Raisins
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉.
- Grease cookie sheet and set aside.
- Sift the cake flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, and allspice together. Set aside.
- Use a mixer to cream the shortening and sugar. Set aside.
- Beat the eggs, then add milk.
- Alternate adding the cake flour mixture and the egg mixture to the creamed mixture a little at a time until well blended.
- Stir in the walnuts and raisins.
- Drop from a cookie scoop onto the greased cookie sheet.
- Bake at 350℉ for 12-16 minutes or until lightly browned.
Notes
Helpful Tips
- Don't skip sifting. Sifting the flour and dry ingredients together isn't just an old-fashioned habit; it keeps the baking powder and baking soda evenly distributed so you don't end up with weird bitter spots in some cookies and flat ones elsewhere. If you don’t have a flour sifter, you can use a whisk to sift.
- Cream the shortening and sugar well. Really beat it until it's light and fluffy, not just combined. That step traps air and is a big part of why these cookies come out soft and cakey instead of dense.
- Add the dry and wet ingredients alternately, not all at once. Dumping everything in together can lead to a lumpy batter or overworked flour. Going back and forth keeps things smooth and tender.
- Chop your nuts small. Big chunks can make the dough harder to scoop and cause uneven baking. Finely chopped nuts blend into the dough more evenly.
- Watch the bake time closely. These go from perfectly done to overbaked fast. Pull them at 12 minutes if your oven runs hot, and check often after that.
- Let them cool on the pan for a couple minutes before moving them. Hermit cookies are soft right out of the oven, so moving them too soon can cause them to break apart.