Tankful Travelers (aka: the humble "hermit")
Photo credit: Lisa Careau for Tankful Travels
Throughout my childhood my mother often served Archway brand hermits. I loved everything about them: the tasty medley of warm spices, the moist, soft texture, and, of course, the tender raisins. Paired with a tall, delicious glass of creamy milk fresh from my grandfather's dairy farm in New Braintree, Massachusetts, these square cut bars were a satisfying treat.
Hermits are a New England tradition that goes back scores of years. In July of 1888, journalist, Anna Barrows, a leading food science specialist, featured them in the Springfield, Massachusetts Republican. In her article she recommended them as the perfect companion on a picnic menu, particularly because they "will keep for months, if out of humanity's reach, hence, perhaps their name."
Although no one knows for certain how these cookies got their name, many alternatives to Ms. Barrows's suggestion have been propounded. Some say it was due to the cookie resembling the hermit's sackcloth while another thought is that they were the preferred sweet for solitary wanderers like hermits as the cookie held up under all kinds of conditions. Well suited to travel, they are often times affiliated with sailors and soldiers: they were a favorite on board the clipper ships that sailed along the eastern seaboard, as well as of servicemen, who, pining for home, received packages filled with hermits lovingly baked by family.
Sadly, Archway no long offers the hermit, but no worries—I decided to create my own version. With a long abiding connection to New England I've included this recipe in my forthcoming cookbook, "Confections of a Sweet Tooth". I've also adopted hermits as Tankful Travels' signature cookie, renaming them "Tankful Travelers" (because of their sturdy constitution)—you can be sure we'll be packing a few to fuel us on future venue visits.
I've included the recipe below so you can have a small taste now of the good things to come!
Tankful Travelers (aka: Hermits)
2 C. flour
½ t. baking soda
½ t. kosher salt
½ C. butter
1½ t. ground cinnamon
½ t. ground cloves
1 ½ t. ground ginger
½ t. ground nutmeg
1/8 t. ground allspice
A few turns of the pepper mill
¾ C. packed brown sugar (preferably dark, but light will do)
1 C. yellow raisins
½ C. molasses
1 large egg
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
Melt butter in a saucepan and add spices, stirring until just fragrant, then remove from heat. Mix in the brown sugar, followed by the raisins, molasses and egg. Blend well.
Combine the liquid and flour mixtures together, careful not to over-mix, and refrigerate until firmer (at least an hour).
Scrape dough onto a lightly floured surface, and divide evenly into two pieces. It will be fairly sticky.
With lightly floured hands press each half onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, shaping them into 12 inch logs and keeping them at least 3 inches apart. The batter will spread significantly during baking and the two shapes should not touch.
Bake for 18 minutes (start checking at 15 to ensure the edges don’t brown).
Allow each piece to remain on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling. Cut into squares and either store at room temperature or freeze in an air-tight container. Hermits pair well with coffee, tea or milk.
Gilding the lily: regular raisins remind me of dead flies so to avoid that unappetizing aspect I use yellow raisins, which all but disappear into the warm golden goodness of these cookies.