Recipes

1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2) Cream the butter and sugar in a mixer.

Add the egg and molasses and mix briefly, then add flour, baking soda and spices.

Mix until well blended and a slightly sticky but cohesive dough forms.

Add in the walnuts and raisins and mix briefly to incorporate.

3) Divide dough into three parts.

On a floured surface, roll each part into a thick rope (approx. one foot long). The dough might fall apart a bit - that's okay, just form it back together.

Place each rope on an ungreased cookie sheet, as separated as possible (they spread quite a bit during cooking, so I usually use two sheet pans).

4) Bake at 375 for 12-15 minutes. During that time, the hermits will spread. Be sure to pull the hermits when the edges just look cooked and the center still looks gooey; they'll finish up through residual heat but still stay nice and moist. Let them cool on the pan for a few minutes to solidify before moving, then transfer to a board or cooling rack (parchment paper helps).

Let cool fifteen minutes, then slice diagonally. They keep in zip top bags for a while and the flavor gets better as they sit.