Two Days, Four Recipes

Being single, the majority of my cooking is event driven. Think Thanksgiving. If there are a slew of recipes I must try or die, I will plan a get-together. I am like my mother in that I have no problem serving guests a dish I have never before made. This weekend I put together three-bean salad for the ward hoedown last evening. There was a caller and squaredancing and barbequed beef. They handed out recipes for each and I chose the bean dish. I am a bean lover, not being a huge carnivore. The baking began Friday night with hermits. Just this week, I thought of consulting three cookbooks, all of which I have lent out. This is not normal. So, I checked out The Tenth Muse at the library to recreate the steps for Hermits that follow Schrafft's Butterscotch Cookies (previously tried). Jones teaches they are New England cookies and I've read elsewhere they are perhaps the first American cookie. I have been aching to try them. Jones eats them stale, dunked in coffee like biscotti. I admit to not being able to wait for them to dry but did eat two this morning with tea. I dealt out a few gift bags for other bakers to try. I also served them to Rachel, Jeremy, and Robin R yesterday. Along with these cookies I am making for tonight. The crispy cookies were their favorite. I admit to being partial to the hermits. The hoedown featured a cupcake bake-off. I was happy to enter and not surprised to lose to red velvet belles. Plus, the hoedown was outside in the dark and the delicacy of vanilla beans was eclipsed by the prominent dark/white contrast of chocolate/marshallow cakes. In better light, I'm sure the vanilla bean cupcakes with salted caramel frosting would have been judged kindly. I hold no ill will. I do admit the whole grain pastry flour may not have produced a fine boutique crumb, more like country gentleman's cornbread.

Mrs. Cooney's Hermits
Adapted from The Tenth Muse: My Life in Food by Judith Jones

12 T unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 C granulated sugar
3/4 C dark brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
3 C flour
1/2 t salt
1 t baking powder
1 t cinnamon
1 t ground cloves
1/2 t ground ginger
1/4 C molasses mixed with 2 T warm water
1 C raisins
1 C chopped walnuts
Glaze: 1 beaten egg

Cream the butter with the two sugars, then beat in the eggs. Toss together the flour, salt, baking powder, and spices, and add them to the butter-sugar mixture along with the molasses. When well mixed, fold in the raisins and nuts. Divide the batter in fourths, and plop two mounds each, with space between them, onto two greased baking sheets. Shape each mound, using your floured hands to push and pat the dough down into a strip about 10 by 3 inches. You should have two strips on each baking sheet, placed several inches apart. Paint the tops of each with the egg glaze, and bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes, depending on how crisp you like yours. While still warm, cut each strip into nine bars.
Note: My hermits were about the chewiness of a pumpkin cookie. My oven is a kiln and would not allow for longer baking without charring the hermits. I did trim the edges to rid of burn. They were good the first night but better with time. If you can, box them in your cupboard for at least a day.