1 - to me a Kitchen Aid Mixer is something that I've wanted for so long that I simply cannot just go to Bed Bath and Beyond on a Tuesday afternoon and pick it up...the purchase of this product needs to be much more ceremonial than that.
2 - a Kitchen Aid Mixer = domestication. Though one can easily argue that I'm already there (and I probably will not counter-argue), it is a symbol of stability that I'm not quite ready for. I always say - when I'm married...that's when I'll get my Kitchen Aid. Perhaps that will be the most exciting thing about my new marriage (Derek is going to hate this comment - assuming he is the other half). Given that we are already living together and essentially live as a married couple, getting a Kitchen Aid Mixer upon "making it official" will be like bringing a new member into the household. Perhaps that is a little far-fetched but you can see that I hold this piece of equipment in very high regards and simply do not feel ready to commit to it yet.
Plus - I'm holding out for the true beauty that I met for the first time at Williams Sonoma - a satin copper mixer...reasonably priced at only around $900! Gasp.
So until then, I'll use my hand mixer in my kitchen and play with my favorite toy when I visit my parents.
On the agenda for this visit was to learn how to make a cookie classic that my dad has been making since I can remember: Hermits. This may not be a widely known cookie and I understand that there are several different variations of what a true hermit is. Apparently Hermits originally were a plain cookie with spices and raisins or currants added. They started out with brown sugar in the Champlain Valley of New York which is across Lake Champlain from New England’s Vermont. By the mid-1900s nuts were being added to Hermits and a variety of dried fruits like dates, figs, apricots and citrons. This last development took ingredients associated with Boston Cookies and integrated into the Hermits. Homemade versions call for dropped or rolled & cut cookies. The commercial bakery version is different it was and still is baked in long wide lengths and cut into squares. This shape is what most people associate with Hermits. Source
My dad's version follows the "bakery" style as they are long and wide - and though we cut them into more of a rectangular shape for at-home consumption, it's the same concept. His interest in the cookie began back in his childhood when he was living in New York and spending summers in Vermont - thus enveloped in the center of the hermit origin. My dad said that he remembers going to the bakery and picking up some fresh, delicious hermits that happened to be frosted - a characteristic not widely found. As an adult he wanted to re-create this childhood memory and went through variations of tweaking and perfecting hermit recipes to come to a version that best resembles his original hermit + the fantastic addition of icing. This is his recipe.
Dad's Hermits
Makes 4-5 dozen
8 oz. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups brown sugar, packed
3 eggs
1/3 cup molasses
4 cups flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
1 ¾ teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon cloves
1 + teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cup raisins
1 ½ cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans (I prefer pecans...haven't tried toasting them first yet but I'd imagine that would be quite good)
Prepared icing (see recipe below)
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Butter and flour three baking sheets (this is preferred over using a silpat - my Dad said they didn't turn out quite right when he used one - I have no opinion!)
3. In a large bowl, beat the butter with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add the brown sugar and cream until light and smooth. Add the eggs, beating well after each addition; add the molasses and beat in.
4. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the mixture. Stir to blend. Add the raisins and nuts; do not overmix.
5. Form the dough into long, flat log shapes with your fingers, shaping them 1.5 inch wide and placing no more than two per sheet. Space the “logs” wide apart; they will spread while baking.
6. Bake in the center level of the oven for about 13 minutes until golden (the dough will still be quite soft). Check carefully; timing can vary from 10 to 14 minutes but these cookies should not be overbaked. Cool for about 10 minutes and then top the bars with the prepared icing/glaze - you want a fairly thin layer so as to not oversweeten the bar but enough there to be considered an "icing" adding slightly more than you would for a glaze. Once the icing has set, slice into bars 2 inches wide (we do about 1 in cookies - that way you can eat two at a time ;). Hermits keep well, stored airtight.
Icing
1 cup powdered sugar
1 T. milk
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 tsp. rum extract
note: my dad usually makes a batch and a half.
Fresh, frozen, raw (dough), cooked...these are some of my favorite cookies. Perhaps because they bring me back to my childhood, typically made around Christmas-time, adding to the comfort of the holidays. Oftentimes I think about a recipe and think about how I can tweak it - what would make it even better? Contemplating this question with regards to these cookies - I don't think there's anything that I would change...they're perfect.
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