BONUS Recipe Corner: Hermit Cookies for Pandemic Hermits
Sure, you’ve seen Dan Smith in this space before. He taught you how to make delectable blueberry scones. But desperate times call for a double dose of recipe corner goodness. Because when the going gets tough, the tough fill the void with baking. Dan, as we all know, is an excellent baker, but one of his greatest creations (other than his Millionaire Shortbread, which I might force him to share in a future recipe corner) are his Hermit Cookies. Tender, chewy, and practically overflowing with gingerbread spices, they may strike you as more appropriate for the colder months. But considering we’re all playing the role of the hermit, quarantining and social distancing during the pandemic, I figured these cookies are more appropriate than ever.
Dan and his husband Michael on a recent pandemic hike.
Name: Daniel Clark Smith
Where do you live? I live in what could be described as “Met Opera West” -- Teaneck, NJ. We have a fair number of choristers and at least one fabulous principal artist — Christine Goerke!
Where did you go to school? I have a bachelor’s degree in Music Education from Fredonia State University of New York, and a Master’s degree in Choral Conducting from the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati. In other words, "all in" with choral music!
What's the funniest thing to happen to you on the Met stage? In Act II of the Nathaniel Merrill production of Der Rosenkavalier, I played a Lackey in the grand Faninal household. I entered with a tray of sweet wine (Tokaji) and cookies to serve to Faninal and Ochs. Throughout the scene, the Ochs' grungy, slovenly men (played by chorus basses and baritones) descended upon me. As performances went on, and the cookies were devoured, I was tortured in increasingly funny ways. I could not fight them off, since, wearing slippery gloves, I held a tray full of glasses and needed both hands for a good grip. The final performance featured a cookie balanced on my head and a deft catch of carrot greens thrown onto the tray as I exited. There may have been one person in the audience with binoculars who actually saw this buffoonery, but I couldn’t stop laughing on my exit!
Dan and Belinda Oswald taking a jog (or rather, running for their lives) in a production of Guilliaume Tell. (Photo: Beth Bergman)
If you hadn’t become a musician, what do you think you would be? I think I would have pursued a career as a graphic designer. I have an artistic eye, and a talent for calligraphy and drawing. If only I had more training, I could have a second career!
What's an average pandemic day look like for you? The first hour of my day includes some sort of exercise: biking, walking, or hiking. Then I usually settle in to help manage the social media presence for the Chorus, "Marie Kondo" a room of the house, plan meals to cook for me and my husband. We usually end the day by watching a favorite TV show or movie.
What music are you listening to these days?
My husband, a pianist, chooses lots of piano music to listen to while I cook (classical and jazz). Or, while I’m cooking, he plays for me on our beautiful Charles R. Walter baby grand (nicknamed “Walter”).
Have you tried any new recipes during the pandemic? Our new favorite meal is Salsa Verde Enchiladas, and I have enjoyed making a Balsamic Vinaigrette.
What are your comfort foods? After visiting my Aunt in mid-state Illinois, I’m craving the local potato chips from Farmington: “Kitchen Cooked.” They remind me of my youth, and how my Mother could make a meal out of half a bag!
What are your favorite summer foods? Burgers on the grill with all the stuff: sometimes avocado, sometimes bacon and a fried egg, sometimes just cheese, ketchup and spicy brown mustard!
What do you miss most about the Met? Sharing that stage with great artists in every field (from costumers to scenic artists and of course my chorus colleagues), and singing my heart out.
Dan says, “I tried making these Hermit Cookies as one of my first baking projects when sheltering at home began. I had never heard of them, but they sounded delicious. My husband and I love ginger, and we were being literal hermits — it seemed like a perfect fit. It takes some time, but they are one of our favorites now: rich, chewy, with a little kick of ginger. Perfect the technique now, because you will want these in the dead of winter with a cup of tea.
Hermit Cookies
(from ‘The Perfect Cookie,’ from America’s Test Kitchen)
Makes about 20 cookies
Ingredients:
1 cup raisins (I used golden raisins; that’s what I had)
2 tablespoons crystallized ginger, finely chopped (see note)
8 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
2 cups (10 ounces) all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup (5¼ ounces) packed dark brown sugar
½ cup molasses (see note)
2 large eggs
Glaze:
¾ cup (3 ounces) confectioners' sugar
1 ½ tablespoons orange juice
Directions:
Process raisins and ginger in food processor until mixture sticks together and only small pieces remain, about 10 seconds. Transfer mixture to large bowl.
Melt butter in small saucepan over medium-low heat, swirling saucepan occasionally, until nutty brown in color, about 10 minutes. (This takes longer than you think; but make sure it doesn’t burn!) Stir in cinnamon and allspice and cook until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Stir butter mixture into raisin mixture until well combined. Let cool completely. (Note: I can never get the butter and raisin mixture to combine completely; it doesn’t matter. They still turn out well!)
Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt together in bowl. Stir brown sugar, molasses, and eggs into cooled butter-raisin mixture until incorporated. Using rubber spatula, fold in flour mixture (dough will be very sticky). Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until dough is firm, at least 1½ hours or up to 24 hours.
Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Divide your dough into quarters.
Roll each quarter into a 10-inch log.
Orange juice and confectioner’s sugar for the glaze.
Here is what the glazed, baked cookie logs look like. (Editor’s note: I’d eat one of these myself.)
Cut the finished logs into cookie bars.
The delectable finished product.
Transfer the dough to the counter and divide into quarters. Roll 1 piece of dough into a 10-inch log on a lightly floured counter. Transfer the log to a prepared sheet and use a ruler to neatly square off sides (each sheet will contain 2 logs). Repeat with the remaining dough so that each quarter is ruled into a 10-inch log. (I make sure there are about 4 inches between logs, otherwise they will run together into a big pancake.) Bake until only slight indentation remains on edges when touched (center will appear slightly soft), 15 to 20 minutes, switching and rotating sheets halfway through baking. Let cookies cool on sheets for 5 minutes, then slide cookies, still on parchment, onto wire rack. Let cookies cool completely.
Whisk confectioners' sugar and orange juice in small bowl until smooth. (I would start with a tablespoon of orange juice; the glaze is a little too thin using these measurements.) Drizzle glaze onto cooled cookies and let sit until glaze dries, about 15 minutes. Cut cookies into 2-inch bars before serving. Hermits can be stored at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Notes (from America’s Test Kitchen):
A New England specialty, hermits are a chewy raisin-molasses-spice cookie with a sweet glaze. We had fond memories of these cookies, but most recipes we tried baked up more hard and dry than soft, were peppered with tough raisins, and tasted overly spiced. Hermits typically involve creaming softened butter, but we knew that melted butter generally makes cookies moister and chewier. Taking this a step further, we browned the butter to add nutty flavor. Pureeing the raisins and ginger into a rough paste and steeping them in the browned butter softened them, distributed their flavor in every bite, and provided the cookies with more chew. Opinions are divided as to how hermits should be shaped. One camp calls for dropping balls of dough to form round cookies; the other calls for the dough to be shaped into logs, baked, and then cut into individual cookies. A side-by-side test revealed that the hermits baked in logs and then cut were much chewier and moister, as the larger mass of dough better held its moisture during baking.
Crystallized (or candied) ginger is available in the spice aisle of most supermarkets. For this recipe, we prefer using mild (or light) molasses instead of the robust or blackstrap varieties.
Nutrition:
Calories 216
Fat 6 g
Saturated 3 g
Trans 0 g
Monounsaturated 2 g
Polyunsaturated 0 g
Cholesterol 34 mg
Sodium 117 mg
Carbs 40 g
Fiber 1 g
Sugars 27 g
Protein 2 g
The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation.