I’m always a bit suspicious about perfect-looking desserts. No doubt that sometimes desserts check all the boxes, gorgeous and delicious, but all too often taste is sacrificed for appearance.

Not these cookies though. They are humble looking and could be passed over too easily, but don’t miss them! They are spicy, comforting, and perfect with a cup of tea or coffee.

In case you are wondering, I have no idea why they are called hermits – in my experience they attract far more visitors than their name would suggest.

Makes: About 4 dozen cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup unsalted butter – room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar (see notes)
• 3 eggs – cold (see notes)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 cups AP flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp allspice (or 1/4 tsp if you want a milder taste)
• 2 cups raisins or chopped dried fruits (I used dates)
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees f. Line cookie sheets with parchment or silicone sheets.
2. Cream together butter (1 cup) and brown sugar (1 1/2 cups).
3. Add eggs (3) and vanilla extract (1 tsp) and beat together (don’t worry that the butter may have split a bit and it isn’t perfectly smooth – see notes).
4. In a medium bowl stir together flour (3 cups), baking powder (1 tsp), baking soda (1 tsp), salt (1/2 tsp), cinnamon (1 tsp), nutmeg (1/2 tsp), and allspice (1/2 tsp)
5. To dry ingredients, add dried fruit (2 cups) and walnuts (1 cup) and stir together
6. Add dry ingredients to wet and mix together just until combined
7. Form dough into rough balls, a little smaller than a ping pong ball, and place on prepared cookie sheets
8. Bake for 6-7 minutes, just until they start to turn golden around the edges

Notes:

• A quick note about measuring brown sugar: the idea is to lightly pack it into the measuring cup, so that when you dump it out it more or less holds its shape but isn’t a rock. Just pretend you are a kid at the beach making a sand castle.
• The cold eggs will split the butter apart a bit, but that is a feature, not a bug. The little flecks of butter will help the cookies keep a more cookie-like texture, otherwise they tend to skew more like cake (which is fine too, if that is what you prefer just use room-temperature eggs).