A couple of weeks ago, I offered a recipe for cookies called hermits here.And as I talked about in the recipe, I went ahead and tinkered with it. This version is named for my friend Mary's mother, who did a cookie with mincemeat in it. The result is more moist than the hermits, and a more complex flavor. It also makes the dough a little less stiff, thus easier to work with.
I'd thought that I should drain the mincemeat, but the Crosse & Blackwell mincemeat in my pantry was so thick, like a jam, that there really wasn't any liquid to drip off. I also decided I wanted more fruit in the cookies, so I added additional raisins. And I slightly changed the technique for mixing to ensure that I had a more even distribution of fruit and less of a flour cloud rising from the mixer bowl. (A friend tells me that a dish towel or an aluminum foil tent around the edges of the mixer bowl help with that; I haven't tried those.)
Ascertaining when the cookies are done is…well, not tricky but hard to describe. The original recipe I began with said that they were done when they were firm. Does that mean hard? The first batch were definitely not firm at the longer end of the baking time in the original recipe. I let them go another 7 minutes, and even then, the outside of the cookies were firm-ish, but normal pressure left a dent. When they cooled, they were almost hard, but softened the next day. This time, because the batter was moister, I decided to go with almost the original time, the outer surface was dry but the same dent occurred. They were more moist and softer but kept equally well.
It calls for two large baking sheets. I used half-sheet pans, bigger than a 9×13 pan, and they were barely long enough. If you only have shorter pans, make six logs instead of four. But do line the pans. I have parchment, which they specify, I’d be willing to try aluminum foil or even waxed paper in a pinch.
Additionally, you might remember to grease the measuring cup for the molasses; it pours out more easily. And the extra sugar for sprinkling – if you have coarse sugar around, this is a nice place for it, or demerara sugar, which is also coarse. I found that it doesn’t hurt to bake one pan at a time, although I suggest waiting to do the final sugar sprinkle fairly close to putting them in the oven.
Interestingly, unlike the previous version, these were tasty the day of baking, a little like the soft molasses cookies Archway used to sell. And they stayed yummy.
ERMAS
3 ½ cups flour
½ tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ground allspice
½ cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup molasses
3 eggs, room temperature
1 cup mincemeat
¼ cup raisins
Extra granulated sugar for sprinkling
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and allspice. In an electric mixer, cream the butter and the sugar until fluffy. Add the molasses and beat well. Add the eggs, one by one until the mixture is smooth. It will look curdled, but that’s okay.
Turn off the mixer, and add roughly one-third of the flour mixture and prepare for the cloud. Turn the mixer on to the lowest speed and beat slowly until most of the flour is absorbed. Stop the mixer, scrape the sides, add another third of the flour and repeat the beating. Stop the mixer, scrape and add the mincemeat and the raisins, and return to the very low speed to mix in the fruit. Stop, scrape, being sure to get the bottom of the bowl, and add the last of the flour. Mix it in.
Spoon the dough onto the sheets in 4 log shapes, two on each sheet. (Or adjust if you have smaller sheets.) They suggest using an offset spatula dipped in water to pat them into shape. I just used my well-washed hands. Don’t worry about wetting it too much. Each (if you’re using the larger pans) no wider than 2 ½ inches and narrower is fine. They do spread on baking. Sprinkle each log generously with sugar.
Bake them for 25-30 minutes or until they are firm (but see above note) when pressed with a fingertip.
Transfer them on the paper to wire racks to cool. Cut them crossways – they say to wait until they’re cool; I cut them slightly warm and found it easier that way. Makes perhaps 40 cookies.