Lunchbox Hermit Cookies
These are big, soft, bars that stay fresh for days.
Servings 16 bars
Cost 5
Ingredients
- ½ cup vegetable oil or my preference, olive oil
- ½ cup coffee strong, black & cooled to room temp
- ⅓ cup molasses (105 grams)
- ⅔ cup sugar (130 grams)
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour (280-300 grams)**
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper plus a pinch more if you like heat
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½-2 cups mixed dried fruit such as raisins, prunes, dates, raisins, dried cherries and candied ginger
- ½ cup toasted pecans, roughly chopped (
- Some sparkly sugar or regular for sprinkling on top
Instructions
- Mix the oil, coffee, molasses and sugar together in a large mixing bowl.
- Mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, ginger and cayenne and add to the bowl. Stir well.
- Stir in the dried fruit and nuts to form a soft dough.
- Chill the dough for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- After dough is chilled lightly moisten hands and divide dough in half. Shape it into two logs about 13 inches long and 3 ½ inches wide. Sprinkle the tops with sugar.
- Bake one sheet at a time (or use two racks and rotate halfway through) 24 to 26 minutes till edges are lightly browned and the logs feel firm. Cool for 15 minutes. Cut the logs into approximately 2 inch slices. Let cool completely on wire racks.
Notes
If you use more dried fruit and nuts and use a strong flour like King Arthur you can get away with 280 grams, but if you use a softer flour and don't load the cookies with fruit nuts you may want to go with 300 grams. For baking, I usually bake one sheet at a time, but if you want to bake two sheets, use the lower and middle racks and switch racks halfway through.