Hermit Drop Cookies

I love cookies. If you follow Sue and I's blog then you know all about my undying affection for cookies. (And Sue's weird non-affection for cookies)

This cookie is no different.

It is an "old fashioned" drop cookie. I say it is old fashioned because it comes from a United Churches of Canada cookbook ("Let's Break Bread Together") that is full of family recipes that go back generations. This one was submitted by the Merrickville United Church from Merrickville, Ontario.

It is soft and squishy and everything a cookie should be.

Hermits

Ingredients

1 3/4 cup flour

1 tsp baking soda

pinch salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp allspice

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1 cup raisins

1 cup chopped dates

1 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup shortening

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1/2 tsp vanilla

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Combine flour, baking soda, salt, and spices. Add raisins, dates, and nuts; stir to coat with flour.

In a separate bowl, cream shortening and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla and beat well.

Stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients using wooden spoon.

Drop by teaspoons full onto prepared cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 for 10 - 12 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool on cookies sheet for 5 minutes. Remove to wire rack to cool completely.

I used a small cookie scoop and they turned out soooooo cute. They don't really spread so you can place them fairly close together. Leave only 1 inch instead of 2 between them.

These are so really tasty. I was worried they would be too spicy.

Nope.

Perfect amount of spice.

Plus, I didn't have walnuts so I substituted chopped pumpkin seeds because that is what I had. I'd like to make them again with the walnuts to see how big of a difference that makes.

Sue says I should start reading the ingredients before I start making recipes so I don't have to make panicked substitutions on the fly.

She's probably right.... but I'm not going to tell her that.

Besides....the pumpkin seeds were a nice addition.