I am an old fashioned kind of girl when it comes to the things I like in life. I truly do love the simplest things best of all. This applies in most areas, and I especially love old recipes.
Recipes such as these old fashioned New England Hermit cookies. They are a pretty basic cookie with no bells and whistles. Perfect for enjoying with a hot drink or with a glass of milk.
The recipe I am sharing with you today was one I adapted from a cookery book I have entitled, Lost Recipes, Beloved Vintage Recipes for Today's Kitchen, by Betty Crocker.
You really cannot go wrong with these. I do have another recipe for Hermit Cookies on here, which makes rather a lot. They are baked in bars and then sliced into cookies.
You can find that recipe here. They are also iced. I usually bake them at Christmas.
Some say that Hermit cookies got their name because they look like a hermit's brown sack-cloth robe, but the earliest recipes are for white and round cookies.
One possibility is that the Moravians, an ethno-religious group well-known for thin spice cookies in North Carolina and Pennsylvania, were sometimes called "herrnhutter" in German or Dutch, and that might have sounded like "hermits" to an English-speaking cook.
Whatever their origin, Hermit cookies are delicious no matter! I always have a hard time stopping myself at only eating one or two.
They are, I would say, a decidedly New England cookie, and an early American creation. New England Hermit cookies have molasses in them. This version does not.
Instead it uses a small quantity of cold coffee, hearkening back to the New England ingenuity of being able to use up every scrap that they have, eschewing waste and embracing thrift.
Whatever their origins I think one thing is certain, with or without molasses, coffee or not and that is this. They are one very delicious cookie!
Me, being on my own, cannot possibly make use of 3 dozen cookies however. That is how many the original recipe made. At best I could make do with half that amount and so I small batched the recipe.
Using a Wilton cookie scoop I got exactly 14 beautiful cookies. Lightly rounded and puffed, and stuffed with sweet sticky raisins and toasted walnuts.
I am a real believer in toasting your nuts. Anyone who has been reading me for a while knows that. Its a very easy thing to do and makes a real taste difference in the finished product.
I have explained how to toast them many times in the past and at the risk of repeating myself, I won't. But if you would like to know how then don't hesitate to get in touch and ask me. I am only too happy to share.
This is a sturdy kind of a cookie. Sturdy enough to pack into care packages and tuck boxes as gifts for people.
They are beautifully spiced with warm baking spices. Ground Nutmeg and ground cinnamon. These two spices give them a real wholesome homey flavor.
They are also two spices which go very well with coffee, raisins and nuts.
It also makes them the perfect cookie to enjoy with an iced cold glass or milk, or a hot cup of coffee or tea, in my case an herbal infusion.
Great for packing into lunches, or for picnics as well. These go really well with a scoop of ice cream as a tasty old fashioned dessert.
I had never used a cookie scoop in my life, but my sister swears by hers. I started using hers while I was staying there and I was hooked. I just had to get one of my own.
It certainly makes a clean job of scooping out the cookie dough and it ensures that your cookies are all the same size.
I used old fashioned dark, seedless raisins in my cookies. The recipe did not specify which kind of raisins to use, but I thought such an old fashioned recipe would surely use old fashioned raisins.
Nothing fancy, just simple dark raisins. Sun Maid kind of raisins. Did you use to take small packs of raisins in your lunch box? Or get them given to you at Halloween? I did and I have always loved them and the sunny girl on the box.
Brown sugar makes them nice and moist. I know some people don't like that word, but it doesn't bother me.
Mom used to make brown sugar cookies. Sometimes not all of the sugar would be blended in and we would end up with little nuggets of brown sugar scattered throughout our cookies and cakes.
I never minded that. So candy-like, they were a real treat.
She used to make these slice and bake butterscotch cookies that we liked to complain about, but we were all, each one of us, very happy if we got a little nugget of brown sugar in ours!
These may not have nuggets of brown sugar in them, but they do have plenty of nuggets of sweet raisins, and crunchy toasted nuts.
The angel in my however is glad that I don't have as many to pig out on.
If you are looking for nice all rounder to bake this weekend, you can't get much better than these. They are quite simply delicious!
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Hermit Cookies (small batch)
Yield: Makes about 15 cookies
Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 10 MinTotal time: 15 Min
An old fashioned type of cookie small batched for the smaller family. If you wish to double them, just ask me and I can send you the amounts.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup packed (100g) soft light brown sugar
- 1/8 cup (about 25g) white vegetable shortening
- 1/8 cup (30g) butter, softened
- 1/8 cup (30ml) cold coffee
- 1 large egg yolk (freeze the white for another use)
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- pinch salt
- 1/2 cup + 6 TBS (100g) all purpose flour
- 1/3 cup (45g) raisins
- 1/3 cup (35g) toasted chopped walnuts
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375*F/190*C/gas mark 5. Have ready a medium baking sheet, ungreased.
- Measure the shortening, butter, egg yolk, brown sugar and coffee into a bowl and cream together until smooth.
- Sift together the soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, flour and salt. Add to the creamed mixture, mixing together well.
- Stir in the raisins and the nuts.
- Drop by the TBS onto the baking sheet, leaving 2 inch in between each cookie. (I use a cookie scoop)
- Bake for 8 to 10 minutes until almost no indentation remains when you touch one in the center.
- Allow to cool on the pan for a few minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Store in an airtight container.
I am really excited to share this one pan breakfast bake with you this morning! Not only is it baked all in one pan, but it is also very simple to make and quite delicious as well!
Most mornings I will only have a couple pieces of toast or a bowl of cereal for breakfast. Sometimes I like to have yogurt and granola with a drizzle of honey or date syrup.
I always like to make my own granola from scratch. Not only can I control what goes into it, but I can also control the sweetness.
I have a really nice recipe that I use, which uses honey and maple syrup to sweeten it. It is also chock full of all kinds of nuts. It is my all time favorite granola recipe. You can find that recipe here.
You just can't beat your own homemade granola. Its the best and so wholesome. My children grew up on this. I might not have been able to get them to eat a bowl of oatmeal, but I sure had no problem getting them to eat granola!
Sometimes if I am really busy and on the run, I will grab a wholesome homemade muffin for breakfast. There is no end to the delicious muffin recipes on here, but one of my favorite muffins is this recipe for Super Duper Bran Muffins.
They are a real favorite with my readers as well! No small wonder there as they are moist and delicious!
Usually at the weekend I like to pull out the stops where breakfast is concerned. I have a bit more time to spend and weekends have always been "special breakfast" occasions in my home.
Sometimes pancakes or waffles are on the menu. Sometimes eggs. Eggs are one of those things I have to be in a real mood to eat.
One thing that the British really love is their Full English Breakfast. It is also called a Fry Up and will usually consist of eggs, bacon, sausage, baked beans, mushrooms, toast, grilled tomatoes and often black pudding.
Not a breakfast meant for the weak of heart, it is one you really need to bring your appetite to! You can find my recipe for a Full English Breakfast here.
This is what will be on offer at all B&B's in the UK and most pubs and restaurants. When I first moved over to the UK, you used to be able to get a full English at the BHS in Chester.
You could choose to have between 5 and 7 options and toast was extra. I loved having fried bread. Not very healthy, but oh boy was it ever good. Deep fried bread. Crisp and golden brown. Yummy!
It seemed a bit odd to me for there to be baked beans offered for breakfast, but I soon got used to it and embraced the idea. It was actually very good.
And the sausages in the UK, so long as you used a good Butchers variety, were unbeatable. I shall miss British Bangers, although to be honest you can now get some very good Bangers here in Canada. I like the free-from sausages that you can get at the super-store. Very tasty!
I will also miss brown eggs. I have not seen a brown egg since I returned to Canada. Brown eggs are lovely, especially if you can get them fresh from the farm.
One thing which really surprised me in the UK was that the eggs were not refrigerated in any of the shops. They were just there on the shelves and most people did not refrigerate their eggs at home either! (I always did. I could not get past the fear of poisoning myself, lol)
Of course there is only me now and I won't be opening tins of beans, etc. to make a breakfast just for me. I fear I would not get the whole tin eaten.
In the UK they sell single sized snap pots, that would be ideal. I have not seen them here.
This easy one pan breakfast is a play on the old Egg in the Hole breakfast that we all enjoyed as children. There is one major difference however. This version is not fried, its baked.
Another major difference is that it bakes on a baking sheet with breakfast potatoes and sausages. An entire breakfast all on one pan. No fuss no muss and very little to clean up.
You begin by roasting some baking potatoes in a hot oven. Washed, unpeeled, cut into one inch chunks and simply tossed with a bit of olive oil, they are roasted on a baking sheet just until they begin to blister and turn golden brown.
Once that happens you add the sausages. Lay them on top of the potatoes where the fat from them helps to gild those potatoes a tiny bit more.
Once your sausages have turned golden brown on top it is time to push them and those lovely roast potatoes over to the side and add your toast to the baking sheet.
Two slices of rustic bread, I use a multi-grain, with holes cut out, all nicely buttered. Even the holes. Once toasted on the bottoms, you flip them over and can add the eggs.
One each, large free range egg. My first husband came from a farming family. I used to grade eggs in the hen house at the weekends. Quite an education for a young 19 year old I will say.
I never use anything but free range eggs. I refuse to support an inhumane industry such as caged laying hens in batteries. I would rather eat eggs less often and pay a bit more for them.
But you do whatever you have to do according to your own conscience. I will not judge you. Free-range is just my personal preference.
Mistakenly or not, I also think they taste better. Don't burst my bubble!
I used raw breakfast sausage links for this. You can use frozen fully cooked sausage links if you wish, or even frozen cooked sausage rounds.
All will cook in about the same amount of time. The times I have suggested result in perfectly cooked egg whites, with a still slightly runny yolk. You cook it according to your own preference if you prefer your yolks to be a bit harder.
All in all this is a beautiful breakfast. Just hearty enough and perfectly sized for two. True confession here, I cut it in half yet again and did it just for one.
It was delicious and more than enough for this aging appetite of mine! Enjoy!
One Pan Breakfast
Yield: 2
Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 45 MinTotal time: 50 Min
A delicious breakfast for two with sausage, toast and roasted potatoes, all conveniently baked on one baking sheet. No fuss, no muss.
Ingredients
- 1 pound baking potatoes, unpeeled, washed and cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 TBS light olive oil
- fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 thickish slices of a hearty style bread (I use a multi-grain)
- 2 TBS butter, softened
- 6 breakfast sausage links (chipolatas)
- 2 large free range eggs
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 450*F/225*C/gas mark 7. Spray a small rimmed, baking sheet with some cooking spray.
- Toss the potatoes with the oil, ½ tsp of salt and some black pepper. Spread into an even layer on the baking sheet. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes until they are just beginning to turn golden brown.
- Spread one side of each of the bread slices with 1 TBS of the butter evenly, dividing it equally between both. Using a 2 ½ inch round cutter, cut out a circle in the center of each slice. Reserve the circles.
- Remove your baking sheet from the oven. Place the sausages on top of the potatoes, returning the baking sheet to the oven and continue to cook for a further 10 to 15 minutes until the sausages are lightly browned on top.
- Remove the baking sheet from the oven. Push the potatoes and sausages to one side. Add the remaining TBS of butter to the other side of the baking sheet. Allow it to melt and spread it out evenly. Add the bread slices and bread rounds. Return the baking sheet to the oven and toast the bread for 4 to 6 minutes.
- Remove the baking sheet from the oven and flip the bread and the bread rounds over. Break an egg into each hole in the bread. Sprinkle with a bit of salt and black pepper.
- Return the baking sheet to the oven and bake for a further 4 to 5 minutes, or until the yolks are cloudy but still give slightly when touched. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 2 to 3 minutes to finish cooking. Serve hot.
Chicken is one of the proteins I eat the most of. I am pretty sure I have chicken at least once or twice a week. Sometimes it will be breasts and other times thighs. Thighs have the most flavor I think and never turn out dry.
They are cheaper than the breasts and I have quite a few really creative chicken thigh recipes. I also have some really creative chicken breast recipes!!
The thighs are really tender and succulent and never ever come out dry. They do have a stronger flavor than breasts but do also lend themselves very well to a variety of tastes and flavors.
I really love, LOVE roast chicken. Of all the ways to prepare chicken, roasting it is my absolute favorite thing do to with it.
Now that there is just me however, its just not really practical to roast a whole chicken. Also on week nights one doesn't really want to go to all the fuss and bother of roasting a whole chicken.
That's when it comes in really handy to have a few chicken recipes up your sleeve that allow you to roast chicken parts. Roasting chicken pieces is always a lot quicker and can be every bit as delicious as roasting the whole chicken!
We have two fairly good grocery stores here in the town I am living in now. It is not city living, but I have to say we don't lack for anything. We have all that we need right here.
This last week one of them had whole air-chilled chickens on offer. I took advantage of that offer and bought three chickens. I had originally bought one, but then thought about it and went back and bought two more.
Buying whole chickens and then cutting them into serving sized pieces is a great economy. I am quite adept at cutting up whole chickens. This was something I learned how to do in college and it is a skill that has stood me very well through the years.
Normally you can pay upwards of $14 for a package of chicken breasts alone. For not much more than $24 I got 6 really good sized chicken breasts (large enough each to cut into two portions themselves), 6 chicken thighs, 6 chicken drumsticks, 12 chicken wing portions and a quite a bit of chicken backs, necks and wing tips to turn into stock.
Like I said, this was an excellent economy. Do you know at the shops they charge $11 for a package of split chicken wings alone. I am way ahead of the game here.
Chicken parts cook quickly and taste just as good as whole roasted chickens in my humble opinion.
I have given you quantities here to make two servings of this delicious succulent chicken, but in actual fact I cut the quantities down for myself to make just one serving, and quite successfully.
If you are wanting the amounts for that just e-mail me and I am happy to help you out.
You don't have to use chicken thighs for this recipe. You can use breasts or legs if you wish, even leg quarters. Do bear in mind however that the timings will vary a bit from one cut to another.
Bear in mind that white meat will cook a lot quicker than dark meat, and larger cuts, such as chicken leg quarters may take longer. The important thing to remember is to cook them just until the juices run clear.
Another handy tip for crisp skin and succulent chicken is to give them plenty of space on the roasting pan. I also choose to use a small sized (half sheet pan) rimmed baking sheet.
This way plenty of air can circulate around the chicken and it roasts rather than stews, giving you a tender and succulent finish along with a nice crisp skin.
You begin by making a flavor filled spice rub which gets rubbed into the skin-on/bone-in chicken pieces all over. This is composed of really simple things that most people have in their kitchens.
Ground coriander seed, ground ginger, white sugar (just a bit), salt and black pepper. I always use fine sea salt. It may sound like a lot of pepper, but trust me it isn't. This amount works perfectly in combination with everything else.
Once you have done this you pop them onto the baking sheet along with some unpeeled cloves of garlic.
To save time today, and add a side dish, I also added a small sweet potato. I had washed it, snipped off the ends and quartered it. I then hassle backed the wedges by making small cuts down their width.
Rubbed with a tiny bit of butter and lightly seasoned, they roasted beautifully along side of the chicken pieces.
They were roasted to perfection in the same amount of time as it took to roast the chicken. Sweet potatoes and chicken are a lush combination.
All I needed then was to cook another vegetable to have along side of the chicken and the potatoes. Today it was green beans, but you can cook whatever you desire. Or even make a side salad.
The garlic that roasts on the pan along with the chicken goes into making a really flavorful sauce that you spoon over the crisp skinned and roasted chicken.
The roasted garlic gets squeezed from the skins and mashed into a paste. This tasty paste then gets whisked together with some fresh lemon zest, lemon juice and a bit of extra virgin olive oil, as well as some seasoning.
I also added some chopped fresh coriander leaf. (You may know this as cilantro.) If you are not fond of cilantro, you can use fresh flat leaf Italian parsley in its place.
This tasty sauce gets spooned over top of the crisp chicken thighs for a beautiful finish.
With the sweet potatoes and green beans this was a fairly healthy supper for one (or two) (or four) which was filled with beautiful flavors, colors and textures! I really loved this and I think you will too!
Spicy Roasted Chicken Thighs
Yield: 2
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 35 MinTotal time: 45 Min
A delicious small batch recipe that yields tender juicy flavor filled chicken. Chicken is rubbed with a zingy mixture of spices and seasonings before roasting to perfection. Served with a simple, yet lush cilantro, lemon and roasted garlic sauce.
Ingredients
For the chicken:
- 4 bone in/skin on chicken thighs
- 1 1/2 TBS ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 3/4 tsp granulated sugar
- 1/2 TBS salt
- 1 tsp coarse ground black pepper
- 5 medium cloves of fresh garlic, unpeeled
For the sauce:
- 1/2 TBS finely grated fresh lemon zest
- 1 TBS fresh lemon juice
- 1 TBS extra virgin olive oil
- 2 TBS coarsely chopped fresh coriander/cilantro leaf
- fine sea salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450*F/230*C/gas mark 7. Have ready a small baking sheet with a rim.
- Mix together all of the spices and seasonings for the chicken. Rub the chicken with these spices all over. Place them onto the baking sheet. Put the unpeeled cloves of garlic in between the chicken thighs.
- Roast in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, until golden brown and the juices run clear when pierced with a fork.
- Squeeze the flesh out of the garlic cloves into a small bowl. Mash well along with some of the drippings and brown crispy bits from the chicken. Add the lemon zest and juice, along with the olive oil and coriander/cilantro leaf. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Serve the chicken pieces hot, with some of the sauce spooned over top.
- Sweet potatoes and green beans go very well with this.
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