Grandma Hermits
Hello, friends! I love baking cookies for the holidays and I know a lot of others who do as well, so I wanted to share my family's favorite holiday cookie recipe for Grandma Hermits - a Christmas cookie that has been passed down for six generations in my family, starting with my great-aunt, who had the surname Hermit.
I remember making these cookies with my grandmother when I was a child and leaving a plateful of them for Santa on Christmas Eve. There were never any left on Christmas morning, so I know whoever ate them sure did enjoy them.
These cookies are so much fun to make with kids because you can give them a sheet pan full of cut out cookies and let them go to town on the decorations. Then, just toss them in the oven and you have a delicious spice cookie that is perfect with milk or even hot tea, which is how I enjoy them. This weekend, my sisters are coming over and bringing their kids to help me bake a double batch of these, so I'll put all these helping hands to good use.
GRANDMA HERMITS
YIELD: 6 DOZEN PREP TIME: 1 HOUR 30 MINUTES COOK TIME: 10 MINUTES TOTAL TIME: ABOUT 2 HOURS
INGREDIENTS:
1 lb (4 sticks) butter, softened to room temperature
2 1/4 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs
7 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
6 (rounded) tsp. ground cinnamon
2 tsp. ground cloves
optional: sprinkles, candy decorations, raisins, icing
DIRECTIONS:
Cream butter and sugar in a bowl until fluffy. Add the eggs and mix until completely combined. Add all of the dry ingredients and mix by hand until combined, being sure to incorporate all of the flour on the bottom and sides of the bowl. I've always found it's best to do this step by hand and not with an electric mixer, as over mixing can lead to a very tough cookie.
Chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
Preheat oven to 350° and line your baking sheets with parchment paper.
Using bench flour on your surface and rolling pin, roll out a small handful of dough in an "X" shape to 1/4 inch thickness. It's best to work with only handfuls of dough at a time, keeping the remaining dough chilling in the refrigerator. If you notice dough looking greasy or getting too soft, stick it back in the fridge to chill for a few minutes.
Use floured cookie cutters to cut out preferred shapes and place them an inch apart on your baking sheet. If the dough sticks on your surface, rolling pin, or cutters, use more bench flour under and on top of the dough.
If you are using sprinkles/candy to decorate your cookies, add them before baking, using the back of a spoon to gently press them into the cookies to make them stick. If you are using royal icing/frosting, you'll want to bake the cookies and cool completely before icing.
Bake approximately 8-10 minutes until cookies are set and no longer look wet. The edges of the cookies should not brown, so pull them sooner if you notice them baking faster. Immediately transfer cookies to a cooling rack. Once completely cooled, store in an air-tight container for up to two weeks, if they last that long.
