Bring the Heat: Hermit Bars

I had never heard of Helen S. Fletcher until one day her cookbook Craving Cookies literally showed up on my doorstep -- a kind gift from a friend who shares a love of baking (thank you, Raylene!). I decided to dive right into the book, starting with Fletcher's recipe for "Hermit Bars." I know hermit bars are a thing, but I've somehow been baking for more than 25 years and never made them before.

 

To make the batter for these bars, you cream softened butter with brown sugar until light and fluffy; add eggs, followed by molasses; and incorporate the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, ground ginger, coarsely ground black pepper, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and salt). I spread the batter into a parchment-lined 9-inch by 13-inch pan to bake. The recipe says that the edges of the baked bars will be higher than the center and that you should immediately flatten the edges with an offset spatula when you take the pan out of the oven. The edges of my bars were slightly taller than the middle, but when I tried to press them down, they bounced back. So I did not manage to get a completely level top.

After the bars were completely cool, I added a glaze made from lemon juice and powdered sugar (and I added a bit of salt). It set firm. The recipe headnote says that Fletcher always tops the glaze with confetti quins or nonpareils for crunch. I would have done the same, but I was serving these bars at the same time as Mike Johnson's birthday cake blondies, and I thought that offering two items with rainbow sprinkles would be excessive.

 

While I can see how a little added texture would be welcome, these bars were wonderful just as they were. I'm not exactly sure what the texture of the bars was supposed to be, but mine were more like cake than a bar. Perhaps I overbaked them a little, but even just as a short piece of cake, they were very satisfying. The spice level was intense and the flavor profile was different from a typical spice cake or cookie. I think the black pepper in particular made a big impact, adding a completely different dimension of heat and depth. The lemon glaze was the perfect topping, adding a burst of bright citrus that cut through all of the spice. Next time I'll add sprinkles!

 

Recipe: "Hermit Bars" from Craving Cookies by Helen S. Fletcher.