Recipe: Cranberry-Walnut Hermits with Basic White Glaze (using dried cranberries)

CRANBERRY-WALNUT HERMITS WITH BASIC WHITE GLAZE

"Hermits are old-fashioned cookies made with fruit, nuts and spices. Many recipes call for molasses to give them their characteristic dark color and rich flavor, but I already had a molasses cookie recipe that I adored. So when it was time to develop my ideal hermit, I didn't want it to taste too similar to the cookies. Intringued by a couple of recipes that used strong brewed coffee, I decided to try it. I loved the result. These hermits don't have a recognizable coffee flavor - just a hint of the coffee's bitterness to cut the sweetness of the sugar and fruit."

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup (one stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1/4 cup strong brewed coffee or espresso, cooled
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup chopped walnuts
Basic White Glaze (optional, recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg in a medium mixing bowl; set aside.

Cream the butter and sugar together in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the egg and coffee and beat until smooth.

Stir in the flour mixture until just combined. Stir in the cranberries and walnuts. Drop the batter by heaping tablespoons onto parchment-lined baking sheets, leaving about 3 inches between each cookie.

Bake the cookies until they are golden around the edges but still soft on top, about 10 minutes. Let them stand on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then carefully slide the entire parchment with the cookies from the pan to a wire rack and let them cool completely.

Cranberry-Walnut Hermits will keep in an airtight container for 2 to 3 days.

TO GLAZE, IF DESIRED:
Place the cooled cookies on a foil or parchment-lined baking sheet. Dip a fork into the glaze and wave it over each cookie, re-dipping the fork in the glaze as necessary, to create a pattern of lines.. Let the glaze harden, about 10 minutes, before serving.

BASIC WHITE GLAZE

1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1/4 cup whole or low-fat milk

Combine and whisk ingredients until smooth. Use immediately or cover the surface of the glaze with plastic wrap and store it for up to six hours at room temperature.

Makes about 26 large cookies
Source: Mom's Big Book of Baking by Lauren Chattman