School Lunch: Hermit Cookies

Cookies reminiscent of fruitcake but with a wonderful chewy cookie texture

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City/Region: United States of America

Time Period: 1934

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While I cannot give the Peanut Butter and Tomato Soup a glowing review, these hermit cookies are quite tasty. They remind me of a fruitcake, but with a chewy texture that I really like. The thought of these cookies as dessert would get me through a bowl of the soup, and it’s nice to think that even in the Great Depression, kids got a little sweet treat with lunch.

“1 cup butter or other fat
1-½ cups light brown sugar
3 eggs
2-¾ cups sifted flour, and, if desired, ½ cup dried skim milk
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon soda
½ teaspoon salt
3 cups chopped seedless raisins

Cream the fat and sugar, and add the well-beaten eggs. Reserve 1 cup of the flour to mix with the raisins, sift together the remaining flour, and the cinnamon, soda, and salt. Mix all together. Drop by spoonfuls onto a greased baking sheet and bake in a hot oven (400°F.) until lightly browned. (To increase the milk solids in this recipe add ½ cup dried skim milk by sifting with the dry ingredients).

Total measure, 50, 3-inch cookies, one per serving. Total cost, wholesale prices, Washington D. C., February 1934, $0.24; per cookie, $0.0049.”

— School Lunches With Recipes to Serve 50 Children by the United States Department of Agriculture Bureau of Home Economics, Washington, D.C., 1934

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Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups (180 g) all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup (35 g) dried skim milk
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (240 g) raisins, chopped
• 1/2 cup (113 g) unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup (160 g) light brown sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Lightly grease cookie sheets or line them with parchment or silicone baking mats.
2. Sift together the flour, dried skim milk, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl. Whisk to combine.
3. Add raisins to flour mixture and toss until raisins are evenly coated.
4. In a stand mixer or large bowl, cream together the butter and light brown sugar.
5. Add beaten eggs and mix until smooth.
6. Add flour mixture and mix gently until just combined, either on low in a stand mixer or with a spatula or wooden spoon.
7. Scoop the dough with a tablespoon and roll into 1” balls. Place on the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 1 ½” between each cookie.
8. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned on top. Remove from the oven and let them cool for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
9. Serve them forth with a glass of milk or as the dessert portion of a school lunch from the Great Depression, after a hearty bowl of Peanut Butter Tomato Soup.

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