Soft, spiced, and darkly tinted with robust molasses, hermit cookies are a distinctive New England treat.
Thought to have originated sometime in the 1800s, these fruit-studded bars were beloved for their long shelf life, which was perfect for sailors and travelers, hence the name “hermits.”
A Cozy Vegan Take on Classic Molasses Hermit Cookies
These Spiced Molasses Hermit Cookies are a modern take that keeps the soul of the original intact, with chewy raisins, sticky molasses, and a cozy blend of cinnamon, cloves, and allspice, but adds a bright, unexpected twist in the form of creamy orange cashew icing.
Ideal for snowy afternoons, holiday gifting, or quiet moments curled up with a cup of tea, they may be old-fashioned, but they’re anything but ordinary.
Other whole food plant-based recipes you might like:
- Vegan Copycat Mounds or Almond Joy Bars
- Cozy Vegan Apple Cake
- Peanut Butter Crispy Rice Treats
- Easy Vegan Gingerbread Cookies
- Vegan Double Chocolate Chip Cookies (WFPB, OIl Free, Refined Sugar Free)
Spiced Molasses Hermit Cookies
Ingredients
Dough
- 2 cups raisins divided
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1/2 cup molasses
- 2 cups oat flour
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Orange Icing
- 1/2 cup raw cashews soaked overnight or at least 6 hours
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup or date syrup
- 3-6 tablespoons orange juice
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350℉ degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
- Finely chop half of the raisins either by hand or in your food processor fitted with the “S” blade. If using a food processor, just make sure to pulse them lightly, not puree them into paste. Transfer mixture to large bowl, along with the remaining whole raisins, apple sauce, and molasses. Stir well to combine.
- Separately, sift the oat flour with the cinnamon, allspice, cloves, baking soda, and salt. Fold the liquid ingredients into the flour mixture, stirring vigorously to combine. The dough will be very sticky!
- Divide the dough in half. Transfer to your prepared sheet, smoothing each half into separate logs, each about 1 ½ inches wide, as if you were making biscotti. Make sure there’s at least 1 ½ inches of space in between.
- Bake for 15 – 20 minutes, rotating the sheet halfway through, until golden brown all over. Let cool completely on the baking sheet.
- For the icing, thoroughly drain the soaked cashews and place them in your blender or food processor. Add the maple syrup, orange juice, and orange zest. Thoroughly puree until completely smooth, pausing to scrape down the sides of the canister as needed.
- Drizzle the icing onto cooled logs, then cut the cookies into bars. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
New to a Plant-Based Diet? Grab my Plant-Based Diet Beginner’s Guide for FREE! Just fill out the form below to have it zoomed to your email, plus my weekly newsletter chocked full of new recipes & plant based eating tips.
je suis vegetarienne et je veux essayer encore plus pour ma sante merci beaucoup
C’est formidable ! De rien.
I miss gingerbread and other molasses-based foods. However, I have been unable to find an organic molasses that is safe. If you read the label on the Plantation molasses, it states you may be exposed to lead and cyanide! Thanks, for your other recipes. They are appreciated.
They sell organic molasses on Amazon: https://a.co/d/7fpfqKp
je vais essayer votre recette cela a l,air excellent Merci
Nous espérons que vous l’apprécierez !
The dough was rather watery and not sticky. I measured the ingredients by weight. I think the raisin s may have been too moist. Raisins o not chop very well. Hopefully they taste better than they look
Measuring by weight is totally fine if accurate conversions are used. If not, stick to cups/spoons, because the dough is meant to be very sticky, and small shifts—especially in oat flour—will change the texture.
Even if it’s slightly off, this recipe is forgiving:
Too dry → add 1–2 tablespoons applesauce or orange juice
Too wet → sprinkle in a little oat flour
There was a comment about the warning label on Molasses. I used Wholesome Organic and it had a warning for something else. I tried searching for a brand without the warning label but AI is useless and google no longer gives you a straight answer
It was probably a warning label required by the state of CA. CA requires that warning label on many things such as mattresses and clothing. Molasses is an excellent source of iron so the benefits outweigh the risks.
I found a brand Better than Honey that is made in the USA. I contacted there customer help and was told it did not have a warning label.
That sounds great! I’m glad you found it.