If you like hermits, pumpkin spice, and vanilla glaze, you’ll love these Chewy Pumpkin Hermits! National Spicy Hermit Cookie Day is November 15th, but I think any day could be hermit day. I love this recipe, and I hope you do too! These keep well, so you can bake them a day or two ahead of time for the holidays. Bake a batch or two for your Thanksgiving dessert table. I’ve already made them three times this Fall, and will make them at least three more times. They’re comforting!…so good with a hot cup of coffee or tea. And, they even make a nice little breakfast treat. Cookies for breakfast? Why not?! Every now and then, anyway.
If you’d like a blending fork, foxy pot holders, or other items I used in this video, please visit my “shop” page. I use the fork so often, I have 4 of them! They’re very handy and work well for blending cookie dough and flaky pie crust.
If you make one cookie this November, let this be the one! Or make two kinds and try my Chewy Pumpkin Cookies. Happy Baking!
Spice blend for Chewy Pumpkin Hermits: 2 tsp. Ginger, 2 tsp. Cinnamon, 1/4 tsp. Allspice, and 1/8 to 1/4 tsp. freshly grated Nutmeg. If you don’t have all of these spices, you could use about 4 tsp. of Pumpkin Pie Spice.
Your kitchen will smell delightful when these chewy hermits are baking! I usually bake one log at a time, but if your cookie sheet is large, you can fit both logs on the same sheet. I like baking all cookies and hermits on parchment paper instead of greasing baking sheets. I think they brown evenly, and clean up is much easier too.
The hermits are topped with vanilla glaze. They’re delicious without glaze as well, but I really love the iced ones! It’s an easy glaze made with powdered sugar, half and half, and a little vanilla. This glaze is also good on cinnamon rolls, pound cakes, and more.
If you ‘re in charge of taking a dessert somewhere for the holidays, on any time in the fall and winter months, please give this recipe a try. You may even have to make an extra batch. Any time I make these, they disappear fast! I almost always have to make a second batch. Enjoy!
Chewy Pumpkin Hermits
Ingredients
Pumpkin Hermits
- 1 stick unsalted butter (1/2 cup, or 113 grams)
- 1 cup packed brown sugar (235 grams)
- 1/3 cup pumpkin puree (canned or homemade)( 80 grams)
- 1/4 cup molasses (80 grams)
- 2 3/4 cup all purpose flour (about 331 grams)
- 2 tsp. baking soda (12 grams)
- 1/2 tsp. salt (3 grams)
- 2 tsp. ginger (3 grams)
- 2 tsp. cinnamon (4 grams)
- 1/4 tsp. allspice ( 0.25 grams)
- 1/8 to 1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg (to taste, a pinch or two)
- 1/2 cup chopped raisins (70 grams)
Vanilla Glaze
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar (150 grams)
- 1 1/2 to 2 Tbsp. half & half or milk (24 to 32 grams)
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla (2 1/2 grams)
Instructions
For the hermits:
- In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar. I mix mine by hand using a blending fork, but you could use a mixer if that's easier for you. Stir in pumpkin puree and molasses.
- Add flour, soda, spices, and salt. Mix together until almost combined. Add chopped raisins and stir until combined. (If you want to use pumpkin pie spice instead, omit the spices listed and use 4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice)
- Quick chill the dough in the freezer for 20 to 30 minutes, or chill in the refrigerator overnight if you want to bake the next day.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Divide the chilled dough in half and form each half into a log about 13 inches long. Place each log on a parchment lined baking sheet. I like to bake one log at a time. If you have a large baking sheet, you might be able to bake both at once. The logs spread quite a bit during baking, so you might want to try baking one at a time to see how the dough works for you.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 21 to 24 minutes. I've tried baking in different styles of ovens. In my convection oven, it only baked 21 minutes. In a standard electric wall oven, it baked for 24 minutes. All ovens are different, so watch closely for browning. The logs will puff up and crackle and brown nicely. They'll settle as they cool. See video for the appearance of the baked hermits. Cool for 5 minutes, and glaze while still warm. Allow to cool, then cut each log in 9 bars. You will end up with 18 hermit bars total.
For the Vanilla Glaze:
- While the hermits are baking, stir up the glaze.
- In a mixing bowl, stir together the powdered sugar, half & half, and vanilla. I usually start with 1 1/2 tablespoons of half & half. Mix until smooth. If the glaze is too thick, add another half tablespoon to match the consistency in the video.
- Allow hermits to cool for about 5 to 10 minutes, thens spread on the glaze while still warm. This recipe makes enough glaze for both hermit logs. Allow to cool, then cut into bars.
I just put the chewy pumpkin spice cookies in the oven!! They smell sooo good! But if I had seen the pumpkin hermits I would’ve made them! Maybe I still will! Thank you for wonderful recipes!
Let me know what you think about the cookies! I made another batch of the hermits to share around last night. Please give them a try. More recipes to come… Thank you!
I just found you on YouTube. These sound delicious and I can’t wait to make them! Thank you for sharing the recipe and video.
Thank you so much! I hope you’ll love them as much as my family and friends do! Let me know how they turn out. I have many more recipes to upload here and on YouTube. Much more to come. Thanks again!
Delicious! This cookie is definitely going in my Christmas goodie boxes this year. Thank you, I am 67 yrs old and I’ve never heard of a hermit cookie until now.
These are perfect for goodie boxes! My mom has always loved hermits, and she asked me for a pumpkin version. I’m so glad she did! I’m happy to hear you love them. I’m adding more recipe videos soon. Anything in particular you’d like to see next? Thank you so much!
I beat you, Allison. I’m an80 year old great – grandma and these will now be my favorite pumpkin cookies for the season. One question though, how well do they keep and can you freeze them either in dough or unfrosted?
Hello! I’m happy you love this recipe. It’s a family favorite! They stay fresh for a few days, but never seem to last that long! I always end up making more. About freezing, you can freeze the dough in logs, thaw in refrigerator overnight (or on countertop for about 30 minutes) and bake as usual, then frost. Or, if you want to bake ahead, you can bake the logs, freeze the baked unfrosted logs, thaw, then frost. Allow frosting to set and dry an hour or two, then cut into bars. Hope this helps. Thank you!
80 year old great gramma here and this will be my new favorite pumpkin recipe. I’ve made it twice, and it’s been a hit each time. A question: can they meet me ahead and frozen? Can you freeze the dough and just bake at the last minute? frozen with frosting or without?
Hi Susan! Thanks for the good review! So happy you love these hermits! I mentioned some tips in a reply to your other message, but I will include them here too.
About freezing, you can freeze the dough in logs, thaw in refrigerator overnight (or on countertop for about 30 minutes) and bake as usual, then frost. Or, if you want to bake ahead, you can bake the logs, freeze the baked unfrosted logs, thaw, then frost. Allow frosting to set and dry an hour or two, then cut into bars.
Have you tried my Pumpkin Pie Bars yet? They’re made in a 9×13 pan, have a shortbread crust, and you can cut them into 24 squares,…great for a Thanksgiving dessert table when you want to sample many desserts. Sometimes I’ll even cut them into 48 bite size squares. Happy Baking, and thanks for trying my recipe!
Hi! I made these last night and they are perfect hermits! My taste tester loved them so much I now need to make more for Thanksgiving! I did add a teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice along with the spices in the recipe. They look beautiful with the icing or even without. Thank you and Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!
Thanks for the great review! That’s good news if you’re having to make more! I’m happy to hear that they went over well with your taste tester. Let me know if you have any recipe requests. I’m filming more recipes for December. Thank you, Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family as well! Happy Baking