Kristin met Laura from LBs Good Spoon, at the Big Summer Potluck this past summer. She immediately hit it off! Laura and her little guy, Anderson and her husband, Benjamin were in tow and well, there was nothing about this family not to love! Laura’s recipes are delicious and her site is total eye candy. And if you’re looking for a good love story, Laura and Benjamin’s starts HERE. We’re so happy to introduce to you our friend, Laura.
When it comes to cookies I chose spice over sugar every time. It’s no wonder then that I want to share this recipe with you today for hermit bars with brown sugar icing and candied ginger. The recipe hails from the one and only Martha Stewart and there were only a few things I changed. Feel free to mix up the dried fruit in the bars and don’t be shy with the candied ginger.
Although the cookies are a bit tough they soften with time and are actually most recommended 2 days after baking. That fact alone makes them perfect for holiday weekends when you end up having a stash of goodies out for days on end.
I love these best with a black cup of coffee and admit I may have dunked my cookies in just a bit to soften them. When baking make sure you don’t overcook them as the edges can brown up in no time.
- ½ cup unsalted butter, plus more for pan
- 1¾ cups flour
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- pinch of ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1¼ cups packed brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- ¼ cup molasses
- 1 cup chopped candied ginger
- ¾ cup mixed raisins, cranberries, apricots, or dried cherries, chopped
- Preheat your oven to 350 and prepare a 10x15 baking sheet with buttered parchment paper. Combine the flour through pepper and set that bowl aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer cream the butter then add in the sugar and beat until fluffy before adding in the egg, yolk, and molasses.
- Add the flour mixture, combining on low until combined. Add in ½ the candied ginger and the rest of the dried fruit and beat until combined.
- Spread the dough onto the prepared pan making it as even as you can. It'll spread out a little while baking so it's okay if you can't get it completely to each edge. Bake until firm to the touch, about 18 minutes. Allow to cool before making the icing.
Laura Sears is the lady behind LB’s Good Spoon where she dishes up her love for food, motherhood, and her homebrew beer-making husband.
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