Hermits

A plain rolled spice cookie from the era when hermits were cut from a sheet rather than dropped from a spoon. The ingredient list runs in two columns in the original, so read it as pairs.

• Baking temperatureNo oven heat is given. Rolled cookies of this richness bake at 375F for 8 to 10 minutes, until the edges are set and just colouring; the centres should still look soft.
• Rolling thicknessThe vanilla wafer recipe it points back to is a thin rolled cookie, so 'a little thicker' probably means something in the region of 3/16 inch rather than paper-thin. A slightly thicker sheet gives a cookie that stays chewy rather than snapping.
• The dough must be coldWith only two tablespoons of milk, this is a stiff dough, but the butter softens fast under a rolling pin. Chill it at least an hour before rolling and work with half at a time, keeping the rest in the refrigerator.
• Raisins"Stoned" means the seeds removed, a step that vanished with the spread of seedless varieties. Use ordinary seedless raisins and chop them small, otherwise they tear the sheet as you roll it.
• MaceMace is the lacy outer covering of the nutmeg seed, warmer and more floral than the nutmeg itself. It is still sold ground, though not in every supermarket; a little extra nutmeg is the usual substitute and gives a slightly blunter result.
• Flour measure1 3/4 cups of flour scooped from the bag can weigh a good deal more than intended. Spoon it into the cup and level it, around 7 1/2 oz total, or the dough will crack at the edges when rolled.
• YieldRoughly three dozen cookies at 2 inches across. They keep well in a tin for a week and firm up as they sit.