skip to main content

Will these "keep" and/or freeze well in an airtight container?

7 years ago

last modified: 7 years ago

I want to make Ina Garten's Spicy Hermit Bars for a friend who really enjoys the Flavors of Autumn. Instead of "rolling" out the dough into logs, baking and then slicing them, I want to skip this step and just make these in a baking pan, and then cut them into rectangular bars.

Some of the reviewers (who followed the directions) mentioned the dough logs spread a bit or came out flat, but I'm not making the recipe that way.

Anyway, it's been a long time since I used a recipe with the Flavors of Autumn, so here's my question:

Will these bars "hold" well for a few days, and will they also freeze well, if I put them in an airtight container? (I figure I'll do the glaze just before serving.) I do need to keep them for a few days, and may not have time to make them the day before my friend and I go out to lunch.

The recipe is here, along with a video:

Ina Garten's Spicy Hermit Bars

Thanks!!!

Smiles,

Sooz

Featured Answer

sooz
Original Author

7 years ago

last modified: 7 years ago

Update! I looked at different recipes, and found one that I think suited me better than the one I originally posted above...the recipe I liked better was over at the KAF website. Link is below. I made these yesterday, froze a few overnight, and had a taste when they got warm (swoon!), another taste at room temp later in the evening, and today, defrosted and tasted again. Very nice! It's a keeper recipe for me, especially with the lovely lemon glaze I put on top!

King Arthur Flour Hermit Bars Recipe

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (9)

lindac92
7 years ago
What are The Flavors of Autumn??
I wouldn't count on the bars or whatever being anything the same baked in a baking pan. Part of the thing that makes them what they are is the fact that they are in a log and the heat comes from all sides.
maybe you are not too fussy, btu they will be over cooked on the edges of the pan and under done in the middle if you make them in a pan. The only "liquid is an egg and 1/4 cup molasses....the rest is pretty well fruits.
Don't even try baking them in a baking pan....unless, as I said you are not too fussy about how they turn out.
Flavors of Autumn?? I see nothing like that in the recipe....is it like Herbes de Province?
User
7 years ago
Linda AC -- I think she means the cinnamon, ginger and cloves as the "flavors of autumn".

Martha
Related Discussions
Protecting your containers from freezing weather.
Q
Comments (3)
I bring in all of my potted tender plants before the first frost arrives. Some go under lights in the basement. There aren't many... a few potted Crinum, a dwarf Banana tree, a few baskets of Oxalis, Society Garlic, and a few others. Annuals in patio pots are allowed to die, pulled out and thrown on the compost pile, and the pots stored in a garage for winter. Any potted perennials or trees or shrubs are allowed to go dormant, then moved into an unheated garage for winter. In early spring, I'll begin opening the garage doors during the day so they can begin to break dormancy, and once the weather stabilizes a bit, they'll come back out into the yard. I never try to save annuals or cover anything to prolong it... I've got too many other things going on to worry about a few posies that I can replace once spring officially arrives. As for the rose and perennial beds... if it can't survive with nothing more than a few inches of mulch protection, it's not for this northern garden. I'm not babying any roses or other plants, and I don't do corms or rhizomes that require digging and storing for winter! And... what about the rest of you guys? Do you run around covering everything with sheets and such? Or do you bring in your tender plants, and let Mother Nature take care of the rest?
...See More
Freezing Seedlings..Guess We'll Find out what's tough
Q
Comments (3)
HI, KAREN! :) I will let you know. Seedlings are so exciting anyway, because one never knows what it will look like and good surprises (or even interesting non-bad surprises are fun!) Actually your leaf story reminded me of a semi-funny and tragic tale, but I splurged on Cloud Chaser last year and I garden mostly in containers, it being NY and all, so I was like "I MUST protect my most expensive plants just in case" and got a lightbulb idea when seeing a clear plastic garbage bag of leaves out for the garbage. I hauled the leaves home, and decided, even MORE brilliantly to put the containers AND plants right INTO the bag for warmth/dryness yet still letting sunshine through. My alleyway part is 15 feet away from the garbage can.. and you know how you get this feeling that something is missing but can't put your finger on it? I realized it was gone.. the day after trash day and I was in tears when the building custodian found me frantically searching. When I explained what I was lookign for his face went white and I KNEW he threw it away .. 2 of my most expensive daylilies,16 inch containers AND all. and they were HeAVY! I think he felt worse, so I let it go. bUT BLAH! TEaches me to put things in a garbage bag in an alley, even if it WAS with other non-bagged plants.
...See More
Well, how do they do thru the freeze?
Q
Comments (50)
I guess it all depends on where you live and what your soil temps are at what time of the year. Next year Esther Opal can come here and watch M. Aureomarginata come up through several inches of Japanese maple leaves. The mound it creates as the leaves rise higher and higher until finally she emerges with leaves ready to unfurl. She is also planted in the only area of my garden that gets zero sun. Several inches of leaves and zero sun, I can't keep her in the ground without sitting a cement block on her. I'm with you Phil - I know what I know and have observed in MY garden, not someone else's garden located somewhere distant from me. Bless M. On Stage and Mountain Snow. They will be the only hosta that look decent this year because they don't come up until May 10, my frost date.
...See More
Will this recipe freeze well?
Q
Comments (7)
I would guess that "fresh" ricotta means recently made ricotta as opposed to manufacturer-made ricotta? Maybe there is an Italian deli near you that makes their own ricotta? I think the meatballs will freeze just fine but might be more moist than a recipe w/o the ricotta cheese - don't know for sure as I have never made meatballs with a soft cheese in the ingredients. I do make and freeze meatballs all the time. You might want to freeze these in hard-sided plastic containers rather than bags as these may be softer meatballs than most. I would use foil or parchment paper to line the baking sheet - less chance they will stick to the pan. Teresa
...See More
sooz
Original Author
7 years ago
Lindac, you've always given me great advice, and I thank you for this advice as well, and I'll bake them as designated in the recipe!

Yup, Martha, you're right...my gf always calls those the Flavors of Autumn!
annie1992
7 years ago
I love those "hot" spices, year round but they do seem very autumnal, somehow.

I think they'll keep very well, and I'm not sure you can't bake them in a regular pan either. I found this Martha Stewart recipe, which is very similar and baked in an 8 inch square pan. The main difference seems to be the crystallized ginger in Ina's recipe, as opposed to an extra 1/4 cup of raisins in the MS recipe. I really like the addition of the ginger, though...

http://www.marthastewart.com/336132/hermit-bars

Annie
sooz
Original Author
7 years ago
Thanks, Annie, for the info and the link!!!

Smiles,

Sooz
marymd7
7 years ago
I've usually had hermits as bars rather than cookies. FWIW, I think spicy fruity bars/cookies like hermits might even taste a bit better after they sit for a while -- much like shortbread. Freeze away.
annie1992
7 years ago
Oh sooz, those look delicious. I know all that taste testing was a horrible chore (grin). If I were close, I'd have happily volunteered to help you, so thanks for the link.

Annie
sooz
Original Author
7 years ago
Hi, annie, I hope you get a chance to try these yourself...and let me know if you swooned, too!

Smiles,

Sooz

Related Stories

GREEN BUILDING The Big Freeze: Inventors Break New Ground to Keep Things Cool

By Olivia Strigari

Old-fashioned fridges can be energy guzzlers, but there are more eco-friendly ways of keeping food fresh, as these global innovations show

FEATURES How Tupperware’s Inventor Left a Legacy That’s Anything but Airtight

By Mitchell Parker

Earl S. Tupper — and his trailblazing marketing guru, Brownie Wise — forever changed food storage. His story is stranger than fiction

GARDENING GUIDES How to Keep Your Citrus Trees Well Fed and Healthy

By Noelle Johnson Landscape Consulting

Ripe for some citrus fertilizer know-how? This mini guide will help your lemon, orange and grapefruit trees flourish

CONTAINER GARDENS 5 Important Winter Tasks to Keep Container Gardens in Shape

Prevent cracked pots, blight spread and withered plants come spring by focusing on this essential maintenance now

Guest Picks: We'll Drink to These!

Keep favorite summer drinks cold and at the ready with stylish holders and dispensers that are easy to take outside

LANDSCAPE DESIGN Garden Walls: Dry-Stacked Stone Walls Keep Their Place in the Garden

By Olander Garden Design

See an ancient building technique that’s held stone walls together without mortar for centuries

FEEL-GOOD HOME The Well-Stocked Minimalist

By Laura Gaskill

The trick is to have just enough of the right stuff at home — no more, no less. Here’s how to do it

KITCHEN DESIGN 7 Strategies for a Well-Designed Kitchen

By Dylan Chappell Architects

Get a kitchen that fits your lifestyle and your design tastes with these guidelines from an architect

KITCHEN DESIGN Create Your Own Checklist for a Well-Stocked Kitchen

By Laura Gaskill

Personalize the kitchen with your own must-haves from our list of top cooking tools, small appliances, pots, pans and more

INSPIRING GARDENS My Houzz: A Canadian Garden Is Well-Prepared for the Cold Weather Ahead

By Margot Hartford Photography

Through trial and error over 3 decades, a retired schoolteacher-turned-hobby gardener creates an idyllic garden retreat

Sponsored

More Discussions

Apple Pie Cookies

10

What would you make with a bunch of chard?

34

Premade Frozen Crab Cakes

20

First Shortcake Report

8

A crisp not too sweet gluten free cookie/biscuit

1