Hermits are the ultimate American travel snack. Rumor has it that New England's ladies packed these beauties for their sailors heading off into the Atlantic. The history doesn't end there. My grandmother made them every week for fifty years. They taste of molasses and spice, the holidays -- it's the taste of family, when everyone is packed hip-to-hip in the backseat. <br />They're chewy, with little crumb, and they stay soft for weeks. The secret is the brown sugar -- it continues to draw moisture into the cookie, even after it's baked. So, Hermits aren't just for the first leg of a journey; tuck a few aside, and you'll be ready for the drive back home. <br />Here I've adapted my Grandmother's tried-and-true recipe. I've updated it from "handfuls" to cup measures and brought Hermits into the 21st century, with the addition of zucchini, flax meal, sour cream, dried cherries and almonds. They're filling, just a little sweet, and loaded with dried fruit and nuts. <br />My grandmother would have fed you these with coffee milk -- another New England tradition, but if you ask me, plain milk is even better.

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