diff --git a/.rubocop.yml b/.rubocop.yml
index 4189be7b..198cb1e6 100644
--- a/.rubocop.yml
+++ b/.rubocop.yml
@@ -7,51 +7,28 @@ AllCops:
   - lib/jekyll/collection.rb
   - lib/jekyll/command.rb
   - lib/jekyll/configuration.rb
-  - lib/jekyll/converter.rb
   - lib/jekyll/converters/identity.rb
-  - lib/jekyll/converters/markdown
   - lib/jekyll/converters/markdown/kramdown_parser.rb
-  - lib/jekyll/converters/markdown/rdiscount_parser.rb
   - lib/jekyll/converters/markdown/redcarpet_parser.rb
   - lib/jekyll/converters/markdown.rb
-  - lib/jekyll/converters/smartypants.rb
   - lib/jekyll/convertible.rb
   - lib/jekyll/deprecator.rb
   - lib/jekyll/document.rb
-  - lib/jekyll/drops/collection_drop.rb
-  - lib/jekyll/drops/document_drop.rb
-  - lib/jekyll/drops/drop.rb
-  - lib/jekyll/drops/jekyll_drop.rb
   - lib/jekyll/drops/site_drop.rb
-  - lib/jekyll/drops/unified_payload_drop.rb
-  - lib/jekyll/drops/url_drop.rb
   - lib/jekyll/entry_filter.rb
-  - lib/jekyll/errors.rb
-  - lib/jekyll/excerpt.rb
-  - lib/jekyll/external.rb
   - lib/jekyll/filters.rb
   - lib/jekyll/frontmatter_defaults.rb
-  - lib/jekyll/generator.rb
-  - lib/jekyll/hooks.rb
   - lib/jekyll/layout.rb
-  - lib/jekyll/liquid_extensions.rb
-  - lib/jekyll/liquid_renderer/file.rb
   - lib/jekyll/liquid_renderer/table.rb
   - lib/jekyll/liquid_renderer.rb
-  - lib/jekyll/log_adapter.rb
   - lib/jekyll/page.rb
-  - lib/jekyll/plugin.rb
   - lib/jekyll/plugin_manager.rb
-  - lib/jekyll/publisher.rb
   - lib/jekyll/reader.rb
-  - lib/jekyll/readers/collection_reader.rb
-  - lib/jekyll/readers/data_reader.rb
   - lib/jekyll/readers/layout_reader.rb
   - lib/jekyll/readers/page_reader.rb
   - lib/jekyll/readers/post_reader.rb
   - lib/jekyll/readers/static_file_reader.rb
   - lib/jekyll/regenerator.rb
-  - lib/jekyll/related_posts.rb
   - lib/jekyll/renderer.rb
   - lib/jekyll/site.rb
   - lib/jekyll/static_file.rb
diff --git a/History.markdown b/History.markdown
index 8bf86749..4d6f779b 100644
--- a/History.markdown
+++ b/History.markdown
@@ -43,6 +43,13 @@
   * 3.2.x/master: Fix defaults for Documents (posts/collection docs) (#4808)
   * Don't rescue LoadError or bundler load errors for Bundler. (#4857)
 
+### Forward Ports
+
+  * From v3.1.4: Add ExcerptDrop and remove excerpt's ability to refer to itself in Liquid (#4941)
+  * From v3.1.4: Configuration permalink fix and addition of Configuration.from and sorting `site.collections` by label (#4942)
+  * From v3.1.4: Fix `{{ layout }}` oddities (proper inheritance & fixing overflow of old data) (#4943)
+  * From v3.1.5: Sort the results of the `require_all` glob (#4944)
+
 ### Development Fixes
 
   * Add project maintainer profile links (#4591)
@@ -60,6 +67,7 @@
   * Update `jekyll/commands*` to pass rubocop rules (#4888)
   * Clean up many test files to pass Rubocop rules (#4902)
   * Rubocop cleanup for some utils and further test files (#4916)
+  * Rubocop: Low hanging fruit (#4936)
 
 ### Site Enhancements
 
diff --git a/features/layout_data.feature b/features/layout_data.feature
index 78998665..c2af5b70 100644
--- a/features/layout_data.feature
+++ b/features/layout_data.feature
@@ -35,3 +35,36 @@ Feature: Layout data
     When I run jekyll build
     Then the "_site/index.html" file should exist
     And I should see "page content\n foo: my custom data" in "_site/index.html"
+
+  Scenario: Inherit custom layout data and clear when not present
+    Given I have a _layouts directory
+    And I have a "_layouts/default.html" file with content:
+      """
+      ---
+      bar: i'm default
+      ---
+      {{ content }} foo: '{{ layout.foo }}' bar: '{{ layout.bar }}'
+      """
+    And I have a "_layouts/special.html" file with content:
+      """
+      ---
+      layout: default
+      foo: my special data
+      bar: im special
+      ---
+      {{ content }}
+      """
+    And I have a "_layouts/page.html" file with content:
+      """
+      ---
+      layout: default
+      bar: im page
+      ---
+      {{ content }}
+      """
+    And I have an "index.html" page with layout "special" that contains "page content"
+    And I have an "jekyll.html" page with layout "page" that contains "page content"
+    When I run jekyll build
+    Then the "_site/index.html" file should exist
+    And I should see "page content\n foo: 'my special data' bar: 'im special'" in "_site/index.html"
+    And I should see "page content\n foo: '' bar: 'im page'" in "_site/jekyll.html"
diff --git a/lib/jekyll.rb b/lib/jekyll.rb
index e9f4547b..676f6e71 100644
--- a/lib/jekyll.rb
+++ b/lib/jekyll.rb
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ $LOAD_PATH.unshift File.dirname(__FILE__) # For use/testing when no gem is insta
 # Returns nothing.
 def require_all(path)
   glob = File.join(File.dirname(__FILE__), path, '*.rb')
-  Dir[glob].each do |f|
+  Dir[glob].sort.each do |f|
     require f
   end
 end
@@ -98,18 +98,16 @@ module Jekyll
     #            list of option names and their defaults.
     #
     # Returns the final configuration Hash.
-    def configuration(override = {})
-      config = Configuration[Configuration::DEFAULTS]
-      override = Configuration[override].stringify_keys
+    def configuration(override = Hash.new)
+      config = Configuration.new
       unless override.delete('skip_config_files')
         config = config.read_config_files(config.config_files(override))
       end
 
       # Merge DEFAULTS < _config.yml < override
-      config = Utils.deep_merge_hashes(config, override).stringify_keys
-      set_timezone(config['timezone']) if config['timezone']
-
-      config
+      Configuration.from(Utils.deep_merge_hashes(config, override)).tap do |config|
+        set_timezone(config['timezone']) if config['timezone']
+      end
     end
 
     # Public: Set the TZ environment variable to use the timezone specified
@@ -173,6 +171,7 @@ module Jekyll
 end
 
 require "jekyll/drops/drop"
+require "jekyll/drops/document_drop"
 require_all 'jekyll/commands'
 require_all 'jekyll/converters'
 require_all 'jekyll/converters/markdown'
diff --git a/lib/jekyll/configuration.rb b/lib/jekyll/configuration.rb
index 87bfeb46..a88272cc 100644
--- a/lib/jekyll/configuration.rb
+++ b/lib/jekyll/configuration.rb
@@ -72,7 +72,24 @@ module Jekyll
         'hard_wrap'      => false,
         'footnote_nr'    => 1
       }
-    }]
+    }.map { |k, v| [k, v.freeze] }].freeze
+
+    class << self
+      # Static: Produce a Configuration ready for use in a Site.
+      # It takes the input, fills in the defaults where values do not
+      # exist, and patches common issues including migrating options for
+      # backwards compatiblity. Except where a key or value is being fixed,
+      # the user configuration will override the defaults.
+      #
+      # user_config - a Hash or Configuration of overrides.
+      #
+      # Returns a Configuration filled with defaults and fixed for common
+      # problems and backwards-compatibility.
+      def from(user_config)
+        Utils.deep_merge_hashes(DEFAULTS, Configuration[user_config].stringify_keys).
+          fix_common_issues.add_default_collections
+      end
+    end
 
     # Public: Turn all keys into string
     #
@@ -169,6 +186,7 @@ module Jekyll
 
       begin
         files.each do |config_file|
+          next if config_file.nil? or config_file.empty?
           new_config = read_config_file(config_file)
           configuration = Utils.deep_merge_hashes(configuration, new_config)
         end
@@ -228,7 +246,6 @@ module Jekyll
       end
 
       %w(include exclude).each do |option|
-        config[option] ||= []
         if config[option].is_a?(String)
           Jekyll::Deprecator.deprecation_message "The '#{option}' configuration option" \
             " must now be specified as an array, but you specified" \
@@ -236,7 +253,7 @@ module Jekyll
             " as a list of comma-separated values."
           config[option] = csv_to_array(config[option])
         end
-        config[option].map!(&:to_s)
+        config[option].map!(&:to_s) if config[option]
       end
 
       if (config['kramdown'] || {}).key?('use_coderay')
@@ -271,14 +288,22 @@ module Jekyll
     def add_default_collections
       config = clone
 
+      # It defaults to `{}`, so this is only if someone sets it to null manually.
       return config if config['collections'].nil?
 
+      # Ensure we have a hash.
       if config['collections'].is_a?(Array)
         config['collections'] = Hash[config['collections'].map { |c| [c, {}] }]
       end
-      config['collections']['posts'] ||= {}
-      config['collections']['posts']['output'] = true
-      config['collections']['posts']['permalink'] = style_to_permalink(config['permalink'])
+
+      config['collections'] = Utils.deep_merge_hashes(
+        { 'posts' => {} }, config['collections']
+      ).tap do |collections|
+        collections['posts']['output'] = true
+        if config['permalink']
+          collections['posts']['permalink'] ||= style_to_permalink(config['permalink'])
+        end
+      end
 
       config
     end
diff --git a/lib/jekyll/converters/markdown/rdiscount_parser.rb b/lib/jekyll/converters/markdown/rdiscount_parser.rb
index daf8874e..f1679e79 100644
--- a/lib/jekyll/converters/markdown/rdiscount_parser.rb
+++ b/lib/jekyll/converters/markdown/rdiscount_parser.rb
@@ -5,14 +5,14 @@ module Jekyll
         def initialize(config)
           Jekyll::External.require_with_graceful_fail "rdiscount"
           @config = config
-          @rdiscount_extensions = @config['rdiscount']['extensions'].map(&:to_sym)
+          @rdiscount_extensions = @config["rdiscount"]["extensions"].map(&:to_sym)
         end
 
         def convert(content)
           rd = RDiscount.new(content, *@rdiscount_extensions)
           html = rd.to_html
-          if @config['rdiscount']['toc_token']
-            html = replace_generated_toc(rd, html, @config['rdiscount']['toc_token'])
+          if @config["rdiscount"]["toc_token"]
+            html = replace_generated_toc(rd, html, @config["rdiscount"]["toc_token"])
           end
           html
         end
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ module Jekyll
         def replace_generated_toc(rd, html, toc_token)
           if rd.generate_toc && html.include?(toc_token)
             utf8_toc = rd.toc_content
-            utf8_toc.force_encoding('utf-8') if utf8_toc.respond_to?(:force_encoding)
+            utf8_toc.force_encoding("utf-8") if utf8_toc.respond_to?(:force_encoding)
             html.gsub(toc_token, utf8_toc)
           else
             html
diff --git a/lib/jekyll/convertible.rb b/lib/jekyll/convertible.rb
index a473b183..a5d35607 100644
--- a/lib/jekyll/convertible.rb
+++ b/lib/jekyll/convertible.rb
@@ -209,10 +209,13 @@ module Jekyll
 
       used = Set.new([layout])
 
+      # Reset the payload layout data to ensure it starts fresh for each page.
+      payload["layout"] = nil
+
       while layout
         Jekyll.logger.debug "Rendering Layout:", path
         payload["content"] = output
-        payload["layout"]  = Utils.deep_merge_hashes(payload["layout"] || {}, layout.data)
+        payload["layout"]  = Utils.deep_merge_hashes(layout.data, payload["layout"] || {})
 
         self.output = render_liquid(layout.content,
                                     payload,
diff --git a/lib/jekyll/drops/document_drop.rb b/lib/jekyll/drops/document_drop.rb
index b8a0d3e5..10e069ac 100644
--- a/lib/jekyll/drops/document_drop.rb
+++ b/lib/jekyll/drops/document_drop.rb
@@ -19,13 +19,13 @@ module Jekyll
       end
 
       def excerpt
-        fallback_data['excerpt'].to_s
+        fallback_data["excerpt"].to_s
       end
 
       def <=>(other)
         return nil unless other.is_a? DocumentDrop
-        cmp = self['date'] <=> other['date']
-        cmp = self['path'] <=> other['path'] if cmp.nil? || cmp == 0
+        cmp = self["date"] <=> other["date"]
+        cmp = self["path"] <=> other["path"] if cmp.nil? || cmp == 0
         cmp
       end
 
diff --git a/lib/jekyll/drops/drop.rb b/lib/jekyll/drops/drop.rb
index 23ebeb4b..dcabb190 100644
--- a/lib/jekyll/drops/drop.rb
+++ b/lib/jekyll/drops/drop.rb
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ module Jekyll
     class Drop < Liquid::Drop
       include Enumerable
 
-      NON_CONTENT_METHODS = [:[], :[]=, :inspect, :to_h, :fallback_data, :collapse_document].freeze
+      NON_CONTENT_METHODS = [:fallback_data, :collapse_document].freeze
 
       # Get or set whether the drop class is mutable.
       # Mutability determines whether or not pre-defined fields may be
@@ -15,11 +15,11 @@ module Jekyll
       #
       # Returns the mutability of the class
       def self.mutable(is_mutable = nil)
-        if is_mutable
-          @is_mutable = is_mutable
-        else
-          @is_mutable = false
-        end
+        @is_mutable = if is_mutable
+                        is_mutable
+                      else
+                        false
+                      end
       end
 
       def self.mutable?
@@ -88,7 +88,7 @@ module Jekyll
       # Returns an Array of strings which represent method-specific keys.
       def content_methods
         @content_methods ||= (
-          self.class.instance_methods(false) - NON_CONTENT_METHODS
+          self.class.instance_methods - Jekyll::Drops::Drop.instance_methods - NON_CONTENT_METHODS
         ).map(&:to_s).reject do |method|
           method.end_with?("=")
         end
@@ -136,7 +136,7 @@ module Jekyll
       #
       # Returns a pretty generation of the hash representation of the Drop.
       def inspect
-        require 'json'
+        require "json"
         JSON.pretty_generate to_h
       end
 
@@ -165,6 +165,12 @@ module Jekyll
         keys.each(&block)
       end
 
+      def each(&block)
+        each_key.each do |key|
+          yield key, self[key]
+        end
+      end
+
       def merge(other, &block)
         self.dup.tap do |me|
           if block.nil?
diff --git a/lib/jekyll/drops/excerpt_drop.rb b/lib/jekyll/drops/excerpt_drop.rb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..5d61aeb1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/jekyll/drops/excerpt_drop.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+# encoding: UTF-8
+
+module Jekyll
+  module Drops
+    class ExcerptDrop < DocumentDrop
+      def layout
+        @obj.doc.data["layout"]
+      end
+
+      def excerpt
+        nil
+      end
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/lib/jekyll/drops/site_drop.rb b/lib/jekyll/drops/site_drop.rb
index 4d07ebe8..7b083126 100644
--- a/lib/jekyll/drops/site_drop.rb
+++ b/lib/jekyll/drops/site_drop.rb
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ module Jekyll
       end
 
       def collections
-        @site_collections ||= @obj.collections.values.map(&:to_liquid)
+        @site_collections ||= @obj.collections.values.sort_by(&:label).map(&:to_liquid)
       end
 
       private
diff --git a/lib/jekyll/drops/url_drop.rb b/lib/jekyll/drops/url_drop.rb
index 2815edf7..04e48a20 100644
--- a/lib/jekyll/drops/url_drop.rb
+++ b/lib/jekyll/drops/url_drop.rb
@@ -19,20 +19,20 @@ module Jekyll
       end
 
       def title
-        Utils.slugify(@obj.data['slug'], :mode => "pretty", :cased => true) ||
+        Utils.slugify(@obj.data["slug"], :mode => "pretty", :cased => true) ||
           Utils.slugify(@obj.basename_without_ext, :mode => "pretty", :cased => true)
       end
 
       def slug
-        Utils.slugify(@obj.data['slug']) || Utils.slugify(@obj.basename_without_ext)
+        Utils.slugify(@obj.data["slug"]) || Utils.slugify(@obj.basename_without_ext)
       end
 
       def categories
         category_set = Set.new
-        Array(@obj.data['categories']).each do |category|
+        Array(@obj.data["categories"]).each do |category|
           category_set << category.to_s.downcase
         end
-        category_set.to_a.join('/')
+        category_set.to_a.join("/")
       end
 
       def year
diff --git a/lib/jekyll/excerpt.rb b/lib/jekyll/excerpt.rb
index f5884d68..8fef70ed 100644
--- a/lib/jekyll/excerpt.rb
+++ b/lib/jekyll/excerpt.rb
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ module Jekyll
     attr_writer   :output
 
     def_delegators :@doc, :site, :name, :ext, :relative_path, :extname,
-                          :render_with_liquid?, :collection, :related_posts
+                          :render_with_liquid?, :collection, :related_posts, :url
 
     # Initialize this Excerpt instance.
     #
@@ -59,10 +59,7 @@ module Jekyll
     end
 
     def to_liquid
-      doc.data['excerpt'] = nil
-      @to_liquid ||= doc.to_liquid
-      doc.data['excerpt'] = self
-      @to_liquid
+      Jekyll::Drops::ExcerptDrop.new(self)
     end
 
     # Returns the shorthand String identifier of this doc.
diff --git a/lib/jekyll/external.rb b/lib/jekyll/external.rb
index 69b8d1eb..e84d0857 100644
--- a/lib/jekyll/external.rb
+++ b/lib/jekyll/external.rb
@@ -17,13 +17,13 @@ module Jekyll
       #
       # names - a string gem name or array of gem names
       #
-      def require_if_present(names, &block)
+      def require_if_present(names)
         Array(names).each do |name|
           begin
             require name
           rescue LoadError
             Jekyll.logger.debug "Couldn't load #{name}. Skipping."
-            block.call(name) if block
+            yield(name) if block_given?
             false
           end
         end
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ module Jekyll
       def require_with_graceful_fail(names)
         Array(names).each do |name|
           begin
-            Jekyll.logger.debug "Requiring:", "#{name}"
+            Jekyll.logger.debug "Requiring:", name.to_s
             require name
           rescue LoadError => e
             Jekyll.logger.error "Dependency Error:", <<-MSG
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ The full error message from Ruby is: '#{e.message}'
 
 If you run into trouble, you can find helpful resources at http://jekyllrb.com/help/!
             MSG
-            raise Jekyll::Errors::MissingDependencyException.new(name)
+            raise Jekyll::Errors::MissingDependencyException, name
           end
         end
       end
diff --git a/lib/jekyll/hooks.rb b/lib/jekyll/hooks.rb
index 6d8fcd8d..c9a4f794 100644
--- a/lib/jekyll/hooks.rb
+++ b/lib/jekyll/hooks.rb
@@ -4,38 +4,38 @@ module Jekyll
 
     # compatibility layer for octopress-hooks users
     PRIORITY_MAP = {
-      :low => 10,
+      :low    => 10,
       :normal => 20,
-      :high => 30
+      :high   => 30
     }.freeze
 
     # initial empty hooks
     @registry = {
-      :site => {
-        :after_init => [],
+      :site      => {
+        :after_init  => [],
         :after_reset => [],
-        :post_read => [],
-        :pre_render => [],
+        :post_read   => [],
+        :pre_render  => [],
         :post_render => [],
-        :post_write => []
+        :post_write  => []
       },
-      :pages => {
-        :post_init => [],
-        :pre_render => [],
+      :pages     => {
+        :post_init   => [],
+        :pre_render  => [],
         :post_render => [],
-        :post_write => []
+        :post_write  => []
       },
-      :posts => {
-        :post_init => [],
-        :pre_render => [],
+      :posts     => {
+        :post_init   => [],
+        :pre_render  => [],
         :post_render => [],
-        :post_write => []
+        :post_write  => []
       },
       :documents => {
-        :post_init => [],
-        :pre_render => [],
+        :post_init   => [],
+        :pre_render  => [],
         :post_render => [],
-        :post_write => []
+        :post_write  => []
       }
     }
 
@@ -61,10 +61,10 @@ module Jekyll
     # register a single hook to be called later, internal API
     def self.register_one(owner, event, priority, &block)
       @registry[owner] ||={
-        :post_init => [],
-        :pre_render => [],
+        :post_init   => [],
+        :pre_render  => [],
         :post_render => [],
-        :post_write => []
+        :post_write  => []
       }
 
       unless @registry[owner][event]
diff --git a/lib/jekyll/liquid_renderer/file.rb b/lib/jekyll/liquid_renderer/file.rb
index 7dcca1b6..63686d8f 100644
--- a/lib/jekyll/liquid_renderer/file.rb
+++ b/lib/jekyll/liquid_renderer/file.rb
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ module Jekyll
 
       def parse(content)
         measure_time do
-          @template = Liquid::Template.parse(content, line_numbers: true)
+          @template = Liquid::Template.parse(content, :line_numbers => true)
         end
 
         self
diff --git a/lib/jekyll/log_adapter.rb b/lib/jekyll/log_adapter.rb
index df0cfdc4..8ac67451 100644
--- a/lib/jekyll/log_adapter.rb
+++ b/lib/jekyll/log_adapter.rb
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ module Jekyll
       :info  => ::Logger::INFO,
       :warn  => ::Logger::WARN,
       :error => ::Logger::ERROR
-    }
+    }.freeze
 
     # Public: Create a new instance of a log writer
     #
@@ -98,7 +98,7 @@ module Jekyll
     #
     # Returns the formatted message
     def message(topic, message)
-      msg = formatted_topic(topic) + message.to_s.gsub(/\s+/, ' ')
+      msg = formatted_topic(topic) + message.to_s.gsub(/\s+/, " ")
       messages << msg
       msg
     end
diff --git a/lib/jekyll/plugin.rb b/lib/jekyll/plugin.rb
index 1fb91058..bcc1bf7e 100644
--- a/lib/jekyll/plugin.rb
+++ b/lib/jekyll/plugin.rb
@@ -1,12 +1,12 @@
 module Jekyll
   class Plugin
     PRIORITIES = {
-      :low => -10,
+      :low     => -10,
       :highest => 100,
-      :lowest => -100,
-      :normal => 0,
-      :high => 10
-    }
+      :lowest  => -100,
+      :normal  => 0,
+      :high    => 10
+    }.freeze
 
     #
 
diff --git a/lib/jekyll/plugin_manager.rb b/lib/jekyll/plugin_manager.rb
index 45eeaa79..5acd0e46 100644
--- a/lib/jekyll/plugin_manager.rb
+++ b/lib/jekyll/plugin_manager.rb
@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ module Jekyll
     #
     # Returns an Array of plugin search paths
     def plugins_path
-      if site.config['plugins_dir'] == Jekyll::Configuration::DEFAULTS['plugins_dir']
+      if site.config['plugins_dir'].eql? Jekyll::Configuration::DEFAULTS['plugins_dir']
         [site.in_source_dir(site.config['plugins_dir'])]
       else
         Array(site.config['plugins_dir']).map { |d| File.expand_path(d) }
diff --git a/lib/jekyll/publisher.rb b/lib/jekyll/publisher.rb
index cc739627..0b67b8c6 100644
--- a/lib/jekyll/publisher.rb
+++ b/lib/jekyll/publisher.rb
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ module Jekyll
     private
 
     def can_be_published?(thing)
-      thing.data.fetch('published', true) || @site.unpublished
+      thing.data.fetch("published", true) || @site.unpublished
     end
   end
 end
diff --git a/lib/jekyll/readers/data_reader.rb b/lib/jekyll/readers/data_reader.rb
index 796c0d29..e7e46bdc 100644
--- a/lib/jekyll/readers/data_reader.rb
+++ b/lib/jekyll/readers/data_reader.rb
@@ -30,14 +30,14 @@ module Jekyll
       return unless File.directory?(dir) && !@entry_filter.symlink?(dir)
 
       entries = Dir.chdir(dir) do
-        Dir['*.{yaml,yml,json,csv}'] + Dir['*'].select { |fn| File.directory?(fn) }
+        Dir["*.{yaml,yml,json,csv}"] + Dir["*"].select { |fn| File.directory?(fn) }
       end
 
       entries.each do |entry|
         path = @site.in_source_dir(dir, entry)
         next if @entry_filter.symlink?(path)
 
-        key = sanitize_filename(File.basename(entry, '.*'))
+        key = sanitize_filename(File.basename(entry, ".*"))
         if File.directory?(path)
           read_data_to(path, data[key] = {})
         else
@@ -51,20 +51,20 @@ module Jekyll
     # Returns the contents of the data file.
     def read_data_file(path)
       case File.extname(path).downcase
-      when '.csv'
+      when ".csv"
         CSV.read(path, {
-                         :headers => true,
-                         :encoding => site.config['encoding']
-                     }).map(&:to_hash)
+          :headers  => true,
+          :encoding => site.config["encoding"]
+        }).map(&:to_hash)
       else
         SafeYAML.load_file(path)
       end
     end
 
     def sanitize_filename(name)
-      name.gsub!(/[^\w\s-]+/, '')
+      name.gsub!(/[^\w\s-]+/, "")
       name.gsub!(/(^|\b\s)\s+($|\s?\b)/, '\\1\\2')
-      name.gsub(/\s+/, '_')
+      name.gsub(/\s+/, "_")
     end
   end
 end
diff --git a/lib/jekyll/related_posts.rb b/lib/jekyll/related_posts.rb
index 51ae8d8f..cde1742c 100644
--- a/lib/jekyll/related_posts.rb
+++ b/lib/jekyll/related_posts.rb
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ module Jekyll
     def initialize(post)
       @post = post
       @site = post.site
-      Jekyll::External.require_with_graceful_fail('classifier-reborn') if site.lsi
+      Jekyll::External.require_with_graceful_fail("classifier-reborn") if site.lsi
     end
 
     def build
diff --git a/lib/jekyll/renderer.rb b/lib/jekyll/renderer.rb
index f116cf60..f9eb94be 100644
--- a/lib/jekyll/renderer.rb
+++ b/lib/jekyll/renderer.rb
@@ -136,10 +136,13 @@ module Jekyll
 
       used   = Set.new([layout])
 
+      # Reset the payload layout data to ensure it starts fresh for each page.
+      payload["layout"] = nil
+
       while layout
         payload['content'] = output
         payload['page']    = document.to_liquid
-        payload['layout']  = Utils.deep_merge_hashes(payload['layout'] || {}, layout.data)
+        payload['layout']  = Utils.deep_merge_hashes(layout.data, payload["layout"] || {})
 
         output = render_liquid(
           layout.content,
diff --git a/lib/jekyll/utils.rb b/lib/jekyll/utils.rb
index 179981ec..a70a7916 100644
--- a/lib/jekyll/utils.rb
+++ b/lib/jekyll/utils.rb
@@ -54,6 +54,10 @@ module Jekyll
         target.default_proc = overwrite.default_proc
       end
 
+      target.each do |key, val|
+        target[key] = val.dup if val.frozen? && duplicable?(val)
+      end
+
       target
     end
 
@@ -61,6 +65,15 @@ module Jekyll
       value.is_a?(Hash) || value.is_a?(Drops::Drop)
     end
 
+    def duplicable?(obj)
+      case obj
+      when nil, false, true, Symbol, Numeric
+        false
+      else
+        true
+      end
+    end
+
     # Read array from the supplied hash favouring the singular key
     # and then the plural key, and handling any nil entries.
     #
diff --git a/test/helper.rb b/test/helper.rb
index 3a3dafa2..9505c762 100644
--- a/test/helper.rb
+++ b/test/helper.rb
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ require "minitest/autorun"
 require "minitest/reporters"
 require "minitest/profile"
 require "rspec/mocks"
-require "jekyll"
+require_relative "../lib/jekyll.rb"
 
 Jekyll.logger = Logger.new(StringIO.new)
 
@@ -61,8 +61,30 @@ module Minitest::Assertions
   end
 end
 
+module DirectoryHelpers
+  def dest_dir(*subdirs)
+    test_dir("dest", *subdirs)
+  end
+
+  def source_dir(*subdirs)
+    test_dir("source", *subdirs)
+  end
+
+  def test_dir(*subdirs)
+    File.join(File.dirname(__FILE__), *subdirs)
+  end
+end
+
 class JekyllUnitTest < Minitest::Test
   include ::RSpec::Mocks::ExampleMethods
+  include DirectoryHelpers
+  extend DirectoryHelpers
+
+  def mu_pp(obj)
+    s = obj.is_a?(Hash) ? JSON.pretty_generate(obj) : obj.inspect
+    s = s.encode Encoding.default_external if defined? Encoding
+    s
+  end
 
   def mocks_expect(*args)
     RSpec::Mocks::ExampleMethods::ExpectHost.instance_method(:expect)\
@@ -85,9 +107,12 @@ class JekyllUnitTest < Minitest::Test
     Jekyll::Site.new(site_configuration(overrides))
   end
 
-  def build_configs(overrides, base_hash = Jekyll::Configuration::DEFAULTS)
+  def default_configuration
+    Marshal.load(Marshal.dump(Jekyll::Configuration::DEFAULTS))
+  end
+
+  def build_configs(overrides, base_hash = default_configuration)
     Utils.deep_merge_hashes(base_hash, overrides)
-      .fix_common_issues.backwards_compatibilize.add_default_collections
   end
 
   def site_configuration(overrides = {})
@@ -98,14 +123,9 @@ class JekyllUnitTest < Minitest::Test
     build_configs({
       "source" => source_dir
     }, full_overrides)
-  end
-
-  def dest_dir(*subdirs)
-    test_dir("dest", *subdirs)
-  end
-
-  def source_dir(*subdirs)
-    test_dir("source", *subdirs)
+      .fix_common_issues
+      .backwards_compatibilize
+      .add_default_collections
   end
 
   def clear_dest
@@ -113,10 +133,6 @@ class JekyllUnitTest < Minitest::Test
     FileUtils.rm_rf(source_dir(".jekyll-metadata"))
   end
 
-  def test_dir(*subdirs)
-    File.join(File.dirname(__FILE__), *subdirs)
-  end
-
   def directory_with_contents(path)
     FileUtils.rm_rf(path)
     FileUtils.mkdir(path)
diff --git a/test/test_configuration.rb b/test/test_configuration.rb
index 608dfef0..08cc3bd9 100644
--- a/test/test_configuration.rb
+++ b/test/test_configuration.rb
@@ -1,7 +1,62 @@
 require 'helper'
 
 class TestConfiguration < JekyllUnitTest
-  @@defaults = Jekyll::Configuration::DEFAULTS.add_default_collections.freeze
+  @@test_config = {
+    "source" => new(nil).source_dir,
+    "destination" => dest_dir
+  }
+
+  context ".from" do
+    should "create a Configuration object" do
+      assert_instance_of Configuration, Configuration.from({})
+    end
+
+    should "merge input over defaults" do
+      result = Configuration.from({"source" => "blah"})
+      refute_equal result["source"], Configuration::DEFAULTS["source"]
+      assert_equal result["source"], "blah"
+    end
+
+    should "fix common mistakes" do
+      result = Configuration.from({"paginate" => 0})
+      assert_nil result["paginate"], "Expected 'paginate' to be corrected to 'nil', but was #{result["paginate"].inspect}"
+    end
+
+    should "add default collections" do
+      result = Configuration.from({})
+      assert_equal result["collections"], {"posts" => {"output" => true, "permalink" => "/:categories/:year/:month/:day/:title:output_ext"}}
+    end
+
+    should "NOT backwards-compatibilize" do
+      assert Configuration.from("watch" => true)["watch"], "Expected the 'watch' key to not be removed."
+    end
+  end
+
+  context "#add_default_collections" do
+    should "no-op if collections is nil" do
+      result = Configuration[{"collections" => nil}].add_default_collections
+      assert_nil result["collections"]
+    end
+
+    should "turn an array into a hash" do
+      result = Configuration[{"collections" => %w{methods}}].add_default_collections
+      assert_instance_of Hash, result["collections"]
+      assert_equal result["collections"], {"posts" => {"output" => true}, "methods" => {}}
+    end
+
+    should "only assign collections.posts.permalink if a permalink is specified" do
+      result = Configuration[{"permalink" => "pretty", "collections" => {}}].add_default_collections
+      assert_equal result["collections"], {"posts" => {"output" => true, "permalink" => "/:categories/:year/:month/:day/:title/"}}
+
+      result = Configuration[{"permalink" => nil, "collections" => {}}].add_default_collections
+      assert_equal result["collections"], {"posts" => {"output" => true}}
+    end
+
+    should "forces posts to output" do
+      result = Configuration[{"collections" => {"posts" => {"output" => false}}}].add_default_collections
+      assert_equal result["collections"]["posts"]["output"], true
+    end
+  end
 
   context "#stringify_keys" do
     setup do
@@ -154,27 +209,27 @@ class TestConfiguration < JekyllUnitTest
   end
   context "loading configuration" do
     setup do
-      @path = File.join(Dir.pwd, '_config.yml')
+      @path = source_dir('_config.yml')
       @user_config = File.join(Dir.pwd, "my_config_file.yml")
     end
 
     should "fire warning with no _config.yml" do
       allow(SafeYAML).to receive(:load_file).with(@path) { raise SystemCallError, "No such file or directory - #{@path}" }
       allow($stderr).to receive(:puts).with("Configuration file: none".yellow)
-      assert_equal @@defaults, Jekyll.configuration({})
+      assert_equal site_configuration, Jekyll.configuration(@@test_config)
     end
 
     should "load configuration as hash" do
       allow(SafeYAML).to receive(:load_file).with(@path).and_return(Hash.new)
       allow($stdout).to receive(:puts).with("Configuration file: #{@path}")
-      assert_equal @@defaults, Jekyll.configuration({})
+      assert_equal site_configuration, Jekyll.configuration(@@test_config)
     end
 
     should "fire warning with bad config" do
       allow(SafeYAML).to receive(:load_file).with(@path).and_return(Array.new)
       allow($stderr).to receive(:puts).and_return(("WARNING: ".rjust(20) + "Error reading configuration. Using defaults (and options).").yellow)
       allow($stderr).to receive(:puts).and_return("Configuration file: (INVALID) #{@path}".yellow)
-      assert_equal @@defaults, Jekyll.configuration({})
+      assert_equal site_configuration, Jekyll.configuration(@@test_config)
     end
 
     should "fire warning when user-specified config file isn't there" do
@@ -193,8 +248,8 @@ class TestConfiguration < JekyllUnitTest
   context "loading config from external file" do
     setup do
       @paths = {
-        :default => File.join(Dir.pwd, '_config.yml'),
-        :other   => File.join(Dir.pwd, '_config.live.yml'),
+        :default => source_dir('_config.yml'),
+        :other   => source_dir('_config.live.yml'),
         :toml    => source_dir('_config.dev.toml'),
         :empty   => ""
       }
@@ -203,24 +258,31 @@ class TestConfiguration < JekyllUnitTest
     should "load default plus posts config if no config_file is set" do
       allow(SafeYAML).to receive(:load_file).with(@paths[:default]).and_return({})
       allow($stdout).to receive(:puts).with("Configuration file: #{@paths[:default]}")
-      assert_equal @@defaults, Jekyll.configuration({})
+      assert_equal site_configuration, Jekyll.configuration(@@test_config)
     end
 
     should "load different config if specified" do
       allow(SafeYAML).to receive(:load_file).with(@paths[:other]).and_return({"baseurl" => "http://wahoo.dev"})
       allow($stdout).to receive(:puts).with("Configuration file: #{@paths[:other]}")
-      assert_equal Utils.deep_merge_hashes(@@defaults, { "baseurl" => "http://wahoo.dev" }), Jekyll.configuration({ "config" => @paths[:other] })
+      Jekyll.configuration({ "config" => @paths[:other] })
+      assert_equal \
+        site_configuration({ "baseurl" => "http://wahoo.dev" }),
+        Jekyll.configuration(@@test_config.merge({ "config" => @paths[:other] }))
     end
 
     should "load default config if path passed is empty" do
       allow(SafeYAML).to receive(:load_file).with(@paths[:default]).and_return({})
       allow($stdout).to receive(:puts).with("Configuration file: #{@paths[:default]}")
-      assert_equal @@defaults, Jekyll.configuration({ "config" => @paths[:empty] })
+      assert_equal \
+        site_configuration,
+        Jekyll.configuration(@@test_config.merge({ "config" => [@paths[:empty]] }))
     end
 
     should "successfully load a TOML file" do
       Jekyll.logger.log_level = :warn
-      assert_equal @@defaults.clone.merge({ "baseurl" => "/you-beautiful-blog-you", "title" => "My magnificent site, wut" }), Jekyll.configuration({ "config" => [@paths[:toml]] })
+      assert_equal \
+        site_configuration({ "baseurl" => "/you-beautiful-blog-you", "title" => "My magnificent site, wut" }),
+        Jekyll.configuration(@@test_config.merge({ "config" => [@paths[:toml]] }))
       Jekyll.logger.log_level = :info
     end
 
@@ -233,7 +295,9 @@ class TestConfiguration < JekyllUnitTest
       allow($stdout).to receive(:puts).with("Configuration file: #{@paths[:default]}")
       allow($stdout).to receive(:puts).with("Configuration file: #{@paths[:other]}")
       allow($stdout).to receive(:puts).with("Configuration file: #{@paths[:toml]}")
-      assert_equal @@defaults, Jekyll.configuration({ "config" => [@paths[:default], @paths[:other], @paths[:toml]] })
+      assert_equal \
+        site_configuration,
+        Jekyll.configuration(@@test_config.merge({ "config" => [@paths[:default], @paths[:other], @paths[:toml]] }))
     end
 
     should "load multiple config files and last config should win" do
@@ -241,7 +305,63 @@ class TestConfiguration < JekyllUnitTest
       allow(SafeYAML).to receive(:load_file).with(@paths[:other]).and_return({"baseurl" => "http://wahoo.dev"})
       allow($stdout).to receive(:puts).with("Configuration file: #{@paths[:default]}")
       allow($stdout).to receive(:puts).with("Configuration file: #{@paths[:other]}")
-      assert_equal Utils.deep_merge_hashes(@@defaults, { "baseurl" => "http://wahoo.dev" }), Jekyll.configuration({ "config" => [@paths[:default], @paths[:other]] })
+      assert_equal \
+        site_configuration({ "baseurl" => "http://wahoo.dev" }),
+        Jekyll.configuration(@@test_config.merge({ "config" => [@paths[:default], @paths[:other]] }))
+    end
+  end
+
+  context "#add_default_collections" do
+    should "not do anything if collections is nil" do
+      conf = Configuration[default_configuration].tap {|c| c['collections'] = nil }
+      assert_equal conf.add_default_collections, conf
+      assert_nil conf.add_default_collections['collections']
+    end
+
+    should "converts collections to a hash if an array" do
+      conf = Configuration[default_configuration].tap {|c| c['collections'] = ['docs'] }
+      assert_equal conf.add_default_collections, conf.merge({
+        "collections" => {
+          "docs" => {},
+          "posts" => {
+            "output" => true,
+            "permalink" => "/:categories/:year/:month/:day/:title:output_ext"
+          }}})
+    end
+
+    should "force collections.posts.output = true" do
+      conf = Configuration[default_configuration].tap {|c| c['collections'] = {'posts' => {'output' => false}} }
+      assert_equal conf.add_default_collections, conf.merge({
+        "collections" => {
+          "posts" => {
+            "output" => true,
+            "permalink" => "/:categories/:year/:month/:day/:title:output_ext"
+          }}})
+    end
+
+    should "set collections.posts.permalink if it's not set" do
+      conf = Configuration[default_configuration]
+      assert_equal conf.add_default_collections, conf.merge({
+        "collections" => {
+          "posts" => {
+            "output" => true,
+            "permalink" => "/:categories/:year/:month/:day/:title:output_ext"
+          }}})
+    end
+
+    should "leave collections.posts.permalink alone if it is set" do
+      posts_permalink = "/:year/:title/"
+      conf = Configuration[default_configuration].tap do |c|
+        c['collections'] = {
+          "posts" => { "permalink" => posts_permalink }
+        }
+      end
+      assert_equal conf.add_default_collections, conf.merge({
+        "collections" => {
+          "posts" => {
+            "output" => true,
+            "permalink" => posts_permalink
+          }}})
     end
   end
 end
diff --git a/test/test_excerpt_drop.rb b/test/test_excerpt_drop.rb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..f8c75f9a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/test_excerpt_drop.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+require "helper"
+
+class TestExcerptDrop < JekyllUnitTest
+  context "an excerpt drop" do
+    setup do
+      @site = fixture_site
+      @site.read
+      @doc = @site.docs_to_write.find { |d| !d.data["layout"].nil? }
+      @doc_drop = @doc.to_liquid
+      @excerpt = @doc.data["excerpt"]
+      @excerpt_drop = @excerpt.to_liquid
+    end
+
+    should "have the right thing" do
+      assert @doc.is_a? Jekyll::Document
+      assert @doc_drop.is_a? Jekyll::Drops::DocumentDrop
+      assert @excerpt.is_a? Jekyll::Excerpt
+      assert @excerpt_drop.is_a? Jekyll::Drops::ExcerptDrop
+    end
+
+    should "not have an excerpt" do
+      assert_nil @excerpt.data["excerpt"]
+      assert @excerpt_drop.class.invokable? "excerpt"
+      assert_nil @excerpt_drop["excerpt"]
+    end
+
+    should "inherit the layout for the drop but not the excerpt" do
+      assert_nil @excerpt.data["layout"]
+      assert_equal @excerpt_drop["layout"], @doc_drop["layout"]
+    end
+
+    should "inherit values from the document" do
+      assert_equal @excerpt_drop.keys.sort, @doc_drop.keys.sort
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/test/test_front_matter_defaults.rb b/test/test_front_matter_defaults.rb
index f1b55ac1..fdad0930 100644
--- a/test/test_front_matter_defaults.rb
+++ b/test/test_front_matter_defaults.rb
@@ -3,10 +3,8 @@ require "helper"
 class TestFrontMatterDefaults < JekyllUnitTest
   context "A site with full front matter defaults" do
     setup do
-      @site = Site.new(Jekyll.configuration({
-        "source"      => source_dir,
-        "destination" => dest_dir,
-        "defaults"    => [{
+      @site = fixture_site({
+        "defaults" => [{
           "scope"  => {
             "path" => "contacts",
             "type" => "page"
@@ -15,7 +13,7 @@ class TestFrontMatterDefaults < JekyllUnitTest
             "key" => "val"
           }
         }]
-      }))
+      })
       @site.process
       @affected = @site.pages.find { |page| page.relative_path == "/contacts/bar.html" }
       @not_affected = @site.pages.find { |page| page.relative_path == "about.html" }
@@ -29,10 +27,8 @@ class TestFrontMatterDefaults < JekyllUnitTest
 
   context "A site with front matter type pages and an extension" do
     setup do
-      @site = Site.new(Jekyll.configuration({
-        "source"      => source_dir,
-        "destination" => dest_dir,
-        "defaults"    => [{
+      @site = fixture_site({
+        "defaults" => [{
           "scope"  => {
             "path" => "index.html"
           },
@@ -40,7 +36,7 @@ class TestFrontMatterDefaults < JekyllUnitTest
             "key" => "val"
           }
         }]
-      }))
+      })
 
       @site.process
       @affected = @site.pages.find { |page| page.relative_path == "index.html" }
@@ -55,10 +51,8 @@ class TestFrontMatterDefaults < JekyllUnitTest
 
   context "A site with front matter defaults with no type" do
     setup do
-      @site = Site.new(Jekyll.configuration({
-        "source"      => source_dir,
-        "destination" => dest_dir,
-        "defaults"    => [{
+      @site = fixture_site({
+        "defaults" => [{
           "scope"  => {
             "path" => "win"
           },
@@ -66,7 +60,8 @@ class TestFrontMatterDefaults < JekyllUnitTest
             "key" => "val"
           }
         }]
-      }))
+      })
+
       @site.process
       @affected = @site.posts.docs.find { |page| page.relative_path =~ %r!win\/! }
       @not_affected = @site.pages.find { |page| page.relative_path == "about.html" }
@@ -80,10 +75,8 @@ class TestFrontMatterDefaults < JekyllUnitTest
 
   context "A site with front matter defaults with no path and a deprecated type" do
     setup do
-      @site = Site.new(Jekyll.configuration({
-        "source"      => source_dir,
-        "destination" => dest_dir,
-        "defaults"    => [{
+      @site = fixture_site({
+        "defaults" => [{
           "scope"  => {
             "type" => "page"
           },
@@ -91,7 +84,8 @@ class TestFrontMatterDefaults < JekyllUnitTest
             "key" => "val"
           }
         }]
-      }))
+      })
+
       @site.process
       @affected = @site.pages
       @not_affected = @site.posts.docs
@@ -106,10 +100,8 @@ class TestFrontMatterDefaults < JekyllUnitTest
 
   context "A site with front matter defaults with no path" do
     setup do
-      @site = Site.new(Jekyll.configuration({
-        "source"      => source_dir,
-        "destination" => dest_dir,
-        "defaults"    => [{
+      @site = fixture_site({
+        "defaults" => [{
           "scope"  => {
             "type" => "pages"
           },
@@ -117,7 +109,7 @@ class TestFrontMatterDefaults < JekyllUnitTest
             "key" => "val"
           }
         }]
-      }))
+      })
       @site.process
       @affected = @site.pages
       @not_affected = @site.posts.docs
@@ -132,17 +124,15 @@ class TestFrontMatterDefaults < JekyllUnitTest
 
   context "A site with front matter defaults with no path or type" do
     setup do
-      @site = Site.new(Jekyll.configuration({
-        "source"      => source_dir,
-        "destination" => dest_dir,
-        "defaults"    => [{
+      @site = fixture_site({
+        "defaults" => [{
           "scope"  => {
           },
           "values" => {
             "key" => "val"
           }
         }]
-      }))
+      })
       @site.process
       @affected = @site.pages
       @not_affected = @site.posts
@@ -156,15 +146,13 @@ class TestFrontMatterDefaults < JekyllUnitTest
 
   context "A site with front matter defaults with no scope" do
     setup do
-      @site = Site.new(Jekyll.configuration({
-        "source"      => source_dir,
-        "destination" => dest_dir,
-        "defaults"    => [{
+      @site = fixture_site({
+        "defaults" => [{
           "values" => {
             "key" => "val"
           }
         }]
-      }))
+      })
       @site.process
       @affected = @site.pages
       @not_affected = @site.posts
diff --git a/test/test_generated_site.rb b/test/test_generated_site.rb
index 0a24172c..8373f0fc 100644
--- a/test/test_generated_site.rb
+++ b/test/test_generated_site.rb
@@ -4,10 +4,8 @@ class TestGeneratedSite < JekyllUnitTest
   context "generated sites" do
     setup do
       clear_dest
-      config = Jekyll::Configuration::DEFAULTS.merge({ "source"      => source_dir,
-                                                       "destination" => dest_dir })
 
-      @site = fixture_site(config)
+      @site = fixture_site
       @site.process
       @index = File.read(dest_dir("index.html"))
     end
@@ -65,10 +63,7 @@ OUTPUT
   context "generating limited posts" do
     setup do
       clear_dest
-      config = Jekyll::Configuration::DEFAULTS.merge({ "source"      => source_dir,
-                                                       "destination" => dest_dir,
-                                                       "limit_posts" => 5 })
-      @site = fixture_site(config)
+      @site = fixture_site("limit_posts" => 5)
       @site.process
       @index = File.read(dest_dir("index.html"))
     end
@@ -80,24 +75,16 @@ OUTPUT
     should "ensure limit posts is 0 or more" do
       assert_raises ArgumentError do
         clear_dest
-        config = Jekyll::Configuration::DEFAULTS.merge({
-          "source"      => source_dir,
-          "destination" => dest_dir,
-          "limit_posts" => -1
-        })
-        @site = fixture_site(config)
+        @site = fixture_site("limit_posts" => -1)
       end
     end
 
     should "acceptable limit post is 0" do
       clear_dest
-      config = Jekyll::Configuration::DEFAULTS.merge({
-        "source"      => source_dir,
-        "destination" => dest_dir,
-        "limit_posts" => 0
-      })
-
-      assert Site.new(config), "Couldn't create a site with the given limit_posts."
+      assert(
+        fixture_site("limit_posts" => 0),
+        "Couldn't create a site with limit_posts=0."
+      )
     end
   end
 end
diff --git a/test/test_site.rb b/test/test_site.rb
index bce20bfa..5e52a7c9 100644
--- a/test/test_site.rb
+++ b/test/test_site.rb
@@ -3,42 +3,42 @@ require 'helper'
 class TestSite < JekyllUnitTest
   context "configuring sites" do
     should "have an array for plugins by default" do
-      site = Site.new(Jekyll::Configuration::DEFAULTS)
+      site = Site.new default_configuration
       assert_equal [File.join(Dir.pwd, '_plugins')], site.plugins
     end
 
     should "look for plugins under the site directory by default" do
       site = Site.new(site_configuration)
-      assert_equal [File.join(source_dir, '_plugins')], site.plugins
+      assert_equal [source_dir('_plugins')], site.plugins
     end
 
     should "have an array for plugins if passed as a string" do
-      site = Site.new(Jekyll::Configuration::DEFAULTS.merge({'plugins_dir' => '/tmp/plugins'}))
+      site = Site.new(site_configuration({ 'plugins_dir' => '/tmp/plugins' }))
       assert_equal ['/tmp/plugins'], site.plugins
     end
 
     should "have an array for plugins if passed as an array" do
-      site = Site.new(Jekyll::Configuration::DEFAULTS.merge({'plugins_dir' => ['/tmp/plugins', '/tmp/otherplugins']}))
+      site = Site.new(site_configuration({ 'plugins_dir' => ['/tmp/plugins', '/tmp/otherplugins'] }))
       assert_equal ['/tmp/plugins', '/tmp/otherplugins'], site.plugins
     end
 
     should "have an empty array for plugins if nothing is passed" do
-      site = Site.new(Jekyll::Configuration::DEFAULTS.merge({'plugins_dir' => []}))
+      site = Site.new(site_configuration({ 'plugins_dir' => [] }))
       assert_equal [], site.plugins
     end
 
-    should "have an empty array for plugins if nil is passed" do
-      site = Site.new(Jekyll::Configuration::DEFAULTS.merge({'plugins_dir' => nil}))
-      assert_equal [], site.plugins
+    should "have the default for plugins if nil is passed" do
+      site = Site.new(site_configuration({ 'plugins_dir' => nil }))
+      assert_equal [source_dir('_plugins')], site.plugins
     end
 
     should "expose default baseurl" do
-      site = Site.new(Jekyll::Configuration::DEFAULTS)
+      site = Site.new(default_configuration)
       assert_equal Jekyll::Configuration::DEFAULTS['baseurl'], site.baseurl
     end
 
     should "expose baseurl passed in from config" do
-      site = Site.new(Jekyll::Configuration::DEFAULTS.merge({'baseurl' => '/blog'}))
+      site = Site.new(site_configuration({ 'baseurl' => '/blog' }))
       assert_equal '/blog', site.baseurl
     end
   end