If you feel like doing a little Christmas baking, why not make some classic German Lebkuchen? This traditional festive spiced German Biscuit shares a few things in common with gingerbread, but it’s darker, spicier and even more flavourful. One bite and you will be hooked!
WHAT are LEBKUCHEN?
Lebkuchen is a very popular German spiced biscuit (cookie) that dates back to the 13th century. They were originally made in monasteries. The biscuits contained honey and seven different spices to represent the seven days in which God created Earth.
If you happen to visit a Christmas market this month, then it’s a pretty safe bet that you’ll see Lebkuchen cookies adorning the tempting market stalls.
They could be sugar-glazed, elaborately decorated with icing, studded with nuts or dried fruit, filled with jam or thickly coated in chocolate.
A traditional Lebkuchen recipe calls for a spice mix called Lebkuchengewurz. This is unavailable to buy in the UK, but you can still make a very similar spice mix from scratch. It might not be exactly the same as using the authentic blend, but it’s the closest we’re going to get.
I like to stick to hearts and stars for Lebkuchen, but this year I also made some snowflakes. They are pretty enough to give away as gifts – I for one would be very happy to receive a lovingly made package of glazed Lebkuchen for Christmas!
What’s the difference between gingerbread and Lebkuchen?
The main difference between a gingerbread cookie and Lebkuchen is the texture. A gingerbread cookie is crisp, but Lebkuchen is softer and spicier. The addition of ground almonds gives Lebkuchen a soft, slightly cakey texture.
ingredients to make Lebkuchen cookies
Keep scrolling to the bottom of the post to find a printable recipe card with ingredient amounts. This is just a quick shopping list for you!
- Runny honey gives the cookies a rich flavour and adds moisture.
- Dark brown muscovado sugar. If you don’t have any dark brown sugar, you can use light instead.
- unsalted butter
- plain (all purpose) flour
- baking powder and bicarbonate of soda to make the cookies rise
- fine salt – please don’t skip this. A little salt helps to balance the flavours.
- Just like gingerbread, Lebkuchen contains a generous amount of ground ginger. But that isn’t the only spice – it also has nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, black pepper and ground cardamom.
- Lemon or orange peel is usually added – I didn’t have any, so I used finely grated orange zest. You could swap it for lemon zest if you prefer.
- ground almonds
- 1 large egg
There’s nothing like making a batch of Lebkuchen cookies to get you in the Christmas spirit. They will make your home smell incredibly festive and welcoming.
The dough
You do need to let Lebkuchen dough rest for a minimum of one hour before rolling it out. If you can, it’s best to leave it even longer – the best Lebkuchen I ever had was made using dough that had been resting in the fridge for 7 days. The honey in the dough acts as a natural preserver.
The dough is wonderful to work with – it rolls out beautifully. Be sure to flour the work surface and give it a turn every now and then to make sure it isn’t sticking.
DECORATING LEBKUCHEN
I love Lebkuchen dipped in melted dark chocolate (just thinking of it makes me want one) or a simple lemon glaze.
However this year I fancied trying something a little different. I took inspiration from Ottolenghi”s fabulous baking book “sweet” and made a buttered rum glaze.
I also kept a few unglazed and adorned them with a glace cherry half. You could use almonds instead if you like, but I think the cherries look pretty adorable.
step by step
- Place the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, orange zest, all of the spices and salt in a large mixing bowl and stir to combine.
- Melt the honey, butter and brown sugar in a small saucepan. Set over a low heat and allow the mixture to melt, stirring occasionally until melted and smooth. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.
- Pour the slightly cooled (it doesn’t need to be cold but if it’s too hot it could scramble the egg) butter and honey mixture and the egg into the bowl of dry ingredients and using a wooden spoon (or a free standing mixer) stir until you have a sticky dough.
- At this stage you need to chill the dough – it will be far too soft to roll out just now. Allowing the dough to rest will also give a chance for all those festive flavours to develop, making a much tastier cookie.
- When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 180C/160Fan/350F. Grease and line a couple of large baking tins with baking parchment.
- Roll out the dough on a lightly floured work surface and cut out shapes of your choice. Place them on the lined baking trays. If you’re baking one tray at a time like I do, place one tray in the fridge while you bake the other one.
- When the Lebkuchen are golden, puffy and smelling amazing, they’re ready!
- Leave the cookies on the tray for about five minutes before transferring to a wire rack. If you’re glazing them, you need to do it while they are still warm.
the buttered rum or lemon glaze
If you’re glazing the Lebkuchen, you’ll need to make the glaze while the cookies are in the oven. I dip them in the glaze while they are still warm – the icing will set almost immediately and give a lovely shiny coating.
To make the buttered rum glaze, melt one tablespoon of butter in a small pan. Sift 100g icing sugar and the cinnamon into a medium bowl. Pour in the melted butter, 1 tablespoon of dark rum and one or two teaspoons of water. Stir well until you have a smooth, quite runny glaze. Dip the warm cookies into the glaze and place on a wire cooling rack to set.
For the lemon glaze, mix 100g sieved icing sugar with one or two tablespoons of fresh lemon juice. You should have a runny glaze, but you can add more lemon juice to get the right consistency.
- If you’re decorating the Lebkuchen with cherries or nuts, brush the unbaked cookies with a small amount of egg white, then press half a glace cherry or a whole almond in the middle of each one. Very simple, but so beautiful.
Storage
Lebkuchen keeps for a few weeks – the longer you leave them, the spicier and more cake like they become. Although I have to say, I’ve never had any left after a week!
When you open the tin, the spicy aroma will hit you and you will not be able to resist trying one…or maybe two.
Lebkuchen is now my favourite Christmas cookie. I hope you find some time to make them over the festive season!
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German Lebkuchen Recipe
This German Lebkuchen recipe is soft, spicy and delicious. They are a perfect easy bake for the festive season. They will keep for a few weeks in an airtight tin, if they last that long!
Ingredients
- 100g runny honey
- 100g dark brown muscavado sugar
- 90g butter
- 250g plain (all purpose) flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated or ground nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground allspice (optional, adds an extra hit of spice but if you don't have it don't worry)
- 100g ground almonds
- finely grated zest of one orange or lemon
- 1 large (not extra large) egg, beaten
- FOR THE BUTTERED RUM GLAZE
- 100g icing sugar, sifted
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon warm melted butter
- 1 tablespoon dark rum
- 1 teaspoons water (you might need one more teaspoon)
- FOR THE LEMON GLAZE
- 100g icing sugar, sifted
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (you might need to add up to two tablespoons)
- 1 teaspoon water, to thin the glaze
- FOR THE CHOCOLATE COATING
- 150g dark chocolate, melted
- beaten egg white, glace cherries or whole almonds to decorate, optional
Instructions
- Place the honey, brown sugar and butter in a small pan. Place on a hob and allow to melt over a low heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture has melted completely. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool down slightly.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt, ground ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, nutmeg, black pepper, all spice (if using), ground almonds and orange or lemon zest.
- Pour the cooled melted butter and honey mixture into the bowl of dry ingredients along with the egg. Using a wooden spoon or in the bowl of a free standing mixer, stir or mix on low speed. When the mixture has turned into a soft, sticky dough (this will take no more than one minute) stop mixing and use your hands to bring the dough together. Form into a round, cut in half, wrap each half in cling film and place in the fridge for a minimum of one hour, but longer is better.
- When you're ready to bake the Lebkuchen, preheat the oven to 180C/160Fan/350F. Grease and line two large baking trays with parchement. Remove the dough from the fridge and roll out on a lightly floured work surface to around the thickness of a pound coin.
- Cut out shapes and place on the lined baking trays. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until they are light golden brown around the edges. Leave the cookies on the baking trays for five minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack. If you're glazing the cookies, you need to do it while they're still warm.
- To make the buttered rum glaze, melt the butter in a small pan. Sift the icing sugar and the cinnamon into a medium bowl. Pour in the melted butter, the dark rum and one or two teaspoons of water. Stir well until you have a smooth, quite runny glaze. Dip the warm cookies into the glaze and place on a wire cooling rack to set.
- For the lemon glaze, mix the icing sugar with one or two tablespoons of fresh lemon juice. You should have a runny glaze, but you can add more lemon juice to get the right consistency.
- If you're decorating the Lebkuchen with cherries or nuts, brush the unbaked cookies with a small amount of egg white, then press half a glace cherry or a whole almond in the middle of each one. Very simple, but so beautiful.
Notes
This recipe makes up to 25 cookies, depending on the size of your cutters.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 25 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 182Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 11mgSodium: 110mgCarbohydrates: 26gFiber: 1gSugar: 23gProtein: 2g
Calories and nutritional information are provided by a third party application and should be viewed as indicative figures only.