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12 Nov
Lebkuchen – German Christmas Cookies
Posted as Cookies
Back at the beginning of the week I put up a poll about holiday baking, asking what types of recipes you all would like to see featured here on Brown Eyed Baker leading up to the holiday season. (If you haven’t thrown in your two cents yet, head on over and vote!) In the comments section, Heather of Squirrel Bread asked about Lebkuchen and said that she had a couple of recipes but had yet to make them. I emailed her and told her I hadn’t heard of them but would do some research and plan on making them. Less than a day later I was browsing through some of my cookbooks just looking for ideas and inspiration and wouldn’t you know, I ran across a recipe for Lebkuchen. I considered it fate and set out to make a batch right then and there. I did some reading and research and looked at other recipes and came up with this gem.
Lebkuchen is a traditional German cookie that is usually baked for Christmas. It is most like a soft gingerbread cookie, made with molasses and full of warm spices. The glaze provides the perfect complement, a little sweet and with a hint of lemon. All of the flavors blend together so nicely and taste like the holidays; one bite and you will want to crank up the holiday music and trim the tree. You could roll these a little thinner and use cookie cutters to cut out shapes and decorate them. No matter how you make them, you will be glad you did!
Lebkuchen
Yield: 18 cookies
For the Cookies:
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for kneading
1¼ teaspoons ground nutmeg
1¼ teaspoons ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon ground allspice
1 egg
¾ cup light brown sugar
½ cup honey
½ cup molassesFor the Glaze:
1 cup confectioner’s sugar
2 Tablespoons water
1 Tablespoon lemon juice1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease two baking sheets or line them with parchment paper.
2. Sift together the flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves and allspice. Set aside.
3. Beat the egg and sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the bowl.
4. Beat in the honey and molasses until thoroughly combined.
5. On low speed, stir in the flour mixture until just combined.
6. Turn the dough out from the bowl onto a well-floured surface. Knead the dough, adding more flour as kneaded, until a stiff dough is formed.
7. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill until firm, about 2 hours or overnight.
8. On a well-floured surface, roll out the dough into a 9×12-inch rectangle. Cut the dough into 18 3×2-inch rectangles. Bake for 10-12 minutes.
9. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack and let cool. Whisk together the confectioner’s sugar, water and lemon juice and brush or spread on top of the cookies.
10. Allow the glaze to firm, and then store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature.
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Love you photography. The white surface that you put the cookies on, is that a shiny white plate? or did you use mirror like reflecting plate?
“auch du lieber”… or at least that’s what I’m imagining my mother to say about this recipe. Thanks for bringing back some childhood memories. I can almost smell them.
Absolutely delicious !! I agree : we can almost smell them!!
Wow, never heard of them before, but they sounds really delicious.
These look so yummy and would be wonderful for the holidays! I bet they smelled wonderful as they baked.
you baked them! i remember walking around Munich… the street vendors’ stalls hung with heart-shaped Lebkuchen covered in bright colored icing. thank you for working on that for me. it’s like a pre-Christmas post-gift! they look terrific.
cheers,
*heather*
This sounds great!
Hi Neel – I just used a shiny white plate to photograph the cookies.
Lebkuchen are also cookies baked in Alsace (North Eastern France) before Christmas
I love them!!
A cookie without butter? I must try that!
I’m not a huge fan of lebkuchen, but these look really good! I like that they are flatter.
Looks very tasty – I have made german cookies once before and they were to die for!
My Oma used to make these, and I think I will be making them again for Christmas! Thank you for the recipe!
My Dad told me he would eat these as a kid, so last year I attempted to make them for Christmas. However, they turned out rock hard! I was scared for my teeth when I bit in. I did some research and found that they were often left in airtight containers with orange slices to soften them up (though this didn’t work for me either). I don’t know if you have any advice to offer – did yours come out of the oven nice and soft already? I’d love to try them again this year.
I love your shot of all the spices! These look amazing, I should make them for my Dad!
these sound really good. I like the glaze thats put over them
This reminds me of my childhood and My papa used to bring them from Basel for Christmas…thank you so much!
oo these sound delicious with all those spices!
I love these cookies. Lucky me, I have a friend living in Germany who mails me some every year!! Yours look divine.
ohhh, these might be on my christmas cooking baking list! Thank you so much
I attempted to make them last year… not really succeeded. Yours look beautiful!
I have never made these cookies but know of them as my family is of German descent. My new years resolution that started last week is to learn about and make (and of course blog) about real German food. This is one of the better recipes I’ve seen for lebkuchen. Usually when I try to buy them they are hard and I don’t care for them. I am saving this recipe and making for Christmas this year.
I love your photos! Always highlight every single detail bit!
These cookies look great, and I love the picture of the spices. I can smell them from here!
Many years ago I worked for a German family (in Australia) & was lucky enough to join them in their Christmas celebrations. Seeing your Lebkuchen took me back to that time. Simply gorgeous cookies & photography.
I haven’t tried these but love the spices. Very Christmas-y
These look & sound delicious! I usually buy a few packages of Lebkuchen at Trader Joe’s as my son loves them. But you have inspired me to bake some myself this year! Thanks for experimenting & sharing!
Lovely — I’ve seen this traditional recipe in cookie books and have always been curious to try it!
Wow those look amazing (both the recipe and your photographs). I’ve gotta try these.
I make a version of these cookies every year, however I don’t use any molasses and I replace some of the flour with ground almonds. I also heat the honey – then add the brown sugar. When they come out of the oven I brush both sides with a thin icing. They are chewy and delicious – my whole family and neighbourhood are fans. I make them early in the season and keep them in a sealed container till around Christmas. My recipe comes the closest to the cookies I had in Germany as a child.
I’ve just bumped them to the top of my bake for xmas list, thank you!
these are one of my moms favorites, from germany and she hasnt been able to find good ones in the US so i will have to make these for her~ thanks!
Wow. delicious recipe. I like your foto..
I will try this and the true test will be when my husband’s Oma (age 94) will taste them. She is now in a nursing home and she could not make them last year, either. So, I hope this will be a nice Xmas present/ surprise for her.
About their hardness…when my grandparents were still alive, they sent us lebkuchen and other cookies from Germany every Christmas, and I remember that the lebkuchen would get softer over time. You couldn’t eat them right away. So don’t give up hope, Carolyn! I haven’t tried this recipe yet – it’ll be a first for me for lebkuchen – but I’m really excited to see how it goes!
I make our family’s version of these every year. The Hebron ND cookbook has 8 different recipes for lebkuchen. All have butter and honey boiled first, then flour added along with eggs spices and ground citron and nuts. They are topped with a split almond and brushed with egg yolk wash before being baked. Wonderful!
O.k., I did it! I made them! I think I didn’t put in enough of the liquid sugars, and so when it came time to knead the dough, I just had a bowl full of powder. So I added two more eggs, which I think made them a little rubbery. But they’re still delicious. They don’t look *anything* like in your photo, but hey, it’s my first time, afterall…