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Lebkuchen

Lebkuchen

Delicious Lebkuchen cookies, a traditional festive treat made with honey, spices, and optional glazes.
Prep Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Chilling Time 1 hour
Total Time 2 hours 30 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine German
Servings 12 cookies
Calories 150 kcal

Equipment

  • mixing bowl
  • Saucepan
  • baking tray
  • Baking Paper
  • whisk
  • cookie cutters

Ingredients
  

For the lebkuchen

  • 200 g honey runny
  • 85 g butter
  • 200 g plain flour
  • 100 g ground almonds
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 0.25 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon ground allspice or mixed spice
  • 0.5 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 0.5 teaspoon ground cloves optional
  • 1 tablespoon cocoa powder optional
  • 0.5 orange unwaxed orange finely grated zest and juice
  • pinch sea salt

For the sugar glaze

  • 100 g icing sugar
  • 2 tablespoon boiling water

For the chocolate glaze

  • 200 g chocolate dark, milk or white, finely chopped

Instructions
 

Preparation

  • Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6. Line two baking trays with baking paper.
  • Heat the honey and butter in a small saucepan over a low heat until melted. Tip into a large mixing bowl and put in the fridge for 5 minutes.
  • Remove the honey-butter mixture from the fridge and sieve in the remaining ingredients, stirring to combine. Return to the fridge for about 1 hour, or until completely cold.
  • With damp hands, break off pieces of the dough and roll into balls slightly smaller than a golf ball. Transfer to the baking trays and flatten down slightly, leaving enough space between each lebkuchen to spread during cooking.
  • Bake for 15 minutes, or until the lebkuchen has risen and are firm to the touch. Set aside to cool slightly on the baking trays, before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Glazing

  • To make the sugar glaze, mix the icing sugar and water in a bowl. Dip one side of the lebkuchen into the glaze and return to the wire rack, icing side up, to set.
  • To make the chocolate glaze, melt half the chocolate in a small heatproof bowl over a simmering saucepan of water. When the chocolate has almost melted, remove from heat and stir in the remaining chocolate until melted. Dip one side of the lebkuchen into the chocolate and return to the wire rack, chocolate side up, to set.
  • You can also use a combination of the icing and the chocolate glaze. Simply dunk one side of the lebkuchen in the icing, let set, then dunk the other side in chocolate glaze.

Notes

To make filled lebkuchen, dot half of the rolled dough with jam before folding and cutting shapes. For decoration, drizzle melted white chocolate or icing over the cookies.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cookieCalories: 150kcalCarbohydrates: 22gProtein: 2gFat: 7gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 15mgSodium: 15mgPotassium: 70mgFiber: 1gSugar: 10gVitamin A: 50IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 30mgIron: 0.5mg
Keyword baking, cookies, festive treats, holiday, Lebkuchen
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