Lebkuchen

Lebkuchen

Lebkucken

Lebkuchen are a classic German Christmas gingerbread cookie made with honey and spices. Lebkucken are a cross between a cookie and cake. You get a nice crunchy bite from the ground almonds and the texture is cake-like. The spices are warm and flavorful. The slivered almonds on top really bring the cookie together. Enjoy some Lebkuchen with tea or coffee. See recipe below.

Yield: 2 dozen cookies

Lebkuchen

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups All Purpose Flour

2/3 cup Almond Meal (Ground up Almonds)

1 teaspoon Baking Powder

1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda

2 teaspoons Ground Ginger

1/2 teaspoon Ground Nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon Ground Cloves

Zest of 1 Lemon

1/2 cup Honey (Raw if you can find it)

3/4 cup (12 tablespoons) Unsalted Butter

Slivered Almonds to decorate tops of cookies

Lebkuchen

Directions
Grind almonds in processor or coffee grinder; set aside.

Whisk together ground almonds, flour, baking powder, baking soda, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, and cloves; set aside.

In a small sauce pan, melt butter and honey. Set aside to cool.

Once cool, add melted butter and honey to dry ingredients stirring with a spatula.

Once dough forms, cover with plastic wrap and chill in fridge for at least 1 hour.

Lebkuchen

Heat oven to 350°F.

Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Roll dough with rolling pin in between two sheets of parchment paper.

Use a small or medium size cookie scoop or roll a ball with your hands and place two inches apart on the cookie sheets. Using the palm of your hand press each cookie and add 2-3 slivered almonds on top.

Cookies are out of the oven. Check out my new Wilton Cookie Spatula!

Bake 12-15 minutes or until the edges have slightly browned. My cookies baked in 13 minutes.

Wait 2-3 minutes before transferring cookies on cooling racks to complete cooling.

Lebkuchen was adapted from Recipes for Germany's Popular Foods:
https://www.theconstantrambler.com/recipes-for-germanys-popular-foods/

Enjoy!

-Sophia/Two Frys