Lebkuchen — Traditional German Honey Cookies
Lebkuchen are spicy honey cookies traditionally served at Christmas time in Germany, and are an essential part of Christmas in our household. These cookies are not only delicious, but also pretty enough to give as gifts. Large and round, they fit nicely into a tall, round decorative cookie tin.
Why they are called Lebkuchen is a matter of conjecture. Kuchen is the German word for cake. Leb likely refers to Leb-honig, or crystallized honey. The first step in our family recipe is to heat the honey until it starts bubbling, which would cause it to liquify if you were using crystallized honey (as I often do).
Everybody’s recipe is a little different. Here’s our recipe, which makes 32 Lebkuchen
Lebkuchen Recipe
Heat to bubbling
1 cup honey
Cool and stir in
¾ cup dark brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon rind
Mix together and add
2¾ cup flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
Stir in
½ cup citron, chopped
½ cup hazelnuts, chopped
Place in well-buttered bowl or wrap in buttered wax paper and refrigerate 8 to 48 hours.
Divide dough in half. Return half to refrigerator. With buttered hands, roll half into 16 balls. Place them on an ungreased cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart, and flatten with buttered hands. Repeat for remaining dough.
Decorate each flattened cookie with half a candied cherry in the middle, surrounded by six blanched almond “petals.”
You will need
16 candied cherries
Bake 12 minutes at 375°F. Cool slightly before brushing with glaze.
Lebkuchen Glaze
For glaze combine
½ cup rum
2 cup powdered sugar
Lebkuchen honey cookies keep well. These cookies may be baked weeks ahead of the Christmas rush.
