Description
Authentic recipe of the most popular German cookies: spicy, soft and incredibly flavorful. Give them as gifts to your family and friends! Spice mix recipe provided.
Ingredients
- FOR THE SPICE MIX:
- 4 teaspoons Ground Cinnamon
- ½ teaspoons Ground Coriander
- ½ teaspoons Ground Lemon Zest
- ½ teaspoons Ground Orange Zest
- ½ teaspoons Ground Anise
- ½ teaspoons Ground Nutmeg
- ½ teaspoons Ground Nutmeg Flowers
- ½ teaspoons Ground Fennel Seeds
- ½ teaspoons Ground Cardamom
- ½ teaspoons Ground Ginger
- ½ teaspoons Ground Black Pepper
- ½ teaspoons Ground Allspice
- 10 Cloves, Ground
- FOR THE COOKIES:
- 7 Tablespoons Honey
- ¼ cups Sugar
- ¼ cups Butter
- 1/2 Egg
- ½ Lemon, Zested
- ¼ teaspoons Potash (Kaliumkarbonat) Or Baking Soda
- ¼ teaspoons Hartshorn (baker’s Ammonia) Or 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1-½ teaspoon Water
- 2 cups Flour
Preparation
Combine all spices for the spice mix.
In a saucepan, combine honey, sugar and butter and cook on medium heat until the sugar has completely dissolved, stirring constantly. Let cool to room temperature. Add egg, lemon zest and 1 1/2 tablespoons of Lebkuchen spice mix. Dissolve potash and hartshorn in water. Add it to the honey mixture together with flour. Knead into a firm dough.
Wrap the dough in plastic foil and let it rest for at least 1 hour 30 minutes in the fridge. Knead the dough again. Roll thick on floured surface (4-5 mm or 1 1/2 to 2 inches).
Preheat oven to 180°C or 355ºF. Cut the dough with cookie cutters of your choice. Place on a baking tray covered with baking paper. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden. Increase the baking time if you like harder cookies. Immediately remove from the baking tray. Let cool and decorate with glaze or leave plain. Enjoy!
