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Lebkuchen

Adapted from BBC food

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Traditional German Christmas Ginger biscuits that are great for the kids to cut out and decorate as they hold together well

Ingredients
Lebkuchen

  • 200g honey

  • 85g butter

  • 200g plain flour

  • 100g ground almonds

  • 1 tsp baking powder

  • ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda

  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon

  • 1 tsp ground ginger

  • 1 tsp ground allspice or mixed spice

  • ½ tsp ground nutmeg

  • ½ tsp ground cloves (optional)

  • 1 tbsp cocoa powder (optional)

  • ½ unwaxed orange, finely grated zest and juice

  • Salt to taste


Sugar glaze

  • 100g icing sugar

  • 2 tbsp boiling water


Chocolate glaze

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


Old recipe

  • 100g honey

  • 4 eggs

  • 400g sugar

  • 15ml ground cinnamon

  • 5ml ground ginger

  • 2½ ml ground cloves

  • 2½ ml mixed spice

  • 1 ml ground nutmeg

  • 5 ml lemon rind

  • juice of a lemon

  • 600ml flour

  • 7½ ml bicarbonate of soda

  • 50g flaked almonds

  • 1 whisked egg white for glazing

Method

  1. Line two baking trays with baking paper.

  2. 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.

  3. Remove the honey-butter mixture from the fridge and sieve in the remaining ingredients, stirring to combine. (The mixture will be sticky.) Return to the fridge for about 1 hour, or until completely cold.

  4. 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 at 180C, 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.

  5. 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.

  6. Alternatively, to make the chocolate glaze, melt half the chocolate in a small heatproof bowl over a simmering saucepan of water, making sure the base of the bowl doesn’t touch the water. When the chocolate has almost melted, take the pan off the heat and add the remaining chocolate. Stir until all the chocolate has melted. Dip one side of the lebkuchen into the chocolate and return to the wire rack, chocolate side up, to set.

  7. You can also use a combination of the icing and the chocolate glaze. Simply dunk one side of the lebkuchen in the icing and leave to set, before dunking the other side in the glaze and leave to set to completely.


Old recipe

  1. Mix together all wet ingredients except egg white

  2. Mix in all remaining ingredients except egg white

  3. Knead to a dough consistency, adding a little more flour if too sticky

  4. Cover in clingfilm and allow to rest in the fridge for an hour

  5. Roll out dough to about 6mm thick

  6. Cut out shapes, place on a greased baking tray and glaze with egg white

  7. Bake at 190°C for about 20 minutes

Notes

© 2025. Feel free to use any of these... if you invite us to the tasting!

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