Lebkuchen - Chocolate Spice Cookies

I was looking through my Christmas baking folder for some inspiration (which I need desperately these days) and came upon a recipe from a 2002 Gourmet magazine issue. I had written “excellent” on the recipe. Last year, I made a a similar cookie recipe from Luisa Weiss’s Classic German Baking called Baseler Brunsli (click here for the recipeBaseler Brunsli). Both these cookies belong to the family of Lebkuchen. You can find many different recipes for Lebkuchen throughout the German-speaking countries. Lebkuchen is a blanket term for German gingerbread, and this particular recipe is a smoother and more cake-like version, with a hint of chocolate, hazelnut and almond too. I love them because they are not overly sweet, but my American family is not a big fan of this tasty treat. They will go for the sweeter shortbread, sugary kind of cookie. That’s why I bake a variety of different cookies, put them in my tins and have one I like in the afternoon with my tea.

​I baked these cookies because they remind me of the German Elisenlebkuchen, a treat from the German town of Nürnberg. Traditionally, they are baked on wafers and covered with either chocolate or a powdered sugar icing. I didn’t add the wafers and the icing, which makes them less sweet and easier to bake. I also liked the combination of ground hazelnuts and almonds. Instead of chocolate, this recipe uses unsweetened cocoa powder. Like all Lebkuchen recipes, these cookies improve after being stored in a tin for a few days or weeks. They are soft and chewy, and should not be stored with other cookies.

This year will be a special Christmas because my niece and her husband are visiting from Germany. It doesn’t happen very often that I get to celebrate with my German family and it is always very special to me when they come to my home in California. So, I am baking and decorating as much as I can. Check out my post from 2016 with most of my family’s favorite cookie recipes. (click here)

If you feel like a savory treat for the holidays, try my country pâté. It’s a great party pleaser.(click here )

My dear readers, I wish you all a peaceful holiday filled with good food and surrounded by people you love. May the stars shine upon you and may your home be filled with warmth and good cheer.

Fröhliche Weihnachten and best wishes for the coming year!

This is a soft, chewy cookie that will improve with age. Store them in a tin box between wax paper. For the nut flour, use roasted and peeled hazelnuts and peeled almonds.

Print Recipe

Ingredients:
This batch makes 43-45 large cookies

For the nut flour:
3/4 cup (3 ½ oz) roasted and peeled hazelnuts 
3/4 cup (2 ½ oz) sliced almonds
2 3/4 cup all-purpose flour 
3 TBS unsweetened cocoa powder
1 TBS ground cinnamon 
1 tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground cloves 
3/4 tsp salt
½ tsp baking powder 
¼ tsp baking soda
​ 
For cookies:
1 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup mild honey
½ cup butter, softened 
2 large eggs 
½  cup finely diced candied orange peel

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit, arrange the oven racks in the lower and upper ovens.
Making the nut flour:
In a food processor, grind  the nuts (be careful not to make nut butter) adding the rest of the ingredients and continuing to grind.
Making the dough:
In an electric mixer, beat the butter, brown sugar, and honey until creamy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the flour on a low speed (do not over mix), stirring in the candied fruit.
Spray two cookie sheets thoroughly with oil, as these cookies are sticky and traditionally put on edible rice paper.  
Roll a generous tablespoon of the cookie dough into a ball and arrange each one on the baking sheet. Leave some space, as these cookies will spread. I put my hands in a cup with hot water when rolling these cookies, which helps a lot. 
Bake the cookies for 15 minutes in the upper and lower thirds of the oven, switching the positions of baking sheets halfway through baking. The cookies are done when their surface no longer appears wet, but the cookies themselves will be soft. Carefully loosen the cookies from the baking sheets with a spatula. 
Traditionally, these cookies are served with icing (which I didn’t do). If you choose to ice them, mix 2 cups of confectioners’ sugar with 3 tablespoon lemon juice and ice the cooled cookies.  The icing will darken while stored. Gourmet magazine recommends to ice them later. 
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Guten Appetit!
recipe from Gourmet magazine
​adapted by©Sunnycovechef.com