Sunny Cove Chef
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Recipes
    • Appetizers
    • Cakes
    • Cookies
    • Desserts
    • German Food
    • Holiday Cooking
    • Ice Cream
    • Jam
    • Main Dish
    • Miscellaneous
    • Party Favorites
    • Pasta
    • Salad
    • Sauces
    • Seafood
    • Seasonal Cooking
    • Side Dishes
    • Soup
    • Vegan
    • Vegetables
    • Vegetarian
  • Food Philosophy
    • About
  • Wanderlust
    • Austria
    • Canada
    • France
    • Germany
    • Italy
    • Morocco
    • Sweden
    • Switzerland
    • USA

Lebkuchen - Chocolate Spice Cookies

12/19/2018

0 Comments

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

Guten Appetit!
recipe from Gourmet magazine
​adapted by©Sunnycovechef.com
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    WELCOME TO SUNNY COVE CHEF

    Thank you for visiting my blog.  My two passions are cooking and traveling. Traveling exposes me to a wide variety of food and experiences. I walk around cities looking for markets, restaurants, bakeries, shops, you name it, and if it is related to food you will find me there, tasting, smelling, talking to vendors, and having a great time.

    ​
    If you  have tried any of my recipes, snap a photo and tag me @sunnycovechef I'd love to see your creations!​


      ​STAY UPDATED!

      Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.
    Subscribe

    Categories

    All
    Appetizers
    Austria
    Cakes
    Canada
    Cookies
    Desserts
    France
    German Food
    Germany
    Holiday Cooking
    Ice Cream
    Italy
    Jam
    Main Dish
    Miscellaneous
    Morrocco
    Party Favorites
    Pasta
    Salad
    Sauces
    Seafoods
    Seasonal Cooking
    Soup
    Stories
    Sweden
    Switzerland
    USA
    Vegan
    Vegetables
    Vegetarian
    Wanderlust

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    August 2022
    July 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    April 2013

     
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Recipes
    • Appetizers
    • Cakes
    • Cookies
    • Desserts
    • German Food
    • Holiday Cooking
    • Ice Cream
    • Jam
    • Main Dish
    • Miscellaneous
    • Party Favorites
    • Pasta
    • Salad
    • Sauces
    • Seafood
    • Seasonal Cooking
    • Side Dishes
    • Soup
    • Vegan
    • Vegetables
    • Vegetarian
  • Food Philosophy
    • About
  • Wanderlust
    • Austria
    • Canada
    • France
    • Germany
    • Italy
    • Morocco
    • Sweden
    • Switzerland
    • USA