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Lebkuchen! The famous Christmas Biscuits from Germany

Lebkuchen come from Germany and are among the most popular Christmas treats in Europe. For sure, they are the perfect base for Christmas decoration.  Their taste is something between spicy and sweet, as they contain honey and spices such as aniseed, cloves, ginger and cardamom. Many people say they are similar to gingerbread. It was the perfect choice for me to feel the warmth of Christmas, even during this difficult Covid-year. Enjoy!!!

Ratings 5 from 1 votes
Cooking Method
Cuisine
Course
Difficulty Intermediate
Time
Prep Time: 45 mins Cook Time: 15 mins Rest Time: 24 hrs Total Time: 25 hrs
Servings 40
Best Season Winter
Ingredients
    Dough
  • 125 g honey
  • 50 g sugar (white or brown)
  • 125 g butter (or margarine)
  • 25 g orange peels (candied, "orangeat" in german)
  • 250 g flour (all-purpose)
  • 8 g baking powder
  • 1/2 egg (beaten)
  • 5 g cocoa
  • 1 tbsp lebkuchen seasoning
  • 50 g almonds (blanched, roasted, grounded)
  • 3 g orange zest (grated, sweetened, aromatized)
    • Decoration
  • icing sugar
  • chocolate glaze
  • food colouring
  • FANTASY
Instructions

  1. Heat honey, sugar and butter or margarine in a saucepan over medium heat and stir until everything is dissolved (but do not boil!). Let the mixture cool down.

  2. Finely chop the orange peels. Mix the flour with the baking powder in a bowl and add the remaining ingredients. Add the cooled honey mixture and mix with a mixer (dough hook) to form a smooth dough. Cover with plastic wrap and chill the dough overnight or better for 24 hours.

  3. Let the dough stand for about 30 minutes at room temperature before rolling it out. Preheat oven (180 °C / 160 °C Fan). Cover the baking sheet with parchment paper.

  4. Knead the dough with your hands on a lightly floured work surface and roll out about 1/2 cm thick. Cut out any biscuits, place on the baking sheet and bake on the middle rack for 12-15 mins. When ready, remove from oven and allow to cool.

  5. Decorate the biscuits as you like with glaze, icing sugar, food colors and pastry decorations and let them set.

Notes
  • With these ingredients quantities expect to have approx. 40 biscuits.
  • You can store them for about 2 weeks in a biscuit tin. 
  • Package them in nicely decorated tins and offer them as gifts to your friends!
Read it online: https://catinmykitchen.gr/recipe/lebkuchen-the-famous-christmas-biscuits-from-germany/

Kallisti wants to thank you for visiting "A cat in my kitchen!" blog.