Lebkuchen Cookies - Daring Bakers November

The Daring Baking Challenge this month was Christmas Cookies. Holiday season is the time for sharing and Peta of Peta Eats is sharing a dozen cookies, some classics and some of her own, from all over the world with us.

Sadly, the only recipe I had time to try was Lebkuchen. It is a holiday baked treat from Germany that has a long history. This recipe is adapted from The Pink Whisk. Although I was sad to only try one of the many recipes Peta offered I was happy that I chose this one! They are delicious. This Lebkuchen recipe produces a soft cookie that tastes like spiced gingerbread. The flavour improves as the days go by! I didn't have dark brown sugar, only light, so I added a tablespoon of molasses to the recipe. I also added almond flavouring to the glaze. Yum! 

Ingredients:

6 tbsp  honey
½ c dark brown sugar
2 tbsp butter
1 c plain flour, sifted
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 large egg, beaten
3 tbsp ground almonds

To ice:
¼ c  icing sugar sifted
1 tsp water

1 - 2 tsp almond flavouring (depending on how strong you’d like it)

Makes about 36 cookies depending on cookie cutter size.

Directions:

1.   In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, spices and baking soda.

2.   Beat the egg in a small dish.

3.   In a medium sauce pot, over low heat, add the honey, sugar and butter. Stir until the butter and sugar have melted. Remove from the heat.

4.   Add half of the flour mixture and half of the egg to the pan and stir to combine. Repeat.

5.   Stir in the ground almonds until combined. The dough will be sticky.

6.   Place the the dough in a large Ziploc or container  and refrigerate for at least 3 hours but up to 24 hours!

7.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

8.   On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough to ¼ inch thickness and cut into desired shapes. I used small 1 to 1-1/2 inch cookies cutters.

9.   Place on a tray covered with parchment paper or a silpat leaving about an inch or so between cookies.

10. Bake in the oven for 8-9 minutes until golden brown.  Ccool for five minutes on the baking sheet before carefully transferring to a cooling rack.

Glaze: 

Combine sifted icing sugar, water and flavouring. You want it to be quite thin. Line up the lebkuchen on a wire rack (place wax paper underneath for easy clean up) and use a pastry brush to lightly glaze the cookies. If desired, add a second coat.