Lebkuchen Cookies
Lebkuchen Cookies, some delicious German Christmas cookies that are very similar taste-wise to gingerbread. Beautifully spiced, with a lovely thin icing on top, these lebkuchen cookies are very popular in Europe during the festive season. A super easy recipe that is pretty much failproof.
Servings: 15 cookies
Calories: 229kcal
Ingredients
- 300 g plain flour ( 2 ⅓ cups)
- 100 g butter (½ cup)
- 100 g sugar (½ cup)
- 5 tablespoon honey
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon mixed spice (or pumpkin spice)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon bicarb of soda
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
For the icing
- 200 g icing sugar (1 ⅔ cups)
- 2 tablespoon boiling water
Instructions
- To make the cookies, melt the butter and allow it to cool slightly.
- Sift the flour, add the bicarb of soda, spices, honey, lemon juice, melted butter and eggs beaten lightly.
- Knead gently to get a dough that does not stick to the hands - add more flour if necessary.
- Cover the dough with clingfilm and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius (390 Fahrenheit).
- Make balls out of the dough the size of a walnut, and arrange them on a baking tray lined with non-stick paper - leave enough room between cookies as they double their volume.
- Bake for 10 minutes until golden brown and firm to touch.
- Leave to cool completely.
- To make the icing, sift the icing sugar, add the boiling water and mix well to get a lump-free icing.
- When the cookies have cooled, drizzle the icing over, and leave to dry completely.
Video
Notes
- I find that the texture of the dough depends greatly on the flour you use - if the dough seems too soft and still very sticky, add more flour as necessary to get an elastic dough that does not stick to the hands.
- Do not add too much flour at once, as that will change the texture of the cookies, and they will turn out rock hard. It is best to add a tablespoon of flour at a time until you get the desired texture.
- The dough will harden further in the fridge, so it's best to have it slightly on the softer side to begin with, rather than too dry and lumpy.
Nutrition
Calories: 229kcal | Carbohydrates: 41g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 36mg | Sodium: 94mg | Potassium: 33mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 26g | Vitamin A: 198IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 11mg | Iron: 1mg