Soft German Lebkuchen

Before you start

Lebkuchen are soft, dense spice cookies from Germany, closely associated with Nuremberg and the Christmas season. The finest style is made mostly from ground nuts with very little flour, sweetened with honey and sugar, and loaded with candied citrus peel and warm spices. Bakers often spread the batter on thin edible wafers called Oblaten, which keep the soft cookies from sticking and give them a neat base.

This recipe follows that nut-heavy approach, so the texture is moist and almost marzipan-like rather than crisp. Beating the eggs and sugar until thick provides the lift; the flour only binds. Keep the bake short so the centers stay soft. The cookies taste good the next day but better after several days in a tin, as the spices and peel mellow and the moisture evens out.

Ingredients

• Cookies2 large eggs — room temperature
• 150 g (¾ cup packed) dark brown sugar
• 85 g (¼ cup) honey
• 200 g (2 cups) finely ground almonds
• 100 g (1 cup) finely ground hazelnuts
• 60 g (½ cup) all-purpose flour
• 100 g (⅔ cup) candied orange and lemon peel — chopped very fine
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp each ground ginger, cloves and cardamom
• ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
• ½ tsp baking powder
• pinch fine salt
• 20 Oblaten wafers (7 cm / 2¾ in) — optional; use parchment if unavailable
• Chocolate glaze150 g dark chocolate (55–70%) — chopped
• 1 tsp neutral oil
• Sugar glaze (alternative)120 g (1 cup) powdered sugar
• 2 tbsp lemon juice

Method

1. Beat the eggs, brown sugar and honey on high speed for 5 minutes, until the mixture is thick, pale and falls from the beaters in a ribbon that rests on the surface for a moment.
2. In another bowl, combine the almonds, hazelnuts, flour, candied peel, spices, lemon zest, baking powder and salt, rubbing any clumps of peel apart.
3. Fold the dry mixture into the egg mixture with a spatula until evenly combined. It will be a thick, sticky paste.
4. Line the sheets with parchment and set out the Oblaten. Scoop about 40 g (2 heaped tablespoons) onto each wafer and spread it into a smooth dome with a wet spatula, leaving a 3 mm rim of wafer bare. Without wafers, mound the paste directly on parchment.
5. Leave the shaped cookies uncovered at room temperature for 1 hour. A dry skin forms, which helps them keep a smooth top. Near the end, heat the oven to 160°C (325°F).
6. Bake one sheet at a time for 18 to 22 minutes, until the cookies are puffed and lightly browned at the edges but still give slightly when pressed in the center. Cool completely on a rack.
7. For chocolate glaze, melt the chocolate with the oil over barely simmering water and brush or spread it over the tops. For sugar glaze, whisk the powdered sugar and lemon juice and brush it on while the cookies are still slightly warm. Let either glaze set for 30 minutes.

Tips for success

• Grind your own nuts with a little of the brown sugar to stop them turning oily, and stop the processor as soon as they look like coarse sand.
• Chop the candied peel very fine or blitz it with the nuts. Large pieces make the domes lumpy and are the first thing to burn.
• Underbaking slightly is better than overbaking. Firm lebkuchen soften in a tin over a few days; dry ones stay dry.

Substitutions

Ground hazelnuts

Use all almonds (300 g total). The flavor is milder and the color lighter.

Candied citrus peel

Finely chopped dried apricots work, with a bit of extra orange zest. The cookies taste fruitier and less bitter-bright.

Spice blend

Use 1 tablespoon of a ready-made Lebkuchen spice mix (Lebkuchengewürz) in place of all the individual spices.

Variations

Almond-topped lebkuchen

Press three blanched almond halves into each dome before resting and skip the glaze, or brush with sugar glaze only around the nuts.

Marzipan-filled

Press a 5 g ball of marzipan into the center of each mound before smoothing it over.

Troubleshooting

Cookies spread into flat discs

The eggs and sugar were not beaten long enough, or the paste was too warm and loose. Beat to a thick ribbon and let the shaped cookies rest to form a skin.

Cookies are hard and dry

They baked too long or the oven runs hot. Pull them when the centers still yield, and store them in a tin with a slice of apple for a day to soften, replacing it daily.

Tops cracked badly

The skin dried too long or the oven was too hot. Keep the rest to about 1 hour and check your oven temperature.

Storage

Store glazed lebkuchen in an airtight tin at room temperature for up to 3 weeks, layered with parchment. They are at their best after 3 to 5 days. A slice of apple in the tin keeps them soft; replace it every two days and watch for any mold.

Safety notes

Do not taste the raw batter; it contains raw egg and flour. Contains tree nuts (almonds, hazelnuts), egg and wheat; Oblaten are usually wheat-based.