Best Grandmothers Lebkuchen Cookies Recipes

LEBKUCHEN COOKIES

Steps:

• Prepare the Cookies: In a 1½ quart saucepan, combine the honey and muscovado sugar. Over medium-high heat, stir gently until the sugar begins to dissolve and the mixture just begins to come to a simmer. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the butter. Let cool until warm to touch. Whisk in the egg and lemon zest and juice.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, stir together the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices.
• On low speed, stir in the wet ingredients until a smooth, sticky dough forms. Laura's Note: This will be slack and loose, don't worry! Scrape the dough into a lightly oiled ceramic bowl and cover with a plate - you want the dough to be able to breathe.
• Allow the dough to "ripen" at cool room temperature for 1 to 2 days - do not refrigerate. (The large amount of honey and sugar will keep bacteria at bay.)
• Position racks to the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat it to 350°F (180°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Turn out the dough onto a well-floured work surface. Roll it out to a ¼-inch/6 mm thickness. Use a bench scraper or thin spatula to get under the dough and scoot it around in the flour occasionaly to prevent sticking. Cut shapes with 2-inch/5 cm cutters and place 1 inch/2½ cm apart on the prepared baking sheets. Sweep away any excess flour with a pastry brush.
• Bake until fragrant and lightly browned, about 12 minutes, rotating the baking sheets from top to bottom and front to back halfway through the baking time. (Watch closely, as honey in the dough can make the edges catch and burn quickly.)
• Prepare the Glaze: In a medium bowl, whisk together the confectioner's sugar, egg white, lemon juice, and salt for a smooth, thin, runny glaze. (Add a few drops of lemon juice, as needed, to achieve this consistency).
• Let the cookies firm up and cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes. Run an offset spatula under the cookies to gently looesn them from the parchment paper, leaving them on the sheets.
• While still warm, brush the cookies with glaze and transfer to wire racks. Allow the cookies to cool and the glaze to dry completely.
• The secret to a perfect lebkuchen texture is in the resting phase: place the cookies into airtight containers in layers, seperated by parchment or wax paper. Tuck a wedge of apple in the container before sealing. Store in a cool place for at least 3 days, or up to 2 weeks, to allow the cookies to ripen once more before serving.

GERMAN LEBKUCHEN COOKIES

Steps:

• In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, baking soda, cloves, and allspice.
• In a separate mixing bowl, beat the egg and the brown sugar together for 3 minutes.
• Stir in the honey and molasses to the egg/sugar mixture.
• Add all the dry ingredients to the wet mixture. Beat until well blended. Your dough will be crumbled, but when pressed together will hold its shape.
• Transfer dough to waxed fabric, plastic wrap, or a storage container with a lid. Wrap it up or cover and chill for at least 3 hours.
• When you are ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350˚F and line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.
• Remove your dough from the refrigerator and turn out onto a lightly floured surface.
• Roll dough to a thickness of ¼" to ½". Use a 3" round cookie cutter to cut out circles or use a knife to cut 3" squares.
• Place the cookies an inch apart on a cookie sheet and top with a few sliced almonds. There is no need to press them down as they will stick to the cookie as it rises during baking.
• Bake for 9-10 minutes. They will be done when you can touch the cookie top without leaving an imprint.
• Remove cookies and immediately transfer to a wire cooling rack.
• While the cookies are cooling, combine the ingredients for the icing in a small bowl.
• When the cookies are almost completely cooled, dip the top of each cookie in the icing and spread with the back of a knife. You can also use a pastry brush and brush it on. Place the glazed cookie back on the wire rack to dry.
• After the icing has hardened, store in an airtight container.

GERMAN LEBKUCHEN

Steps:

• In a large bowl, beat the egg, brown sugar and honey until smooth. Stir in the molasses. Combine the flour, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves and allspice; stir into the molasses mixture. Stir in the almonds and candied fruit peel. Cover or wrap dough, and chill overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/4 inch in thickness. Cut into 2x3 inch rectangles. Place cookies 1 1/2 inches apart onto cookie sheets.
• Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven, until firm. While still warm, brush the cookies with the lemon glaze.
• To make the glaze: In a small bowl, stir together the egg white, lemon juice and lemon zest. Mix in the confectioners' sugar until smooth. Brush over cookies.

GRANDMOTHER'S LEBKUCHEN COOKIES

Steps:

• Cream together molasses, brown sugar, egg, and shortening.
• Sift cinnamon, cloves, baking powder, salt, and flour and set aside.
• Add coffee, anise oil and vinegar to creamed brown sugar mixture and mix thoroughly.
• Add dry ingredients and baking soda solution to mixture (mix well).
• Add ground walnuts and mix.
• Refrigerate for at least 3 days.
• Dough will be tough.
• keep unused dough in fridge.
• Keep flouring rolling pin.
• On a floured surface and with a floured rolling pin roll out dough (Roll out a pound at a time) to 1/4 of an inch.
• cut cookies with cookie cutters.
• grease cookie sheet slightly.
• Bake at 350 degrees for about 8 minutes.
• Ice with confectioner sugar, butter, milk icing (I don't have exact measurements for her icing because she says she wings it).

LEBKUCHEN

Steps:

• Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and spices. Pulse almonds and hazelnuts in a food processor until very finely chopped. Add candied peels and dates, and pulse until finely chopped. Add almond paste, and pulse to combine. Add jam, and pulse. Add eggs and brown sugar, and pulse. Add flour mixture, and pulse. Transfer dough to an airtight container, and refrigerate overnight (or up to 3 days).
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Using a 2-inch ice cream scoop (1/4 cup), drop dough onto parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing cookies 3 inches apart. Place 3 almonds close together on top of each cookie. Bake until golden brown, about 14 minutes. Let cool completely on sheets on wire racks.
• Whisk together confectioners' sugar and milk, and brush over cooled cookies. Let stand until set.

LEBKUCHEN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Line a 15x10x1-in. baking pan with parchment., In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in molasses, buttermilk and extract. In another bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, allspice, cardamom and cloves; gradually add to creamed mixture and beat well. Stir in walnuts., Place raisins, dates, lemon peel, coconut, orange peel and pineapple in a food processor; pulse until chopped. Stir into batter; press into prepared pan. Bake 25-28 minutes or until lightly browned., For glaze, in a small saucepan, bring sugar and water to a boil; boil 1 minute. Remove from heat; whisk in confectioners' sugar. Spread over warm bars. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack.