Lebkuchen is an absolute classic for the Christmas season aka. Advent season. It’s probably one of the most popular German sweets for Christmas (besides Christmas Stollen). The most known Lebkuchen is from Nuremberg – that’s why almost everyone calls them Nuremberg Lebkuchen aka. »Nürnberger Lebkuchen« ;P These often quite big and sweet treats have a long tradition and can be bought on Christmas markets, for example. But… you can make them at home, of course! This article will give you all the information you need to bake them at home.
Baking Lebkuchen (aka. gingerbread) is quite easy. The dough is very simple and everything is easy to mix. The problem most people have when looking at a Lebkuchen recipe is probably the resting time for the dough. You have to wait 24 hours until you can bake the Lebkuchen. The dough needs 24 long hours to rest. Lazy b*** ;P
Anyway. If you ignore the resting time everything else is easy-peasy. If you ever made Lebkuchen at home you will agree. Other Christmas cookie recipes are much more challenging. Believe me ;P
With this recipe, you can bake Lebkuchen that are covered with a chocolate glaze or a sugar frosting. The recipe is adapted from an old cookbook my grandma used in her kitchen. It’s a classic Lebkuchen recipe, but I would not want to call it »original«. I am not from Nuremberg, neither was my grandma. I ate many original Lebkuchen from Nuremberg and these taste the same, but you never know. I do not want to offend anybody from that city with my Lebkuchen ;P
Original or almost original – who cares. The Lebkuchen are delicious! If you need a quick fix you might want to get some in a supermarket or Christmas market close by… but the ones baked at home are definitely the best. Always. And you can adapt them to your liking. Change ingredients, for example. If you prefer orange peel only, then leave out the lemon peel or replace it with candied cherries, for example. If you prefer spelt flour over wheat flour – use that. Make them »original« for yourself ;P
If you make them at home you are also freer in decorating them. I prefer them to look plain with some halved almonds on top, but you can do much more if you like. I’ve seen really nice ones with chocolate decorations and nuts, for example… do whatever you want ;)
INGREDIENTS / ZUTATEN
(etwa 40 Lebkuchen)
Für die Lebkuchen:
1/4 TL Hirschhornsalz*
1 EL Milch (1,5% Fett), kalt
350g Zucker
1 Prise Salz
6 Eier (M)
1 TL Vanille Extrakt
380g Mehl (Type 550)
150g Mandelblättchen
15g Lebkuchengewürz*
75g Orangeat, fein gehackt
75g Zitronat, fein gehackt
etwa 40 runde Backoblaten (Ø 70mm)
Für die Dekoration:
250g Zartbitter Kuvertüre (70% Kakao), grob gehackt
25g Kokosfett
150g Puderzucker
1 EL Milch
1–2 EL Zitronensaft
einige halbierte (blanchierte) Mandeln (optional)
(about 40 Lebkuchen)
For the lebkuchen dough:
1/4 tsp. Hartshorn salt (baker’s ammonia)*
1 tbsp. milk (1.5% fat), cold
1 3/4 cups (350g) sugar
1 pinch of salt
6 medium eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 cups (380g) all-purpose flour
5.3 oz. (150g) flaked almonds
0.5 oz. (15g) gingerbread spice*
2.6 oz. (75g) candied orange peel, finely chopped
2.6 oz. (75g) candied lemon peel, finely chopped
40 round baking wafers (Ø 2.75 inches/70mm)
For the decoration:
9 oz. (250g) semi-sweet chocolate coating (70% cocoa), roughly chopped
0.9 oz. (25g) coconut oil
5.3 oz. (150g) confectioners’ sugar
1 tbsp. milk
1-2 tbsp. lemon juice
some blanched almonds, halved (optional)
DIRECTIONS / ZUBEREITUNG
1. Chop the candied orange and lemon peel very finely and set aside. Dissolve the Hartshorn salt in the milk. Add sugar, salt, eggs, and vanilla extract in a large bowl and mix on high for several minutes until very light and fluffy.
2. Mix the flour, almonds, gingerbread spice, candied orange and lemon peel. Add together with the milk mixture to the bowl and mix to combine. The dough will be very soft and sticky but that’s ok. Cover the bowl and leave to rest in a cool place for 24 hours.
3. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Line two baking sheets with baking parchment. Place a small portion of dough on each wafer and spread with a spatula or baking palette – leave a 0.2-inch border free at the edges of the wafer. Do not add too much dough onto a wafer because the dough spreads quite a bit.
4. Place the wafers with the dough on the baking sheets with enough space in between. Bake one baking sheet at a time for about 20-22 minutes. Remove from the oven and let the Lebkuchen cool down on a cooling rack.
5. For the chocolate glaze chop the chocolate roughly and melt together with the coconut oil in a bowl over a pot with simmering water (can also be done in the microwave). For the sugar icing, mix the confectioners’ sugar with the milk, and then gradually add the lemon juice until you have a thick icing.
6. Coat half of the Lebkuchen with the chocolate glaze and the rest with the sugar icing. If you like, you can press halved almonds into the chocolate or icing and then leave everything to cool or dry. Store the Lebkuchen in cookie tins (in a cool place) with greaseproof paper between the Lebkuchen. The Lebkuchen are best when they had some time to rest.
1. Das Orangeat und Zitronat sehr fein hacken und zur Seite stellen. Das Hirschhornsalz in der Milch auflösen. Zucker, Salz, Eier und Vanille Extrakt in eine große Schüssel geben und mehrere Minuten auf höchster Stufe hell und luftig aufschlagen.
2. Mehl, Mandelblättchen, Lebkuchengewürz, Orangeat und Zitronat vermischen und dann zusammen mit dem Hirschhornsalz-Milch Mix zur Schüssel dazugeben und alles gut verrühren. Der Teig wird sehr weich und klebrig sein – eher eine dickflüssige Masse. Die Schüssel abdecken und an einem kühlen Ort für 24 Stunden ruhen lassen.
3. Den Ofen auf 180°C (350°F) Ober-/Unterhitze vorheizen. Zwei Backbleche mit Backpapier auslegen. Jeweils eine kleine Portion Teig auf eine Oblate aufsetzen und dann mit einem Spatel, einer Backpalette o.ä. verstreichen. Ein 1/2 cm sollte rundum auf der Oblate frei bleiben. Nicht zu viel Teig auf eine Oblate geben, da der Teig etwas auseinander läuft.
4. Die Lebkuchen mit genügend Abstand zueinander auf die Backbleche setzen. Die Bleche nacheinander für etwa 20-22 Minuten backen. Aus dem Ofen holen und die Lebkuchen auf einem Kuchengitter abkühlen lassen.
5. Für die Glasuren die Kuvertüre grob hacken und mit dem Kokosfett in einer Schüssel über einem Topf mit köchelndem Wasser schmelzen (kann man auch in der Mikrowelle erledigen). Für die Zuckerglasur den Puderzucker mit der Milch verrühren und dann nach und nach Zitronensaft dazugeben, bis eine dickflüssige Glasur entstanden ist.
6. Die Hälfte der Lebkuchen mit der Schokolade überziehen, den Rest mit der Zuckerglasur bestreichen. Wer mag, kann noch halbierte Mandeln in die Schokolade bzw. den Zuckerguss drücken und dann alles abkühlen bzw. trocknen lassen. Die Lebkuchen in gut schließende Blechdosen mit Butterbrotpapier zwischen den Lagen füllen und dann an einem kühlen Ort lagern. Die Lebkuchen schmecken am besten, wenn sie einige Zeit ruhen und ziehen konnten.
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Here is a version of the recipe you can print easily.
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Nürnberger Lebkuchen (aka. German Gingerbread)
- Prep Time: 00:30
- Cook Time: 00:20
- Total Time: 25:00
- Yield: 40 1x
- Category: Christmas Cookies
- Cuisine: Germany
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
A Christmas classic from Germany: Nürnberger Lebkuchen. A lot of flavor, sweetness, and deliciousness. All you want for Christmas!
Ingredients
For the lebkuchen dough:
1/4 tsp. Hartshorn salt (baker’s ammonia)*
1 tbsp. milk (1.5% fat), cold
1 3/4 cups (350g) sugar
1 pinch of salt
6 medium eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 cups (380g) all-purpose flour
5.3 oz. (150g) flaked almonds
0.5 oz. (15g) gingerbread spice*
2.6 oz. (75g) candied orange peel, finely chopped
2.6 oz. (75g) candied lemon peel, finely chopped
40 round baking wafers (Ø 2.75 inches/70mm)
For the decoration:
9 oz. (250g) semi-sweet chocolate coating (70% cocoa), roughly chopped
0.9 oz. (25g) coconut oil
5.3 oz. (150g) confectioners’ sugar
1 tbsp. milk
1–2 tbsp. lemon juice
some blanched almonds, halved (optional)
Instructions
1. Chop the candied orange and lemon peel very finely and set aside. Dissolve the Hartshorn salt in the milk. Add sugar, salt, eggs, and vanilla extract in a large bowl and mix on high for several minutes until very light and fluffy.
2. Mix the flour, almonds, gingerbread spice, candied orange and lemon peel. Add together with the milk mixture to the bowl and mix to combine. The dough will be very soft and sticky but that’s ok. Cover the bowl and leave to rest in a cool place for 24 hours.
3. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Line two baking sheets with baking parchment. Place a small portion of dough on each wafer and spread with a spatula or baking palette – leave a 0.2-inch border free at the edges of the wafer. Do not add too much dough onto a wafer because the dough spreads quite a bit.
4. Place the wafers with the dough on the baking sheets with enough space in between. Bake one baking sheet at a time for about 20-22 minutes. Remove from the oven and let the Lebkuchen cool down on a cooling rack.
5. For the chocolate glaze chop the chocolate roughly and melt together with the coconut oil in a bowl over a pot with simmering water (can also be done in the microwave). For the sugar icing, mix the confectioners’ sugar with the milk, and then gradually add the lemon juice until you have a thick icing.
6. Coat half of the Lebkuchen with the chocolate glaze and the rest with the sugar icing. If you like, you can press halved almonds into the chocolate or icing and then leave everything to cool or dry. Store the Lebkuchen in cookie tins (in a cool place) with greaseproof paper between the Lebkuchen. The Lebkuchen are best when they had some time to rest.
Notes
If you don’t have gingerbread spice, you can easily make it yourself – mix 4 tbsp. ground cinnamon, 1 tbsp. clove powder, 1 tsp. allspice, 1/2 tsp. nutmeg, 1/2 tsp. ground coriander, 1 tsp. cardamom, 1 tsp. ground ginger and 1/2 tsp. mace powder – store in an airtight container in a dark place.
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I love my job, but in between I love to bake and try new things in the kitchen. A lot of my friends and colleagues encourage me to bake - for a very simple reason: they get the leftovers - and it seems they like it most of the time ;) 
Hey Marc!
Als echte Nürnbergerin muss ich dir ein Kompliment aussprechen – die Lebkuchen sind dir sehr gelungen :-) Bei dir werden die so schön glatt mit dem Mehl, meine sind aus 100% Nüssen, die haben dann immer so ein bisschen eine “bewegte Oberfläche” wie wir das nennen haha ;-) Lebkuchen-TÜV bestanden *lach*
GLG Julia
Also echte Nürnberger Lebkuchen werden ohne Mehl gemacht.
Hallo Jasmin!
Das stimmt so leider nicht ganz – Original Nürnberger Lebkuchen werden mit wenig oder keinem Mehl gemacht – Mehl kann also durchaus drin sein. Wenn Du den Artikel gelesen hast, wirst du aber auch sicher gemerkt haben, dass ich extra erwähnt habe, dass dies hier keine Originalen Nürnberger Lebkuchen sind :)
Grüße
Marc
Hi Marc, can I substitute the 1/4 tsp. salt of the hartshorn with 1/2 tsp. baking powder?
Hi Christine,
I have not tried to exchange these raising agents. From what I read, it’s not that easy since they react a bit differently and also give the baked goods different flavors.
Sorry for not being really helpful here.
Cheers, Marc