Lebkuchen, often called German gingerbread, are soft, cakey cookies packed with warm spices and a rich history. These cookies have been a staple of German Christmas markets for centuries, but you don’t need to wait for the holidays or travel to Germany to enjoy them. With this recipe, you can bring the cozy aroma and flavors of a German Christmas market right into your own kitchen.
That’s because in this article, I’ll guide you through the process of making delicious Lebkuchen, a traditional German Christmas cookie that’s perfect for enjoying the festive spirit any time of year. We’ll be following a recipe inspired by CupcakeJemma, who shared her version of these spiced treats.
What makes Lebkuchen special is its unique blend of spices, including ginger, cinnamon, mace, cloves, nutmeg, and allspice. This spice mix, combined with ingredients like muscovado sugar, honey, and ground almonds, creates a cookie that’s both comforting and exciting to the taste buds.
Whether you’re a seasoned baker or a novice in the kitchen, this recipe will help you create these delightful treats with ease.
Love Germany? Click here to download your free guide to 25 Incredible Things You Must Do In Germany In Your Lifetime. You won’t want to miss them!
In the video below, CupcakeJemma shares a recipe for Lebkuchen, a German Christmas spice cookie. Lebkuchen is super common in German Christmas markets. But since visiting the German markets may not be an option, she shares her own version of the recipe.
This recipe involves mixing muscovado sugar, honey, and softened butter, then adding eggs. Dry ingredients such as flour, ground almonds, cocoa powder, and various spices (ginger, cinnamon, mace, cloves, nutmeg, and allspice) are sifted in, along with baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt, and lemon zest. The dough is refrigerated briefly to firm up.
The cookies are shaped in two ways: by rolling the dough into balls and by rolling it out and cutting out shapes like stars. The cookies are baked at 160 degrees Celsius (fan assisted) for approximately 12 minutes, with adjustments made based on their thickness and shape.
Once cooled, the cookies can be enjoyed plain or with a glaze. In this video, she prepares a rum glaze by mixing dark rum, icing sugar, and water to a thin consistency. The cookies are dunked in the glaze, allowed to drip off excess, and then placed on a tray to set. The cookies as having a crispy exterior and a cakey, soft interior.
They taste better the next day, so get baking now!
Lebkuchen Recipe – Christmas Cakey Cookies! by CupcakeJemma
Here’s a summary of this delicious video:
- The video features a recipe for Lebkuchen, a German Christmas spice cookie.
- The recipe is shared by CupcakeJemma from Crumbs and Doilies bakery, who notes the cookies’ popularity in German markets in the UK during the Christmas season.
- The recipe involves combining muscovado sugar, honey, softened butter, and eggs.
- Dry ingredients include flour, ground almonds, cocoa powder, and a blend of spices (ginger, cinnamon, mace, cloves, nutmeg, and allspice), along with baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt, and lemon zest.
- The dough is refrigerated briefly before shaping.
- The cookies can be shaped into balls or rolled out and cut into shapes.
- Baking occurs at 160 degrees Celsius (fan assisted) for about 12 minutes, adjusting for thickness and shape.
- Cookies can be eaten plain or with a rum glaze.
- The rum glaze consists of dark rum, icing sugar, and water.
- The cookies are dunked in the glaze and set on a tray to allow the glaze to harden.
- The final product has a crispy outside and a cakey, soft inside.
It’s delicious so I highly suggest you make them.
Want to learn more about German cookies? Find our guide to the best cookie recipes here and how to bake other Christmas cookies here. You can also find all our German food articles here.
