Lebkuchen

Chef Tim Wiechmann

Fa-la-lebkuchen. The traditional German cookie gets a reinterpretation from chef Tim Wiechmann in this holiday recipe. He toasts and mills his own spice blend (use whole spices if you have them) for warm, wintry flavors like cinnamon, ginger, cloves and nutmeg. Try your hand at the steps below and add this cookie to your December roster.

See the 12 Days of Cookies here.

Ingredients

For the spice mix: 
  • 1 1/4 tablespoons cinnamon
  • 1/2 tablespoon black pepper
  • 2 1/4 teaspoons coriander
  • 2 teaspoons cloves
  • 2 teaspoons anise
  • 2 3/4 teaspoons nutmeg 
  • 1 teaspoon cardamom
  • 5 1/2 teaspoons ginger, ground
For the cookies:
  • 14 ounces honey
  • 1 1/2 sticks butter
  • 4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 3/4 cups ground walnuts (or other nuts)
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
For the glaze:
  • 1 egg white
  • 3/4 cup confectioner’s sugar
 

Directions

For the spice mix: 
  1. In a pan over low heat, lightly toast all the spices except the ginger. Mill together and combine with the ground ginger.
For the cookies:
  1. Preheat the oven to 325ºF. In a small saucepan, melt together the honey and butter.
  2. In a separate bowl, mix the flour and ground walnut. Add in the baking powder, baking soda, lemon zest and 3 tablespoons spice mix until well combined.
  3. Add the honey and butter and mix to form a dough. Scoop the dough and press into discs on a prepared cookie sheet. Bake until golden brown, 10-15 minutes.
For the glaze:
  1. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg white and confectioner’s sugar. Dip the cooled cookies in the glaze.

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