Lebkuchen

I make these every year, but this year's batch is particularly good. I owe that to my procrastination. My mother-in-law introduced these to me, and they are one of my husband's holiday favorites. These are a German cookie also called Pfefferkuchen. My recipe suggests aging them 2 weeks after baking with a slice of apple to make them softer. After this year, I think aging the uncooked dough produces a mellower cookie. If you are unfamiliar with baking cookies, please read the Baking flour-based cookie blog.

  
    Recipe makes
    Active time
    Total time
  

    36 cookies
    1h 30m
    3d 1h 30m
  

  
    Special equipment needed
  
    Large pan
  
    Grater or microplane
  
    Sifter
  
    Toothpick
  
    Rolling pin
  
    2-inch round cookie cutter
  
    Baking sheets
  
    Small pan
  
    Thermometer
  
    Whisk
  
    Cooling rack

  
    Cookie ingredients
  
    1/2 cup honey
  
    1/2 cup molasses
  
    2 3/4 cups sifted flour
  
    1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, sifted
  
    1 teaspoon ground cloves, sifted
  
    1 teaspoon ground allspice, sifted
  
    1 teaspoon grated nutmeg, sifted
  
    1/2 teaspoon baking soda, sifted
  
    3/4 cup brown sugar
  
    1 egg
  
    1 teaspoon grated lemon zest, about 1/2 lemon
  
    1 tablespoon lemon juice, about 1/2 lemon
  
    1/3 cup chopped crystalized ginger or candied orange peel
  
    1/3 cup finely chopped nuts
  
    red and green candied cherries, cut in half, optional
  
    slivered almonds, optional
  
    apple slices

  
    Glaze ingredients
  
    1 cup sugar
  
    1 tablespoon light corn syrup
  
    1/2 cup water
  
    1/4 cup sifted powdered sugar

Instructions
• In a large pan, boil honey and molasses for 30 seconds, stirring occasionally. Let cool completely.
• Add the flour, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, nutmeg, and baking soda to a bowl. Combine thoroughly.
• When the honey mixture is cool, stir in the sugar, egg, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Mix thoroughly.
• Stir the dry mixture into the honey mixture. Combine thoroughly. Add the chopped ginger and nuts. Mix well.
• Chill dough at least 24 hours and up to 96 hours. 72 hours is recommended.
• Preheat oven to 375º.
• Lightly grease baking sheets.
• Roll a small amount of dough to 1/3-inch thickness onto a floured surface. Use a marked toothpick to test the thickness of the dough in several spots. Using a floured 2-inch cookie cookie cutter cut as many cookies as you can. Put the cookies on the prepared baking sheet.
• Add the optional colored cherries and slivered almonds. Using a pastry brush or papertowel, brush off any excess flour from the top of the cookies. Reroll the dough as necessary.
• Bake for 10 - 12 minutes until no imprint remains when lightly touched. If you are baking only one sheet in the oven, remember to turn it back to front halfway through cooking. If you have two sheets, remember to rotate them Front to back, top to bottom halfway through cooking.
• Meanwhile, prepare the icing. Or do this before baking and keep warm. Sometimes, this takes time and can be stressful.
• Boil the sugar, corn syrup, and water until a temperature of 230º is reached, tested by a thermometer. Whisk in the powdered sugar. If the glaze becomes thick, gently reheat to a thin consistency. You can add a little water if necessary.
• Brush the cookies with the glaze as soon as they are out of the oven, before removing them from the sheet.
• Remove the cookies from the sheet and cool completely on a cooling rack.
• When cool, put them into a tin container. Add a slice of apple to each later. Let stand at room temperature (covered) for 14 days to mellow.

  
    Variations
  
    • Top with slivered, sliced, or whole almonds.
  
    • Use a lemon icing instead of the this sugar icing.

  
    Storage
  
    • Store in a tin or airtight container at room temperature for 10 - 14 days to allow the cookies to age and then for 3 - 4 months in the freezer.

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