I have always loved lebkuchen biscuits at Christmas, so this year I have had a crack at making them myself. There really is something Christmassy about the spices used in these Christmas biscuits – it’s that glorious mix of cinnamon, nutmeg and that extra richness from the cloves. And cloves are such a tricky spice that can completely overpower many spice blends, but seem to conjure up the right flavour for this festive period.
You should ideally allow these Christmas cookies to mellow. To do this, you should store the lebkuchen in an airtight container for a day or two to allow the flavours to mellow and the cookies to become softer.
You can add an extra sugar glaze to give the tops even more lustre - 100g caster sugar plus 50ml water melted and boiled to 90 degrees C; mix in 1 tablespoon of icing sugar; brush over iced lebkuchen.
My new favourite biscuits! Baked them with the intention of giving some away but they didnt leave the house. Changed the recipe a bit; used ginger instead of cloves, used golden syrup instead of honey. Yum! - 27 Nov 2013
great recipe! I tried o store them for a few days, only to find my husband had eaten most of them! I gave then 2 coats of the icing. - 20 Dec 2012
Yum, yum, yum. Absolutely delicious; just like the cookies I remember from my childhood in Germany. - 09 Oct 2012