Lebkuchen

Chewy, sweet, spicy Christmas Lebkuchen

Nothing says Christmas like cookies. My mother-in-law, Karen, of world’s best scone fame, makes thousands of cookies of about 20 different varieties in the run up to Christmas. Her siblings are cookie makers, too, so the whole season is full of dozens of kinds of cookies, so many cookies, cookies all the time. They’re the tradition to trump all traditions — massive bowls of the same beloved cookies year after year. Cookies for sharing, to hoarding, eating in front of the fire, finding in children’s pockets, sneaking before dinner, grabbing on your way out the door, bringing to friends. This year, for the first time, we won’t be travelling home to the US for Christmas. We’ll miss the fires and dinners and friends. But we’re making some of Bamma’s cookies.

Lebkuchen dough chilled and about to be rolled out

These are my second-favorite Christmas cookie. (My true favorites will be posted in a few days.) Lebkuchen are sweet, hearty, spicy, chewy, and they last for months. (Some say they get better with age…) Full of cloves, cinnamon, molasses and candied peel, they taste like the most traditional kind of Christmas, in the best possible way. Christmas on a plate, to give away to friends and neighbours, to make a sad Christmas sweet.

Here’s how Karen tells it:

I don’t know where this recipe is from; I found it on a 3 x 5 card in my mother’s recipe box. I do know that I love them, partly because about 4-5 days before Christmas, I get tired of making cookies. That’s when my brother, Peter, comes from San Francisco, and the first thing he does is make a batch. His are better than mine anyway: he rolls them thick (so they don’t brown on the edges) and cuts them in 2 x 3 inch rectangles. They are better that way as they stay softer. When you take them out of the oven, they should have a little give. You need to let the glaze dry totally before storing them, and even then I put waxed paper between the layers. We don’t put them out at the Christmas party, but they still are gone by about the 27th, so Peter makes another batch before he goes. Then Joel hoards them – he has one a day with his coffee (they get better over time). It’s even better than pumpkin pie in the mornings after Thanksgiving.

LEBKUCHEN

Makes 24. Recipe can easily be doubled or tripled. Cookies last in a tin for well over a month.

COOKIES

1 egg

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup honey

1/3 cup molasses

3 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon all spice

1/2 cup slivered almonds

1/2 cup mixed peel, diced finely

LEMON GLAZE

1 egg white, slightly beaten

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest

pinch salt

1 1/2 cups icing sugar

In a large bowl, beat the egg and sugar together until fluffy. Stir in honey, molasses.

In another bowl, sift together the dry ingredients (flour & baking soda & spices) then stir them into the first mixture. Stir in nuts and fruits. Chill for several hours.

Meanwhile, make the lemon glaze by whisking all the ingredients in a bowl.

Preheat oven to 350F/175C. Roll to 1/4” thickness on a floured surface. Cut into 2” x 3” bars. Bake on lined cookie sheets for 12 minutes. Cool slightly before removing from the sheet. While still warm, brush with the lemon glaze.