What’s Cookin’? Lebkuchen!

Whip up these German Christmas cookies for that perfect mix of sugar, spice, and everything nice.

Lebkuchen is a traditional Christmas gingerbread cookie recipe from Germany. Unlike the typical sweet cookies loaded with sugar and chocolates, lebkuchen is made with a variety of spices that give it a somewhat spicy and interesting taste. It’s definitely a giant leap from what most are used to, but we promise, these German cookies are sure to be your new favorite Christmas cookie!

Lebkuchen recipe

Ingredients:

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground mace
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/3 cup diced candied orange peel
1/3 cup diced candied lemon peel
3 ounces almond paste, crumbled into small pieces
1/3 cup apricot jam
3 large eggs
3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons whole milk

Directions:

1.) Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and spices. Add candied peels, and pulse until finely chopped. Add almond paste, and pulse to combine. Add jam, and pulse. Add eggs and brown sugar, and pulse. Add flour mixture, and pulse. Transfer dough to an airtight container, and refrigerate overnight (or up to 3 days).

2.) Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Using a 2-inch ice cream scoop (1/4 cup), drop dough onto parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing cookies 3 inches apart. Bake until golden brown, about 14 minutes. Let cool completely on sheets on wire racks.

3.) Whisk together confectioners' sugar and milk, and brush over cooled cookies. Let stand until set.


Recipe from Pauline
Art by Marty
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Pauline is a Communication Arts and Advertising student. She likes all things cute and pastel- colored, but has a weird habit of covering everything she owns with washi tape. When she's not drowning herself in a pool of existential crisis, she likes to spend her free time on the weird side of the internet and binge- watching anime.

Marty is a peculiar 14-year old who illustrates cartoons and seems to fail at keeping herself sane. Her interests range from dark and eccentric art styles to fluffy and pastel colored animals and objects. Besides the fact she's emotionally unstable, she satisfies herself by reading classics and post-modern books, eating excessive amounts of salty foods, and listens to EDM and indie songs to pass the time.