Lebkuchen is a traditional German baked good that has been baked at Christmas for centuries. There are countless recipes and interpretations of how the perfect gingerbread should be. I prefer it to be very traditional, the way my grandma used to bake it: a soft center with delicious honey, warm spices and a crunchy chocolate coating.
Gingerbread is definitely my favorite Christmas treat! All the aromas of the spices and the delicious honey combine so perfectly and the taste reminds you of a cozy and contemplative Christmas Eve with the family. One bite of this delicious gingerbread will definitely get you in the Christmas spirit and you'll want to decorate the tree and crank up the Christmas music.
Many of you know that we produce our cosmetics in southern Germany in our own production and that I am originally from there. Every year I was very excited to see when the gingerbread would finally be available in stores again in autumn (nowadays it seems to be getting earlier every year).
Above all, my anticipation was huge when my grandmother baked her Lebkuchen freshly (according to her traditional German recipe) shortly before Christmas and the whole house smelled of delicious Christmas Lebkuchen.
An absolutely critical ingredient in gingerbread is a delicious traditional gingerbread spice . There is absolutely no way to make gingerbread without gingerbread spice . There is no substitute and you can't just leave it out. I know that gingerbread spice is next to impossible to find outside of Western Europe. But it's very easy to make yourself! In my other blog post you will find the recipe for my homemade gingerbread spice , an absolutely magical spice mixture. But even if you are lucky and can easily find gingerbread spice in stores in Germany, I recommend making your own. It will taste a hundred times better and give your gingerbread a richer, deeper and more flavorful flavor! When you add this homemade gingerbread spice to this authentic German gingerbread recipe, all you have to do is close your eyes and you'll feel like you're at one of the Christmas markets in Germany at Christmas time.
You can find many different gingerbread recipes on the internet. Some for the Nuremberg Lebkuchen, which are made without flour but with nuts. Other types of gingerbread are made from a stiff dough that is rolled and baked. My favorites are these soft gingerbread cookies, traditionally shaped like stars, hearts and pretzels, which I would like to show you in this recipe. After I've baked the cookies, my favorite thing to do is cover them with chocolate, but you can also use a rum and sugar frosting or eat them right away.
These cookies can be stored in a tin with frosting for up to 10 days (though they never make it that far in our house as we've nibbled on them before) or you can wrap and freeze them to keep them fresher longer.
Homemade gingerbread
Ingredients:
(makes about 12 gingerbread cookies in the shape of stars, hearts and pretzels)
250 g flour
125 grams of sugar
1.5 tbsp cocoa powder
1.5 tbsp gingerbread spice
8 grams of baking powder
150ml milk
2 tablespoons oil
125 grams of honey
Upon need.
chocolate for glazing
icing or other decoration
Preheat the oven to 170°C (convection).
Mix flour, cocoa, baking powder and gingerbread spice in a large bowl.
In another bowl combine milk, oil and honey. Slowly add the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients while stirring and stir until combined.
I use special silicone gingerbread molds, but you can use any baking mold you have at home. Just keep in mind that if the size of the pan changes, the baking time may vary.
You probably don't have to wet the silicone molds with oil, but I do it anyway to make sure that I get the gingerbread cookies out of the mold properly.
Do not fill the mold all the way to the edge, as they will rise a little in the oven and bake the gingerbread for about 35 minutes.
Allow the gingerbread to cool for about 5 minutes before removing from the pan. Frost them with chocolate or icing.
Enjoy your delicious homemade gingerbread!
Your
linda