Waitrose and Partners
Lebkuchen Recipe

Lebkuchen Recipe

Similar to gingerbread but a little spicier, these traditional German biscuits make great gifts although you'll definitely want to keep a few for yourself. Get creative with the decorations, then package up in pretty boxes or bags.

Makes: About 30 biscuits

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  • Makes30
  • CourseSnack
  • Prepare45 mins
  • Cook20 mins
  • Total time1 hr 5 mins
  • Pluscooling and chilling

Please note, we take every care to ensure the product, allergen and recipe information displayed is correct. However, should a product be unavailable, alternatives may be displayed and/or a substitution provided. If you have an allergy or intolerance, please always check the product label before use.

Ingredients

  • 90g unsalted butter
  • 50g clear honey
  • 125g black treacle
  • 30g dark brown muscovado sugar
  • 350g self-raising flour, plus a little extra
  • ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tbsp ground ginger
  • Good grating fresh nutmeg
  • ½ tsp ground allspice
  • 1 pinch ground cloves
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 200g dark chocolate (70% cocoa)
  • 200g icing sugar

Method

  1. In a pan, melt together the butter, honey, treacle and muscovado sugar. Take off the heat and leave to cool.

  2. Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda, spices and a pinch of salt into a bowl. Make a well in the centre. Mix the egg into the butter mixture, then pour into the dry ingredients. Stir with a wooden spoon until it forms a dough.

  3. Knead the dough briefly on a floured surface until smooth, then shape into a disc, wrap and chill for 20-30 minutes.

  4. Preheat the oven to 180ºC, gas mark 4. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to just over 0.5cm thick. Use pastry cutters to stamp out different-sized stars and place on parchmentlined baking sheets, re-rolling the trimmings to create more. Bake for 12 minutes. Cool for 1 minute, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely

  5. Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water and dip the biscuit bases in it, shaking gently to remove any excess. Place, chocolate-side down, on parchment-lined trays, then chill until set.

  6. If the chocolate has set ragged, carefully shave off any excess with a sharp knife. Mix the icing sugar with 1-2 tbsp cold water to make a thick, pourable icing. Transfer to a piping bag with a small nozzle or drizzle it from a teaspoon to decorate. Keep in an airtight tin for up to 5 days.

Nutritional

Typical values per item when made using specific products in recipe

Energy

673kJ/ 152kcals

Fat

5.6g

Saturated Fat

3.4g

Carbohydrates

23.3g

Sugars

13.9g

Fibre

0.6g

Protein

2g

Salt

0.2g

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Overall rating (3/5)

3 out of 5 stars1 rating