Lebkuchen!

cheeseofdoom

Seeing as how it's approaching christmas I thought I'd post a few recipes for Lebkuchen - spicy festive German yumminess, literally means cake of life as far as I know.

Ingredients

For the cookies:

* 3 whole eggs
* 1 egg yolk (white is used in icing)
* 2 cup brown sugar
* 1 tsp. cinnamon
* 3/4 to 1 tsp. ground cloves
* 1 tsp. ground allspice
* 1/2 cup finely chopped almonds or hazelnuts
* 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cup of flour
* 1 tsp. baking powder

For the icing:

* 1 egg white
* 1 cup powdered (10X) sugar
* 1/4 tsp. vanilla or almond flavoring

Directions

Grind nuts in food processor until very fine. My little food processor takes a bit under a minute to grind to the right consistency.

Beat eggs and sugar on medium speed until well blended and the mixture is light. Mix spices, flour, baking powder and ground nuts together, and add to egg mixture. Mix on a lower speed until blended. Line a small jelly roll pan (12x16 inches) with parchment paper, pour mixture into pan and smooth.

Bake at 325 degrees for 35 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for about 10 minutes. Flip pan, remove pan, remove parchment paper from back of Lebkuchen, and flip Lebkuchen upright.

In a small bowl, whisk egg white until foamy (not yet the soft peak stage). Whisk powdered sugar two tablespoons at a time into the egg white. Whisk in vanilla or almond extract. Icing will be fairly stiff but spreadable. Spread on cooling Lebkuchen and allow to cool for another 20 minutes.

Cut into bars about 3 inches by 1 1/2 inches. Store in the ubiquitous airtight container.

Notes: You can omit the nuts and add a bit more flour. Or you may wish to add some (about a half cup?) finely chopped candied fruit. The fruit should probably not be as finely chopped as the nuts.

- taken from http://www.christmas-baking.com

cheeseofdoom

Here's one with ginger in it:

Ingredients:
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

1 kg flour
0.5 kg honey
250 g sugar
50 g butter
4 eggs
200 g finely chopped almonds
50 g diced lemon
50 g diced orange
ground spices: ginger, cloves, cinnamon, anise seeds (1/3 tsp. each)

Cooking:
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Melt honey and sugar together, put spices into it and let the mixture cool. In a large separate bowl mix the other ingredients, add the honey mass, soft butter, and eggs. Make a smooth dough which should stay in peace for about 24 hours (or more!). Roll out in a sheet 1/2 cm thick, pin with a fork in several places, and bake in the hot oven for about 12-15 minutes. Decorate with sugar glaze when still hot.

Sugar Glaze
Mix 1 cup of powdered sugar with 1 egg-white and 1-2 teaspoon lemon juice.

cheeseofdoom

Finally, a recipe for posh Lebkuchen:

Elisen- Lebkuchen


The finest of Lebkuchen you can bake, as it is only prepared with almonds and hazelnuts. A very special Christmas treat.
Bake well in advance to improve it's flavor, as it will keep for many weeks. Rap in foil and keep in an airtight tin in a cool place.

4 eggs
255g ( 9 oz ) caster sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon of ground cloves
1 tablespoon of dark rum
140g ( 5 oz ) finely chopped orange and lemon peel
the grated rind of 1 lemon
200g ( 7 oz ) ground almonds
100g ( 3 1/2 oz ) ground hazelnuts
sheets of rice paper cut into circles ( 4 inch ) will do , if you cannot find the proper Oblaten rounds.
whole almonds

1.

whisk the eggs, sugar and vanilla extract together until thick and creamy
2.

now add the rest of the ingredients and mix into a thick paste
3.

if it is to runny, add more ground hazelnuts
4.

spread a heaped teaspoon of mixture on top of the rice paper, higher in the center
5.

decorate some with whole almonds
6.

place on a non greased baking tray
7.

bake at 125 C for 30 minutes
8.

leave to cool, decorate with almond glace or chocolate glace

Chocolate glace:
200g ( 7 oz ) powder ( icing ) sugar, sifted
30 g cocoa, sifted
enough hot water to make thick runny mixture to brush on

Almond glace:
200 g ( 7 oz ) powder ( icing ) sugar, sifted
1 or 2 drops of almond extract
enough hot water to make a thick runny mixture to brush on .


Taken from http://www.myhouseandgarden.com