These German Spice cookies known as Lebkuchen are made from scratch and absolutely delicious! Glazed German gingerbread is a Holiday favorite and always the first thing to go on a Christmas cookie tray.
What is Lebkuchen?
Pronounced leyb-koo-kuh n, this traditional German Christmas treat is a soft, spiced cookie with lemon glaze on top. If you have never tried one, the taste is comparable to gingerbread cookies but with a big distinction, which is that these cookies are chewy, not hard.
German Spice Cookies
The word Lebkuchen translates to English as “Christmas cookie” and for good reason, it’s got all the warm, winter tastes like cinnamon, ginger, honey and nutmeg. This cookie was new to me until recently but once I tried it I was hooked. If traditional gingerbread isn’t your thing, I would still give this a try because they are very different!
Ingredients Needed:
The ingredients list is quite long, as it utilizes a large assortment of spices. The only ingredient you may not usually keep around is ground almonds, which you can find in your local grocery store or Walmart. Other than that, most of these things are probably in the pantry.
- Sweeteners – Honey and Brown Sugar
- Butter – We always use unsalted butter and then add the salt to make sure it’s the right amount. Store brands have different amounts of salt content in salted butter.
- Dry ingredients – All-Purpose Flour, Baking Powder and Baking Soda
- Egg – You only need 1 large egg.
- Citrus – Lemon Juice and Lemon Zest
- Ground Almonds – you can buy this already ground of grind the almonds yourself.
- Spices:
- Ground Cinnamon
- Ground Ginger
- Ground Allspice
- Ground Cloves
- Ground Nutmeg
- Fine Sea Salt
For The Glaze:
- Powdered Sugar
- Lemon Juice
- Vanilla Extract
- Rum – optional
How To Make Lebkuchen
Before you begin, make note that this dough does need some rest time, so it’s not a last-minute recipe. It needs at least an hour to rest.
Step 1: Start by heating the honey and sugar together in the microwave until the sugar melts. When it is melted, quickly add in the butter and lemon zest and stir until the butter melts.
Step 2: Next, stir in the egg, all of the spices, the baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Step 3: Stir in the flour and ground almonds and stir until you get a sticky dough. Add a bit of lemon juice as needed.
Step 4: When it’s ready. spray your hands with cooking spray and scoop the dough into a ball. Cover it with a towel and leave the dough at room temperature for an hour – overnight.
Step 5: Make the glaze by simply stirring the ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
Step 6: Divide the dough into thirds and roll out each (one at a time) to about 3/4 of an inch thick. Cut out circular cookies.
Step 7: Bake the cookies on 350 degrees for about 12 minutes and let them rest on a wire rack. Add the glaze on top.
If you want to add some chocolate, melt 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips in the microwave and dip the cookies in and transfer them back to the wire rack to cool.
Other Christmas Cookie Recipes:
- Linzer Cookies
- Christmas Spritz Cookies
- Snowball Cookies
- Gingerbread Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Gingerbread Man Cookies
Lebkuchen (German Spice Cookies)
Ingredients
Ingredients
- ½ cup honey
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- ¼ cup unsalted butter cut into cubes
- 1 large egg beaten
- 2 tsp lemon zest
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup ground almonds
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp fine sea salt
- ½ tsp ground allspice
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- ¼ tsp grated nutmeg
Glaze Ingredients
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp rum optional
Instructions
- In a glass bowl, mix the honey and sugar and heat in the microwave for 30 seconds. Stir together well until sugar dissolves (heat another 15-30 seconds if needed).
- Immediately add the butter and lemon zest and stir until the butter melts.
- Stir in the baking powder, soda, salt and spices and egg.
- Add the flour and ground almonds. Mix until you have a soft and slightly sticky dough, adding a little lemon juice as needed. Be careful not to add too much because you will be rolling the dough, just enough to where it’s not dry.
- Spray your hands with cooking spray and gather the dough into a ball.
- Cover the mixing bowl with a towel and leave to rest for at least an hour or even overnight at room temperature.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Meanwhile prepare the glaze.
- Mix together all the glaze ingredients in a small bowl until you have a thin glaze.
- Divide the dough into thirds. Roll the dough on a silicone baking mat to 3/4 of an inch thickness to right under 1 inch.
- Cut out circles using a cookie cutter.
- Space the cookies out on the silicone mat and bake for 12 minutes.
- Repeat with remaining dough, gathering up any scraps and rolling out again and bake in batches.
- Transfer the cookies carefully to a wire rack and brush with the glaze while they are still a little warm using a pastry brush.
- Allow the glaze to dry and add a second layer (if desired). Check the recipe notes if you want to cover or dip the Lebkuchen in chocolate.
Last Step:
Please leave a rating and comment letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business to thrive and continue providing free, high-quality recipes for you.Video
Notes
Stir gently until the chocolate chips have melted completely.
Dip the cookies into the melted chocolate and leave to dry on a wire rack before storing.
Nutrition
Leave a Review!
We LOVE hearing from you! Submit your question or comment here.
Your email address will not be published.
201 comments on “Lebkuchen (German Spice Cookies)”
i made this recipe last year and they were fantastic!! i’m taking up the mantle of chief lebkuchen baker after my grandmother passed a few years ago (she used to make lebkuchen every christmas from her own recipe she never wrote down ) and everyone loves them!
i’m definitely planning on making them again this year, but i was wondering if the ground almonds can be skipped? i’ll be taking a batch to work like i did last year, but i have a new coworker with a severe almond allergy who i don’t want to exclude (or risk hurting)
Thanks Peter! While you can make without the ground almonds it will definitely affect the dough consistency and overall flavor.
Very delicious! I had no issues with the recipe. I ground my own almonds that I bought as slices because there wasn’t a bag of ground. Can you use almond flour as an alternative?
For the glaze I did 1/4 tsp rum and 1/2 juice of a lemon and to me it was perfect! I just love lebkuchen and everyone at work loves it too now!
Thanks Kathryn! I do not recommend almond flour as it does not work as well with the recipe and will tend to yield a thinner, wetter dough.
Hi there. Will the flavor/texture be noticeably different if I use light brown sugar instead of dark brown sugar?
The first time I tried this recipe, I used finely sifted almond flour for the “ground almonds” and the dough was too wet to roll out. After reading through the comments I saw you explaining that almond flour wouldn’t work. No store near me sold anything labeled as ground almonds, but I found some almond meal and decided to try that. Night and day! Had to add much less dry ingredients to get desired consistency, after a 6-hour rest it rolled out nice and smooth without being sticky, and baked up with much less spread. I cut mine into 1-inch rounds and got several dozen nice little 1 or 2-bite cookies.
Tried omitting the lemon zest and adding 1/4 c minced orange and lemon zest for a little extra chew, and I really enjoyed that. Also tried substituting the AP flour for more almonds to see how it would bake up – wetter dough and much more spread but nice crunch. Could make a nice wheat-free gingersnap 🙂
Thank you Emily! Yes, the ground almonds or almond meal makes a huge difference!
What is the real thickness to roll to? .75 to 1.0 inch thickness per recipe? I only get a dozen cookies, not 30. Your video shows much thinner. Also, 30 or what diameter? Have not baked yet, going to roll out to .25 inch.
Hi Alexa. Most are having best success rolling between .25 and .5 inch. A 2.5 to 3 inch cutter works well.
These cookies were delicious and we ate them way too quickly! The only thing we found was the dough was quite wet so we needed more flour than the recipe stated. We also found that the lemon in the glaze overpowered the flavours of the spices so no need for lemon next time we make them.
I just just baked these and after keeping them in for longer than 12 minutes, they still seem kind of mushy inside. I followed the recipe to a t and my dough was very vet. I had to add a lot more flour and ground almond to get it together into a dough. Do you have any recommendations?
Hi Gina. Sorry you are having that issue. The longer you can let the dough rest the better. Overnight is best. Not only will it help enhance the flavor but will allow for a better baking process. The consistency of the ground almonds will make a big difference and sometimes more will need to be added to get the right dough consistency.
Is it possible to freeze the dough and bake when needed?
Hi Abigail. Yes you can do that. If you choose to freeze the dough prior to baking, make sure the dough has the proper rest time before freezing. I would recommend overnight.
Turned out 52 cookies! I had to add extra flour & ground almonds to get the batter to a more dough-like consistency. Left dough, covered, on counter for 32 hours ( room temperature). It rolled out easily. Baked 14 minutes on parchment paper-lined cookie sheets. Did the double glaze – 1st layer when hot & 2nd glaze after 8 minutes. Tastes great! Thanks. P.S. I used Ardent Mills Gluten-free Flour, 1:1
Yay! Glad to hear this Nancy! Thanks!
I haven’t made these yet but want to make them for a cookie exchange. Could you make these as make them into a ball and then smush them or just do drop cookies instead of rolling them out and cutting them? Yes, they’d be not quite so smooth and pretty but so much less work.
Hi Mary. I haven’t tried this method buy think it would probably work if the size and thickness was consistent with rolling.