German Lebkuchen from Ashes and Ruins

“June 6, 1934

I have only one friend now. Marlisa, my best friend since kindergarten, still comes to the house to visit. These days she only comes after dark. She sneaks in the kitchen through the back door. She’s brave, I guess. And she loves Cook’s Lebkuchen.  Maybe the sweet and spicy smell draws her all the way from her house.”  

– From Edith’s diary entry, Ashes and Ruins: Love, War, and the Home Front

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When I was writing ths segment of Ashes and Ruins, I chose to feature this cookie because it was one of my father’s favorite treats. The dense spicy cookie reminded him of his childhood in Germany. (In my books, Edith’s and Herman’s older brother (Freidel/Fred) will later become my father.)

Like Stollen, Lebkuchen is considered a Christmas treat, but my father ate these cookies any time of year he was able to find them.  The World Market import store was one of his favorite places to roam the aisles and find boxes of various German delicaciesꟷeverything from pumpernickel bread to Ritter Sport chocolate, from vacuum-packed summer sausage to colorful tins of Lebkuchen.   

As a child, I was never fond of the hard crunchy cookies that my father adored. They were too dry and tasted strongly of anise.  But my palate has changed, and lately I’ve been thinking it might be interesting to make some myself.  

The cookie has a long history. Legend says Lebkuchen were first made in the middle-ages by monks who used communion wafers to prevent the round treats from sticking to their iron pans. The thick, sticky dough included flour, ground nuts, honey, eggs, dried fruits, and a blend of five or more spices.

Nuremberg soon became well known for its superior Lebkuchen. A hub for the spice trade from Asia, this city was also surrounded by forests with an abundance of honeybee hives.  Nuremberg bakers had easy access to the main ingredients needed to make the cookie.  Sometime in the early 1800s, one of these bakers created a nut-rich version which he named after his daughter.

Today, Elisenlebkuchen is considered a luxury version of the famous treat.  By law the dough must contain at least 90% ground nut flour in order to be labeled with this name.

Because Clara, my grandmother and the main character in Ashes and Ruins, was born and raised in Nuremberg, it seemed only logical that the nutty, moist, Elisen-style Lebkuchen would be the type served in her home. Cook, who everyone in the family called by this affectionate nickname, was a long-time family employee who came with Clara to her new home at the time of her marriage. Such things were not unknown in the early 20^th century.  Edith loved to help Cook in the kitchen, and perhaps, this friendship was one reason Edith chose to go to domestic school when Nazi law forbade her to sit for the University exams. Because Cook was over forty, she could lawfully continue to work for her beloved Jewish family even after the Nuremberg laws went into effect.

Unfortunately, I do not have Cook’s recipe for Lebkuchen. Digging through the internet for guidance, I realized there is more than one way to make the cookie. Germany was only united in 1871, and historically each area of the vast region developed its own way of making the spice laden cookie.

Lebkuchen can be made as individual rounds, rolled and cut into fancy shapes, or as bar cookies. A combination of honey and sugar is the usual sweetener, but some versions use only sugar. Candied orange peel, finely ground, flavors most versions, though candied lemon, ginger, or fresh citrus zest may also be included in the mix. A special blend of spices, called Lebkuchengewürz,gives the cookie its distinctive flavor.

The proportion of flour to ground nuts varies widely and affects the texture of the cookie, from crispy to chewy and cake-like, from dry to moist. Regardless of the exact proportions, the dough improves in flavor when allowed to age overnight so the spices can mellow. Thus, the dough can be made one day, and the cookies formed and baked the next. These days they are baked on a thin, flour wafer (oblaten) or on parchment paper, rather than communion wafers. Glazing them is optional but must be done while they are still slightly warm. Some are decorated with blanched almonds, others with piped frosting or even candied cherries.

Luckily, once the work is done, the cookies have a long shelf life when stored in an airtight tin. They can also be frozen for yearlong snacking.

My efforts to bake the perfect Lebkuchen soon filled my kitchen with the same aromas that attracted Edith’s friend Marlisa.  

With the spicey fragrance surrounding me, I could not help but imagine my father and his two siblings sitting at the round table in the breakfast room of their grand home, nibbling on Lebkuchen.  Perhaps Herman, the youngest, waits for his mug of hot cocoa to cool, while his older brother and sister dip the cookies into their coffee laced with milk and sugar. Edith may be teasing her little brother as Herman throws cookie crumbs toward her in retaliation.

All three children grew up in a home warmed by smells from the kitchen where Cook prepared meals and Edith sometimes helped her.

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I baked six batches of Lebkuchen bars and tested them on a variety of tasters―my writing group, friends, neighbors, and relatives. Anyone who came to my house during month of March was asked to taste and rate the latest version.

In the beginning I used home-made candied orange peel. Additional batches were made with commercially produced peels. Tasters noticed a stronger orange flavor in the cookies made with orange peels from my home-grown oranges.  

In some batches I used candied citron, as well as candied orange peel, but I always included crystallized ginger in the mix because I am very fond of it, and I added various amounts of grated orange rind and lemon zest to accent the citrus flavor. To make things even easier for home bakers, I invented a version that substituted raisins and orange zest for the candied orange rind.  In all batches, I used the same mix of spices and equal amounts of ground hazelnut flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill finely ground hazelnut flour available online or at specialty markets, including Whole Foods) and almond flour (even easier to find now that gluten-free baking is popular). 

After some creative shuffling of ingredients and many taste-tests, I developed my own version of a nut-rich, moist Lebkuchen bar cookie. Despite the daunting list of ingredients, the dough is easy to make, and the resulting cookies are redolent with spices and a hint of citrus. And they have no dominant flavor of anise. Delicious!

The Spice Mix:  Lebkuchengewürz

For the best results, use whole spices and grind them yourself in a spice grinder or coffee grinder.  However, pre-ground spices will work fine (nothing over a year in your cupboard, if possible). I usually use bottled ground cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and allspice, and grind the others fresh. Good whole spices can be found at ethnic markets and online.  Imported “German Gingerbread Spice” is also available online, though I cannot vouch for it as I did not use it in my testing.

2 ½ Tablespoons ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons ground cloves

1 teaspoon ground star anise. (Regular European anise seed can be substituted. However star anise, commonly used in Chinese and Vietnamese cooking, is mellower and less strident in flavor.)

¾ teaspoons ground allspice

½ teaspoon ground coriander

½ teaspoon ground cardamom

½ teaspoon ground ginger

½ teaspoon ground mace

½ teaspoon grated nutmeg

This will be enough for two batches of cookies. Any leftover can be used to spice up cakes, muffins, or to make other German cookies such as Pfeffernϋsse.  

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Katie’s Nuremberg Style Lebkuchen

To make the dough:

Mix lightly and set aside:

2 cups of almond flour

2 cups of hazelnut flour

1 Tablespoon dark cocoa powder (optional but it adds a nice complex flavor touch)

½ teaspoon sea salt

1 & ½ teaspoons baking powder

2 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon of the spice blend

Measure by weight.

3 oz of candied orange peel  

3 oz of crystalized ginger

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1 teaspoon orange zest

(this version is more authentically German, and the moisture of the finished cookie will depend on the brand of orange peel you use)

OR

4 oz raisins

3 oz crystalized ginger

2 to 3 Tablespoons orange zest

2 teaspoons lemon zest

(this version is richer and moister and was the all time favorite of several of my tasters)

Put the candied peels and ginger (or raisins and ginger) into a food processor or blender and add:

¼ cup regular flour. The flour keeps the peel and ginger from clumping. 

Process with a steel cutting blade for about a minute or until it becomes crumbly. You may need to do this in two batches if you use a blender.

Add the orange and lemon zest and half the dry almond/hazelnut flour mixture to the processor and blend for a few seconds until well mixed. Then add the other half of the almond/hazelnut mixture and blend for a full minute.  You want the dry ingredients to be fully blended with the peels and ginger so that the entire mixture is like flour with no lumps of dried peel. (If using a blender do this in several batches.)

In a large bowl, beat until foamy:

4 eggs

Add and beat until well blended:

¾ cup brown sugar (or ½ cup if you use the raisin version as raisins have more natural sweetness)

½ cup honey

2 teaspoons vanilla extract or vanilla paste

Gradually add the dry flour/spice mixture to the egg mixture.  Mix well until all the ingredients are just blended.

The dough will be quite thick and sticky.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a cover and put it in the refrigerator.  Let it mellow for a minimum of 4 hours or up to 2 days.

Baking:

9 X 13-inch pan with 2” sides  –   OR   – 10 X 14-inch pan with 1” sides.  The larger pan makes slightly thinner cookies.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Take the bowl of dough out of the refrigerator for about 10 minutes to warm slightly so it is easier to spead.

Prepare a pan by spraying it lightly with non-stick baking spray.  Line pan with parchment paper, allowing the paper to extend up a couple of inches over the long sides of the pan. Spray the paper lightly and wipe away any excess (too much spray will affect the texture of the cookie).

Place large mounds of the chilled dough evenly in the pan.  The dough will be very sticky and thick and must be carefully and gradually spread evenly over the entire pan using a wide rubber spatula.  This is the most difficult part of making these cookie bars, but with patience and the gradual warming of the dough, it will spread evenly. You may need to keep a fingertip on one corner of the parchment paper to keep it in place until you are almost finished. Then fill in that spot with dough.

Bake on the middle rack of the oven.   30 minutes for the 9 X 10-inch pan.  20 to 25 minutes for the 10 X 14-inch pan.  Test with a wooden toothpick.  The toothpick will come out clean when the bars are done.

Set the pan on a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes.

Finishing the Bars:

To make the glaze, mix until a smooth consistency:

1 cup (lump-free) powdered sugar (no need to sift)

2 Tablespoons Triple Sec or Brandy

1 to 2 teaspoons water

¼ teaspoon orange zest.

The glaze should be a pourable consistency. Add a drop or two of water if it is too thick to pour. 

The cookie bars should still be warm when you top with the glaze.  Drizzle the glaze over the bars and spread it around evenly with a rubber basting brush or a soft rubber spatula.  While the glaze is still warm, sprinkle the cookies with

½ cup lightly toasted almond slivers or almond slices.

Press the almonds gently into the glaze with the back of a spatula. You may want to press a few loose almonds into the glaze with your fingertips, but don’t worry if they don’t all stick.   

Allow the bars to cool completely on the wire rack.  The glaze will form a clear sugary coating over the cookies as they cool.

When fully cool, lift the entire pan of cookies gently using the edges of the overhanging parchment paper. Place the uncut “cake” on a cutting board and carefully slide the paper out from underneath.  Now you can cut the “cake” into squares or rectangles.  1 ½ inch X 1 ½ inch squares are a nice size.  The total number of bars will depend on which size pan you use and how you choose to cut the bars.   

Store in an airtight tin or jar at room temperature for a week or covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks. Or freeze the cookies. They will keep for a year, if frozen.