Rick Krall wrote:
>When I was a boy, a friend's mother used to make Christmas cookies that I
>loved. I can't recall anything about them except they were hard as rocks
>but absolutely delicious. She's now 94, and in speaking with her recently
>she mentioned that they are from the German side of her family and are
>formally called "leebkooken," which I assume is properly spelled
>"Liebkuchen." I could ask for more, but I'm reluctant to pry into her
>family's tradition.
The Christmas cookies are a big thing in Germany, and lots of families bake
many varieties in the run up to Christmas - we did fourteen different sorts
one year. Lebkuchen describes a variety of different cookies, some of them
made only with nuts, some with a mix of nuts and flour. They all seem to
have in common that they are spiced. I have a recipe which was passed down
by my grandmother for Lebkuchen, which turn rock hard when they are baked
and fresh, but they soften beautifully in time for Christmas - they are
usually baked early November, so they are ready to eat during Advent. The
recipe uses an ingredient called "Kunsthonig" - invert sugar syrup, which
I've not been able to find in either England or France. It has a very
light colour, and looks almost like lard in texture - I've successfully
substituted honey for it, but the taste changes depending on the honey you use.
Baseler Lebkuchen
1250 g flour
500 g sugar
4 eggs
500 g invert sugar syrup or honey
15 g baking soda
100 g mixed peel, chopped
100 g coarsely ground nuts
1 level teaspoon each ground cinnamon and ground cloves
grated peel of one lemon, or almond essence, or rum for flavouring.
warm the honey slightly to make it runny. Beat eggs and sugar together
until white and creamy, add the honey and then the remaining dry
ingredients which have been mixed together. This should make a fairly firm
but sticky dough. Leave it to rest in the fridge or larder overnight, then
roll out about 1/2 cm thick on a floured board, and stamp out shapes. Bake
at 180 C (350 F) for 10 minutes and decorate them as you like - this part
is great fun, especially if you bake with children. Keep them in tins in a
cool place until ready to eat - if they don't soften up in time, add a
few slices of apple placed on some waxed paper and check every other day.