The Ranger > wrote:

> I was treated to a package of German spice cookies. They were
> EXCELLENT! I think the name on the package says "Leßkuchen" but
> it's written in script and I'm unfamiliar with it.
>
> To simply state the obvious: they're delicious. Would you happen to
> have a recipe for said cookies in your vast hard drive stores?

I have to say that I can't stand Lebkuchen, have never made them myself
and have no intention to do that ever. :-) So, obviously I have no
favourite recipe, not even in my nonexistent vast hard drive stores.
Lebkuchen are sold everywhere, so most people here just buy them
ready-made. When they do make them themselves, they often use
Lebkuchengewürz, a ready-made mix of spices, also available readily.
However, here is a plausible from-scratch recipe, from Recipes: The
Cooking of Germany, Time-Life Foods of the World series. You will get
rectangular Lebkuchen; commercial ones are usually round.

Victor

Lebkuchen
Spiced Honey Cookies

To make 2 to 3 dozen cookies, depending on size

2 tablespoons butter, softened
2 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon double-acting baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup shelled almonds, ground in an electric blender or with a nut
grinder or a mortar and pestle
2 tablespoons finely chopped candied lemon peel
2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup honey
1/2 cup milk
Almond glaze (see below)

Lightly coat the bottom and sides of an 11-by-17-inch jelly-roll pan
with the soft butter. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of flour evenly over the
butter and tip the pan from side to side to coat the surface evenly.
Then invert the pan and rap it sharply on the table to remove any excess
flour. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Sift the 2 1/4 cups flour, baking powder, cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg
into a large bowl, and stir in the almonds, orange peel and lemon peel.
With a whisk or a rotary or electric beater, beat the eggs and sugar
together until the mixture is thick enough to fall back on itself in a
slowly dissolving ribbon when the beater is lifted from the bowl. Bet
in the honey, then the milk, and finally, a little at a time, the flour
mixture. When the batter is smooth, spread it out evenly in the
jelly-roll pan with a rubber spatula. Bake in the middle of the oven
for 12-to 15 minutes, or until the cake is firm to the touch.

With a knife or metal spatula, loosen the sides of the cake from the pan
and turn it out on a cake rack. While it is still warm, brush the top
with a thin coating of the glaze, let it set for a minute or so, then
cut the cake into cookies 2 1/2 inches long and 1 1/2 inches wide.
Lebkuchen can be stored for 6 to 8 weeks in tightly sealed jars or tins.


Almond glaze

1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice, or 1 teaspoon rum
2 tablespoons cold water

Prepare the glaze by stirring the confectioners' sugar, almond extract
and lemon juice or rum together in a small bowl. Stirring constantly,
ad about 2 tablespoons of cold water, 1 teaspoon at a time, until the
glaze is smooth and thin enough to spread easily.