German Christmas Lebkuchen can take many forms and come in many flavors, but essentially, they resemble what we call gingerbread cookies. For our particular recipe, we’ve decided to use crispy German baking wafers as the base for the tender, winter-spiced, and citrus-infused cookies. Then we covered those cookies in rich, deep dark chocolate because, well, it’s Christmas! It’s a time for joy and, yes, a little indulgence! German Christmas Lebkuchen are charming little treats that will enchant you during the holiday season.
Ingredients
- 25 Back Oblaten (German baking wafers), such as Küchle®
- 2 cups blanched almond flour
- 1 1/4 cups white sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 cup ground hazelnuts
- 7 tablespoons candied lemon and/or candied orange peels, store-bought or homemade, finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla sugar
- ground cloves, to taste
- 2 cups dark chocolate, chopped
Directions
Step 1 –Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Step 2 –Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Step 3 –Arrange the baking wafers on the baking sheet, leaving about 1-inch of space between them.
Step 4 –In a bowl, add the almond flour, the white sugar, the eggs, the ground hazelnuts, the candied lemon and/or candied orange peels, the ground cinnamon, the vanilla sugar, and the ground cloves and mix until a firm dough forms.
Step 5 –Shape the dough mixture into balls.
Step 6 –Arrange the balls on the prepared wafers, pressing the dough gently to flatten them into 1/2-inch-high rounds.
Step 7 –Bake in the preheated oven until light brown in color, about 15-20 minutes.
Step 8 –Allow the lebkuchen to cool completely, about 30 minutes.
Step 9 –In a double boiler over simmering water, add the chocolate and gently melt it, while stirring frequently and scraping down the sides with a rubber spatula to avoid scorching, until it is completely melted, about 5 minutes.
Step 10 –Cover the top of each lebkuchen with the melted chocolate.
Step 11 –Allow the chocolate to set.
Step 12 –Serve.
