Makes about 4 dozen cookies, depending on size
WHEN CHRISTMAS IS ON THE HORIZON, A STROLL THROUGH A LIVELY GERMAN holiday market, like the Christkindlmarket in Chicago or Germania Christkindlmarkt in Cincinnati, is a must-do. It doesn’t get much more Christmassy than bundling up with a mug of steaming Glugwein and munching on a hot pretzel, sugar-and-spice roasted nuts, or slab of strudel as you peruse the beautiful woodcrafts, sparkling holiday ornaments, and handmade toys, and wonder why you’ve never had a cuckoo clock in your house.
Iced lebkuchen serve as both edibles and decoration at the most authentic Christmas markets, decorated in reds and greens and scrolly German greetings, dangling low from the ceilings of vendors’ booths. Lebkuchen is quite possibly the best way to illustrate that Germans seriously know how to Christmas. To do the lebkuchen tradition right, it requires a bit of planning. Mix up a simple, one-bowl dough, and let it ripen for a couple of days. Then, cut, bake, and glaze the cookies. They’ll come out awfully similar to a Milk-Bone, and you’ll wonder what the heck is going on. But then there’s the resting phase, where the cookies are stored with a wedge of apple for moisture, and they transform like the living room on Christmas morning. Soft, but with integrity, and a combination of spices that make it impossible to eat just one.
¾ cup/252 g clover honey
¾ cup/170 g dark muscovado or organic dark brown sugar*
4 tablespoons/57 g unsalted butter, cut into chunks
1 large egg, beaten
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
3 cups/384 g unbleached flour, spooned and leveled, plus more for dusting
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground allspice
½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
Oil for bowl
1 cup/120 g confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1 large egg white
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt
Prepare the cookies: In a 1- to 1½-quart/1 to 1.4 L saucepan, combine the honey and muscovado sugar. Over medium-high heat, stir gently until the sugar begins to dissolve and the mixture just begins to come to a simmer. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the butter. Let cool until warm to the touch. Whisk in the egg and lemon zest and juice.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, stir together the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices. On low speed, stir in the wet ingredients until a smooth, sticky dough forms. Scrape the dough into a lightly oiled ceramic bowl and cover with a plate—you want the dough to be able to breathe. Allow the dough to “ripen” at cool room temperature for 1 to 2 days—do not refrigerate. (The large amount of honey and sugar will keep bacteria at bay.)
Position racks to the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat it to 350°F/180°C. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Turn out the dough onto a well-floured work surface. Roll it out to a ¼-inch/6 mm thickness. Use a bench scraper or thin spatula to get under the dough and scoot it around in the flour occasionally to prevent sticking. Cut shapes with 2-inch/5 cm cutters and place 1 inch/2.5 cm apart on the prepared baking sheets. Sweep away any excess flour with a pastry brush. Bake until fragrant and lightly browned, about 12 minutes, rotating the baking sheets from top to bottom and front to back halfway through the baking time. (Watch closely, as the honey in the dough can make the edges catch and burn quickly.)
Prepare the glaze: In a medium bowl, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar, egg white, lemon juice, and salt for a smooth, thin, runny glaze. (Add a few drops more of lemon juice, as needed, to achieve this consistency.)
Let the cookies firm up and cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes. Run an offset spatula under the cookies to gently loosen them from the parchment, leaving them on the sheets.
While still warm, brush the cookies with glaze and transfer to wire racks. Allow the cookies to cool and the glaze to dry completely.
The secret to a perfect lebkuchen texture is in the next resting phase: place the cookies into airtight containers in layers, separated by parchment or waxed paper. Tuck a wedge of apple in the container before sealing. Store in a cool place for at least 3 days, or up to 2 weeks, to allow the cookies to ripen once more before serving.
*If you can find dark muscovado sugar (in natural foods stores or online), it’s worth every penny for these special holiday treats. If not, organic dark brown sugar tends to be richer in color and will give you a deeper-hued cookie.