Lebkuchens

Lebuckens are a German traditional cookie which my Mom makes at Christmas time.  They are best made a month or so before server since letting them sit in a tin helps develop flavors and textures. The following recipes comes from my Moms’ Better Homes and Garden cookbook from the 60s.

Ingredients

1/2 cup honey or maple syrup	1/2 tsp soda
1/2 molasses	1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup brown sugar (packed)	1 tsp cloves
1 egg	1 tsp allspice
1 tblsp lemon juice	1 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp grated lemon rind	1/3 cup diced citron or dried fruits (pineapple, mango, ..)
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour	1/3 cups chopped nuts
1/4 ground black pepper (optional)

Directions

1.  In a sauce pan, bring the honey and molasses to a boil
2. Stir in brown sugar to dissolve.  Remove from heat and let cool
3. Mix together egg, lemon juice and lemon rind. When sugar mixture is cool, stir egg mixture
4. Sift together flour, baking soda and spices, then stir into the honey-molasses mix.
5. Mix in the citron and chopped nuts
6. Place the dough in the refrigerator and chill overnight.
7. Heat oven to 400F
8. Roll out a small amount of dough at a time to 1/4 inch thick, keeping the rest in the fridge. You can either cut out oblong shapes about 1 1/2″ x 2 1/2″ or just cut out circle shapes about 2″ in diameter.
9. Place on a GREASED baking sheet about 1″ apart.
10.  Bake 10-12 mins
11.  When cooled you can glaze top of cookies if you wish
12. Pack cookies in the a tin and hide them in a cool spot for at least 2 weeks