If you are not familiar with lebkuchen, they are soft German gingerbread cookies. Like other gingerbread, they have an array of flavourful spices like ground cinnamon, cloves, and ginger. However, unlike the usual gingerbread cutouts, they get a glossy coating in the form of an egg wash. My mom has been making this recipe every Christmas for as long as I can remember.
About this German Gingerbread Recipe
I look forward to all things gingerbread every holiday season. There are some regular dessert favourites that I like to add gingerbread flavour to like these gingerbread brownie bites or my gingerbread cinnamon rolls. I love gingerbread spice mix because it's unique in both flavour and ingredients with a spicy and warm quality. Star anise, cardamom, and cloves are just a few ingredients that come together beautifully in this seasonal spice mixture. I make a big batch and give it to my mom and sister each Christmas.
Each year, I look forward to my mom's homemade gingerbread cookies. This has been my mom's standard Christmas cookie recipe for as long as I can remember (and probably longer already). German lebkuchen are similar to gingerbread cookies, but they are very soft with a little more complex spice flavour.
My mom says that this lebkuchen recipe is a very old recipe from Volynia (an area around the border of Poland and Ukraine, where German settlers used to live). The handwritten original recipe for these gingerbread cookies calls for 2.5 kilos of flour and 10 cups of sugar!! Can you imagine making that big a batch of something? In older times, it was probably more efficient to prepare lebkuchen in large batches. Needless to say, my mom and I made adjustments to make only one-sixteenth of the original recipe.
How to Make German Gingerbread Cookies
The method for making what I consider to be the best gingerbread cookies is a little more involved but totally worth it! The process of making the dough is similar to how you make choux pastry for eclairs.
First, you heat the brown sugar, milk, water, and butter in a pot on the stove until the butter melts and the sugar is dissolved. Then, you stir in the flour to form the dough. After adding the flour, the dough gets heated again for a few minutes until it thickens and becomes tacky. At this point, it should pull from the sides of the pot as well. You may need quite a bit of arm muscle to stir the dough during this step.
Chilling and Finishing the Dough
Next, you have to chill the dough, which is important so that the heat won't cook the egg whites when you add them. If you don't have the fridge space free to chill the dough and live in a cold climate, you can cover the bowl and place it outside until it has cooled down. The dough should be cool but not rock hard - you still want to be able to stir/knead it.
Once the dough has cooled, you can whip the egg white in a bowl until it forms stiff peaks. This is easiest to do with a hand mixer, but feel free to do it by hand as well. It will just take a little longer. Once whipped, you gently fold it into the dough with the baking soda and your choice of liquor until the batter lightens and there are no white streaks. The original recipe didn't specify a type of liquor. However, if you want to have a neutral flavour, use vodka. Brandy or rum is great if you would like to add a little flavour to the dough. My mom has even used fruit schnapps and red wine before successfully.
Rolling and Cutting the Dough
The dough will be fairly sticky so I recommend chilling it first to make rolling it easier. To speed up the cooling process and make the dough easier to roll out, I divide the dough into four portions and place each between two sheets of parchment. Then, I use the rolling pin to flatten the dough into a thinner disc (about ¼ inch thick) before transferring it to the fridge or freezer to chill thoroughly.
To roll out the dough, I dust the work area with flour before adding the chilled dough disc. A little sprinkling of flour on top of the dough also helps to keep the rolling pin from sticking. Then I roll the lebkuchen dough out to about ⅛ inch thickness. Cutting out shapes is easiest if you dip the cookie cutter in flour first as it will prevent the dough from sticking.
I've only ever seen my mom cut out circles from this dough and add a few nut pieces in the center after placing them on baking sheets. However, the dough holds up well to any cutout shape. Since lebkuchen is a German gingerbread cookie, I like making gingerbread men shapes from it.
Baking the Lebkuchen Cookies
To bake the German gingerbread cookies, you will have to preheat the oven to 350°F. Additionally, you should ensure you have a few baking sheets ready to place your cookie cutouts on. There is no need to line the baking sheets, however, you can if you wish. A lining of silicone or paper is great to ensure easier cleanup.
The cookies only need about 15 minutes total time to bake, although the bake time will vary depending on the shape you cut out and the size of the cookies. You will know they are done when they are opaque on top and slightly golden on the bottoms.
Brushing with Egg Wash
An unusual aspect of this recipe is the egg wash after baking. When the cookies are hot from the oven, you quickly brush a thin coat of the diluted egg yolks on top. I whisk the egg yolks with a little water to loosen them up. The hot cookies instantly cook the egg layer so you don't have to worry about consuming raw egg here.
This egg wash layer gives the gingerbread men cookies a shiny finish and locks in some of the moisture to keep them soft and moist longer. It also makes any remaining flour dust disappear.
Alternative Sugar Glaze
If you prefer an alternative to the egg wash glaze, you can also make a simple sugar glaze. It will also give the Lebkuchen cookies a nice shine and makes them a bit sweeter. It also locks in some moisture into the gingerbread cookies, but not quite as well as the egg wash does.
To make the sugar glaze, stir together ¾ cup of powdered sugar with 1.5 tablespoons of water until a runny glaze forms. Add more water if needed.
Brush the sugar glaze over the hot Lebkuchen cookies with a pastry brush as soon as you take them from the oven. As the cookies cool the glaze sets firmly so the cookies can be stacked without sticking together. It forms a light crust that is partially white and partially clear. There is a tiny bit of a crunch as you bite into the sugar glazed cookies.
These Lebkuchen Cookies are the Epitome of Christmas
Eating these lebkuchen cookies is the quintessential flavor of Christmas for me. One of my earliest Christmas baking memories is of my mom making gingerbread cookies. She was putting a large stockpot (too big for the fridge) full of this traditional German lebkuchen dough out in the cool hallway to chill overnight. I must have been 4-years-old at that time. I believe I have had these lebkuchen cookies every Christmas since, with the exception of the two Christmases we spent in Asia.
A great way to store the finished cookies is in an airtight container until you are ready to enjoy them. They also hold up well in the freezer for longer storage. I hope you will enjoy this German gingerbread cookie recipe as much as my family has over the years!
Other Gingerbread Recipes You'll Love:
- Fluffy Wholewheat Gingerbread Pancakes
- Wholewheat Gingerbread Cinnamon Rolls
- Healthy Gingerbread Cookies
Lebkuchen - German Gingerbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 ⅔ cups brown sugar or demerara sugar
- ⅔ cup milk
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup butter
- 3 ⅓ cup unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon gingerbread spice mix or a mix of ground cinnamon, ginger and cloves
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 egg white
- 2 ½ tablespoons liquor like brandy, rum, or vodka
- nuts and seeds for decoration
For Brushing:
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 tablespoon water
Instructions
- In a saucepan heat brown sugar, milk, water and butter on medium heat. Stir to combine until the butter is melted and the sugar dissolves. Take off heat as the mixture just starts to come to a boil.
- Add flour, gingerbread spice mix and salt and stir with a wooden spoon or spatula until combined. Return saucepan to the stove. Continue heating the dough while stirring until it thickens and starts to pull away from the sides.
- Set saucepan aside in a cool place (outside if you live in a cold climate) until the dough is no longer hot so it won't cook the egg white in the next step. But don't chill so long that the dough gets too stiff to stir.
- In the meantime, beat the egg white until stiff. When the dough as cooled, stir/knead in the stiff egg white, baking soda and liquor.
- Prepare several sheets of parchment paper. Divide the dough into 4 portions. Place each dough portion on a piece of parchment. Place another parchment paper sheet on top and roll the dough out to a disc of about ¼ inch thickness.
- Place the rolled out Lebkuchen dough discs in the freezer or fridge until thoroughly chilled through.
- Preheat your oven to 350° F and prepare 2 baking sheets.
- Flour your work surface. Then take one chilled dough sheet at a time and, adding only as much flour as needed to keep it from sticking, roll to about ⅛-inch thickness.
- Cut out desired shapes. Dip the cookie cutter in flour between cuts. Place the cookie cut outs on a baking sheet and decorate with nuts and seeds, if desired.
- Bake one sheet at a time for about 15 minutes. Smaller shapes may bake faster, larger ones take longer. The cookies are done when the tops are opaque and the bottoms slightly browned.
- In a small bowl whisk together the egg yolks and water. Pull the finished cookies from the oven, and immediately brush each cookie with a thin layer of the egg wash.
- Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container. Cookies also freeze well in Ziploc bags or airtight containers.
Notes
Combine ¾-1 cup powdered sugar and 1.5 tablespoons water until smooth. Use a pastry brush to spread the glaze over the Lebkuchen cookies while they are still warm
Nutrition
Lorita
Thank you so much for the detailed instructions- I have almost the identical recipe that I make every year- but no instructions. This is perfect to pass on to my kids 🙂
Jennifer @ Leelalicious
Hi Lorita, I'm glad that the instructions for this recipe will help the recipe you make live on for your kids. 🙂
Elizabeth
I have had a similar cookie but dipped in chocolate. Can these be dipped into chocolate after putting the egg wash on them. Thank you for the amazing recipe.
Jennifer @ Leelalicious
Hi Elizabeth, yes, you could definitely finish the cookies by dipping them in melted chocolate at the end if you like. Happy baking!
mobasir hassan
A great recipe indeed, shared. Everything is so nicely described that really helped.
Jennifer @ Leelalicious
Thank you for the lovely comment, Mobasir! 🙂
Sheila
Is this “packed” brown sugar or just “scooped” in without packing down?
Regina | Leelalicious
I usually use demerara or muscovado brown sugar which can't be packed quite like light brown sugar. So I think just scooped is good
Kris
First time baking Lebkuchen and they turned out really lovely. Parchment paper on the cookie sheets is a must. The whole process was easier than I expected. My son said these might be better than the ones we had in Germany. We will be making a lot of these!
Regina | Leelalicious
What amazing feedback! I love to hear that our family favorite is made and loved by others too
Sherry
Thank you for sharing this delicious recipe for a gingerbread without molasses. I cut it in half for a small batch and all worked well, although a little extra spice mix would be good too. I’ll enjoy this one for year to come. Danke!
Regina | Leelalicious
Gern geschehen 😉
Sarah
The vodka is an extract. If you look on a bottle of plain vanilla you will find alcohol. A side, note homemade vanilla is made with vodka and vanilla beans. Happy baking.
Nikko
Hi! Thank you for sharing this recipe with us. I tried it with my Lebkuchen spice mix (7 spices, should be 8 but I didn’t manage to find cardamom). The other recipes I was looking at involved creaming butter and rum. This turn out great but the next batch will probably have more of the spice mixture.
Hanni
Volynia!!! My mother was born there, in 1921, and her family farmed in Solydiri. And of course, soft gingerbread was her specialty, except that she made it in cake form on a jelly roll pan. Sadly, our family recipe disappeared, so I am very eager to give this one a go. I have been trying for years to get the texture just right! Thank you so much for sharing this.
Regina
So awesome that you have a similar family recipe 🙂
Melissa
Are you able to freeze the dough? I want to prepare the dough now and make them in a week. Thanks!
Regina
Hi Melissa, yes freezing the dough should be no problem at all
Cathryn
Hi Regina, i made this recipe a few days ago and loved the cookies. I had gone back a second time to my cookie page for the recipe and it was gone. Im so glad i found it again because i will definetly be making them over and over. I do have to admit that i put in 3 or 4tbl of gingerbread spice because I couldn't smell it in the flour mixture, I Love Gingerbread! They turned out perfect and the spice was not strong at all. Thank you so much for this recipe!!
Regina
I am so glad you love this family recipe and much as all of us. Personally, I also love a LOT of gingerbread spice but I am also trying to keep it kid friendly 😉
Richa Gupta
These look incredible! I can't believe I've never heard of these before
Brooke Cunningham
I love Gingerbread and these cookies sound delicious. I would like to make these with my daughter. I don't want to use the liquor in the recipe because we do not drink liquor and I don't want to buy a bottle just for this recipe. Do you know what I could substitute for the liquor Regina?
Regina
Hi Brooke, since this is a handed down recipe (I didn't develop it) I am not even sure what the exact function of the alcohol is. I don't see it activating any other ingredient, so I think you may be fine using any other liquid, maybe apple juice, as replacement.
Sharon Hartmann
Hi Regina
I made these gorgeous cookies this afternoon; my daughters Dad and his family are German so I was thrilled to find a Lebkuchen recipe on Pinterest however the final dough before cutting out the shapes was so wet that I have had to put it back in the fridge and try to roll later??
Wondering if you could guide me what best to do??
Thanks Sharon
Regina
I am soo sorry Sharon! I was certain I had replied to your comment 🙁 Hopefully chilling the dough worked for you? This is what we usually do and then a little extra flour for rolling. There is another kind of German Lebkuchen that is baked on edible rice paper rounds. If you have those, the dough can be spooned right onto them without chilling.
Rhonda Willson
If you were only going to make one tablespoon of spice mix, what would the ratio of spices be? Thks!
Regina
Hi Rhonda, for a really quick and simple stand-in I would use 2 teaspoons cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon each ginger and cloves.
Zaza
Wow, your gingerbread cookies are so cute!
Enjoy your holidays!
Regina
Thank you very very much Zaza. Merry Christmas to you!
Jacquee | I Sugar Coat It!
Poor little GB guy met a biting end. 🙂 These are adorable! Don't think I have had this type of GB, but it sure sounds yum....It's got brandy, after all!! 😉
Regina
I am wondering about the purpose of the alcohol in this. It just sounds too good to change 😉
Jess @ whatjessicabakednext
I LOVE lebkuchen, definitely one of my most favourite Christmas cookies! Love your pictures, so cute! Happy holidays Regina!
Regina
I am glad to hear you know about Lebkuchen in the UK too 🙂 Wishing you a Merry Christmas too, Jess!