My Favourite Gingerbread Lebkuchen Food

GERMAN GINGERBREAD "LEBKUCHEN"

Steps:

• In a small pot gently heat the butter, sugar and honey and stir regularly until the sugar has completely dissolved.
• While this is happening, mix together all the other ingredients in a big bowl.
• Then add the liquid honey/butter/sugar mix to this (you'll either need a spoon and strong arms, or a kitchen aid machine with a kneading hook attachment).
• Now leave the dough to rest/cool down for an hour at room temperature.
• Pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees. (160 if fan-assisted)
• After an hour, roll out the dough to about 1cm thickness and cut out gingerbread men or any other shapes you prefer (if the dough is too sticky, place it in the fridge for a few minutes to firm-up, or knead it with your hands and add a bit more flour).
• Place the cookies on a tray lined with baking paper, and bake for approx. 10min. (they will still be slightly soft to the touch; this is what you are aiming for!)
• Once cool, feel free to frost them with icing, sugar pearls, or any other kinds of sweet decoration!

MY FAVOURITE GINGERBREAD (LEBKUCHEN)

Steps:

• Place butter, sugar and treacle in a small saucepan over low heat, stir until the butter melts and sugar dissolves. Set aside for 10 minutes to cool slightly.
• Combine butter mixture and eggs in a large bowl. Sift combined remaining ingredients over the butter mixture.
• Turn onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead until smooth. Shape into a disc and cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour to rest.
• Preheat oven to 180 degrees, roll out dough to required thickness (eg 5mm thick) and make required shapes. Place shapes onto nonstick baking paper and bake for 5 minutes, or until golden.
• Let sit on trays for another 5 minutes before removing onto a wire rack to cool.
• Decorate as desired.

LEBKUCHEN

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, stir together the honey and molasses. Bring the mixture to a boil, remove from heat and stir in the brown sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, and lastly the egg.
• In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, allspice and nutmeg. Add the molasses mixture to the dry ingredients and mix well. Stir in the citron and hazelnuts. Cover dough and chill overnight.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease cookie sheets. Using a small amount of dough at a time, roll out on a lightly floured surface to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into small rectangles and place them 1 inch apart onto the prepared cookie sheet.
• Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven, until no imprint remains when touched lightly.
• Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan. Heat to between 234 and 240 degrees F (soft ball stage). Remove from heat and stir in the confectioners' sugar.
• Quickly brush the icing over the cookies while they are still hot (Important!) and remove them to wire cooling racks. If icing becomes sugary while brushing cookies, re-heat slightly- adding a little water until crystals dissolve.
• Store in an airtight container with a cup of orange or apple for a few days to mellow. (I never did understand that part of the instructions, and my friend had no clarification - but I take it to mean store with a cut-up apple or orange - maybe a small cup of juice? I don't know - I just stored the cookies in an airtight container by themselves!).