Lebkuchen

MAKES 30 Copies Ingredients • 1¼ cups unblanched hazelnuts, toasted and cooled • 1 cup (240 ml) unblanched whole almonds, toasted and cooled • ¾ cup palm sugar • 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon • ½ teaspoon ground cardamom • ½ teaspoon nutmeg • 3 tablespoons (45 ml) grated fresh orange zest • 2 tablespoons (30 ml) grated fresh lemon zest • 1½ cups almond flour • 2 tablespoons (30 ml) cacao powder • ½ teaspoon salt • 6 tablespoons (90 ml) coconut oil, softened • ¾ cup palm sugar • 4 large eggs • 1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract Glaze • 1 cup (240 ml) honey • ¼ cup coconut milk Preparation 1. Adjust the oven racks to the upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Process the toasted nuts, palm sugar, cinnamon, cardamom, and nutmeg together into a fine meal using a food processor (about 30 to 60 seconds). Add the orange and lemon zest and continue to process until combined (about 15 seconds). 2. Whisk the flour, cacao powder, and salt together in a small bowl. In a large bowl, beat the coconut oil and the palm sugar together with an electric mixer on medium speed for about 30 seconds or until well combined. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and vanilla, until combined, scraping down the bowl and beaters as needed. 3. Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly add flour mixture, beating until combined (about 30 seconds). Mix in the ground nut mixture until just incorporated (the bowl will be very full). 4. Working with two tablespoons at a time, roll the dough into balls and lay them on the prepared baking sheets, spaced about two inches apart. 5. Bake the cookies until the edges are set and beginning to brown, and the centers are still soft and puffy with tiny cracks (13 to 18 minutes), switching and rotating baking sheets halfway through baking. (The cookies will look raw between the cracks and seem underdone.) 6. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough, using a freshly lined baking sheet. Making the Glaze When the cookies are cool, mix the honey and coconut milk together in a medium bowl until smooth. Using a pastry brush, brush a thin layer of the glaze over the tops of the cookies and let sit about 10 minutes before serving.

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Lebkuchen is the German spiced cookie of the season: toasted hazelnuts and almonds ground with cinnamon, cardamom, and nutmeg, brightened with orange and lemon zest, and brushed with a honey-coconut glaze. Chewy, fragrant, and better after a day or two. It is a proper holiday bake.

Pro Tips

• Toast the nuts and cool them completely before processing. Warm nuts turn oily and the meal will not stay fluffy.
• Process the nut-sugar-spice mixture to a fine meal, then add the zests and process just 15 seconds more so the oils perfume rather than liquefy.
• The bowl will be very full once the ground nut mixture goes in. Fold with a spatula and stop as soon as it is incorporated.
• Bake 13 to 18 minutes until the edges set and the centers look cracked and underdone. They firm as they cool on the sheet.
• Brush the glaze on only after the cookies are completely cool, in a thin layer, and let it set 10 minutes before serving.

Frequently Asked Questions

What makes lebkuchen different from other spice cookies?

The ground nuts and citrus zests. They give lebkuchen its characteristic chewy, marzipan-like texture and perfume, rather than the crisp snap of a ginger cookie.

Do these cookies age well?

Beautifully. Store them airtight for 2 to 3 days and the spice and citrus flavors meld and deepen. They are famously better on day two.

Can I use blanched almonds instead of unblanched?

Yes, though the unblanched skins add a rustic flavor and speckled look that is traditional. Either way, toast them first.

Are lebkuchen cookies paleo?

They are grain-free and dairy-free, built on nuts, almond flour, palm sugar, honey, eggs, and coconut milk. Honey is the sweetener throughout.

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