High altitude lebkuchen are soft and chewy, heavily spiced with a flavor resembling gingerbread, and hints of honey, lemon and almonds. These traditional German spice cookies are an easy cookie to make for the holidays, and are wonderful brushed with lemon glaze, or dipped in chocolate.
You might also love these recipes for iced chai spice sugar cookies, soft maple cookies, and gingerbread crinkle cookies.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Cozy Holiday Flavor. Lebkuchen, pronounced “leyb-koo-kuhn”, is a German cookie recipe that’s known for its nutty, spiced flavor and soft texture. Traditionally the dough is rolled out and cut into circles or stars using cookie cutters. However, I simply scooped the dough into balls and it baked into perfect circles.
Easy to Make. You won’t need a mixer for the cookie dough, just a bowl and spoon.
High Altitude Tested. I develop all the recipes on my site for Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet. If you’re at a lower or higher elevation, please see my FAQs for guidance on adjusting recipes for your altitude.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.
Ingredients
- Unsalted Butter.
- Honey + Dark Brown Sugar.
- All-Purpose Flour.
- Almonds.
- Lemon Juice and Lemon Zest.
- Baking Soda + Baking Powder.
- Spices. Cinnamon, allspice, ginger, cloves, nutmeg and cardamom add a warm, cozy flavor.
- Salt.
- Eggs.
- Vanilla Extract.
Instructions
Dough
- In a saucepan, combine the butter, honey and brown sugar. Over medium heat, warm the mixture, stirring frequently, until melted and smooth. Remove from the heat.
- In a bowl, combine the flour, ground almonds, lemon zest, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices.
- Add the melted butter mixture, the beaten eggs and the lemon juice, stirring into a dough.
- Cover the bowl and let the dough rest at room temperature for one hour.
Bake
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Use a medium scoop with a release lever (1 1/2 – 2 tbsp capacity) to scoop equal portions of dough. Roll the dough balls smooth between your hands. If you don’t plan on glazing the cookies after they bake, roll the dough balls in granulated sugar. Don’t flatten the balls.
- Place the balls on the baking sheet, leaving several inches between each. Bake for about 10-12 minutes, until the edges are browned and the centers are set. Cool on the baking sheet for one minute, then transfer to a cooling rack.
Glaze
- In a bowl, combine the powdered sugar, vanilla and lemon juice, until smooth.
- Use a pastry brush to brush the glaze over the warm cookies. Let the cookies sit until the glaze dries.
Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common baking questions, so that you can be successful in your own baking!
Frequently Asked Questions
Store leftover cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or in the freezer for up to 3-6 months.
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High Altitude Lebkuchen (German Spice Cookies)
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
- Medium Cookie Scoop with Release Lever (1 1/2 – 2 tbsp capacity)
Ingredients
Cookies
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- â…“ cup honey
- ¾ cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, fluffed, spooned and leveled
- 1 cup almonds, finely ground
- 2 tsp fresh lemon zest
- ¾ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground allspice
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp ground cardamom
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
Instructions
Dough
- In a saucepan, combine the butter, honey and brown sugar. Over medium heat, warm the mixture, stirring frequently, until melted and smooth. Remove from the heat.
- In a bowl, combine the flour, ground almonds, lemon zest, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices.
- Add the melted butter mixture, the beaten eggs and the lemon juice, stirring into a dough.
- Cover the bowl and let the dough rest at room temperature for one hour.
Bake
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Use a medium scoop with a release lever (1 1/2 – 2 tbsp capacity) to scoop equal portions of dough. Roll the dough balls smooth between your hands. If you don't plan on glazing the cookies after they bake, roll the dough balls in granulated sugar. Don't flatten the balls.
- Place the balls on the baking sheet, leaving several inches between each. Bake for about 10-12 minutes, until the edges are browned and the centers are set. Cool on the baking sheet for one minute, then transfer to a cooling rack.
Glaze
- In a bowl, combine the powdered sugar, vanilla and lemon juice, until smooth.
- Use a pastry brush to brush the glaze over the warm cookies. Let the cookies sit until the glaze dries.
Notes
https://curlygirlkitchen.com/
This recipe is just fabulous. My friend hates cookies but loved this one! The flavor is simply wonderful and it’s so easy to make. I will be making it on repeat through the holidays. Thank you Heather!!
If you are thinking about making treats from this blog and wondering how they would turn out, I guarantee that these recipes work every single time. I have tried multiple cake recipes and they were all a hit!
Could this recipe be used in a sheet pan to make ‘bars’ instead of cookies, and if so, how best to modify the recipe?
I wouldn’t want to speculate on this without testing it. If you try it, let me know how it turns out!