Lebkuchen – The Bestest Cookie EVER!

Recently on Facebook, a childhood friend from eons ago asked me about some special cookies that she remembered from back in 5th grade. These were cookies my  Mom received from our family in Germany.

My Mom was born and raised in Amberg. Why is that important?  Well, because Amberg is less than an hour drive away from Nuremberg and Nuremburg is famous for its Lebkuchen also known as Nürnberger Lebkuchen. Every holiday season, my Aunt would send us a big box of goodies which always included a bunch of variations of  Lebkuchen.

So, what are Lebkuchen?

Well, there are a lot of variations.  The ones I know of  are  soft cookies – sort of chewy and they taste a little like Gingerbread. They also have a wonderful sweet-spicy aroma to them. They are glazed with Chocolate, Vanilla Icing or often just a sweet glaze. My favorites were the chocolate ones.

Where to Buy?

Below, I’ve collected some of my favorites from Amazon.

The History of Lebkuchen

I was so amazed my childhood friend remembered our family tradition, it got me wondering about he History of Lebkuchen.  As it turns out, it dates back to a really long time ago. Below is some of the history sourced from Wikipedia.

History

Lebkuchen (or Pfefferkuchen) is a traditional German product baked for Christmas, somewhat resembling soft gingerbread. Lebkuchen bakers were recorded as early as 1296 in Ulm, and 1395 in Nürnberg (Nuremberg). Since 1996, de:Nürnberger Lebkuchen is a Protected Designation of Origin and must be produced within the boundaries of the city.

Emperor Friedrich III

Local history in Nuremberg relates that emperor Friedrich III held a Reichstag there in 1487 and he invited the children of the city to a special event where he presented Lebkuchen bearing his printed portrait to almost four thousand children.

Ingredients

The ingredients usually include honey, spices such as aniseed, coriander, cloves, ginger, cardamom, and allspice, nuts including almonds, hazelnuts, and walnuts, or candied fruit.  Lebkuchen dough is usually placed on a thin wafer base called Oblate.  Typically, they are glazed or covered with very dark chocolate, but some are left uncoated.

Lebkuchen range in taste from spicy to sweet and come in a variety of shapes with round being the most common.

Packaging

Sometimes Lebkuchen is packaged in richly decorated tins, chests, and boxes which have become nostalgic collector items.

NEAT!!