German Lebkuchen Bars Recipe, Whats Cooking America (2024)

FAQs

German Lebkuchen Bars Recipe, Whats Cooking America? ›

(So if you're thinking this recipe will simply be an excellent gingerbread cookie, you'll be disappointed.) The most obvious difference between the two cookies is that lebkuchen is made from nut flours, not wheat flour, and uses brown sugar in place of molasses.

(So if you're thinking this recipe will simply be an excellent gingerbread cookie, you'll be disappointed.) The most obvious difference between the two cookies is that lebkuchen is made from nut flours, not wheat flour, and uses brown sugar in place of molasses.

Lebkuchen (pronounced leyb-koo-kuh n) is a centuries-old German spiced treat traditionally baked during the winter holiday season. While lebkuchen is often translated to English as gingerbread, it's not exactly what most Americans envision when they think of gingerbread.

The addition of a few spices to regular buttery pastry does not make a Lebkuchen. Traditionally, gingerbread is baked with potassium carbonate as a raising agent. Regular baking powder or baking soda is not really suitable for gingerbread dough that needs to rest for several days.

Lebkuchen (German pronunciation: [ˈleːpˌkuːxn]), Honigkuchen or Pfefferkuchen ( pronounced [ˈp͡fɛfɐˌkuːxn̩]) are honey-sweetened German cakes, moulded cookies or bar cookies that have become part of Germany's Christmas traditions. They are similar to gingerbread.

Pfeffernusse and lebkuchen are both similarly flavored with honey and lots of warm baking spices but pfeffernusse are almost always small, rounded cookies coated with a powdered sugar glaze, while lebkuchen may be shaped like regular cookies or cut in bars and are generally glazed with chocolate.

The forerunner of today's Lebkuchen was called the "honey cake", and its history can be traced back to the Egyptians, the Greeks, and the Romans. They believed that honey, the only sweetener widely available to them, was a gift of the deities and had magical and healing powers.

Kekse and – as at this time of year they're more commonly referred to – Plätzchen are general German words for cookies.

In Germany, when you think of Christmas, you think of Nuremberg Lebkuchen, the city's famous gingerbread. These sweet and spicy treats have been baked for more than 600 years and are loved by young and old alike.

Lebkuchenherzen have become a staple in German celebrations, especially around Oktoberfest and Christmas time. They're typically decorated with intricate icing designs and lettering, including endearing or funny messages. Try your hand at making them and share them with someone you love!

What is the difference between German and American gingerbread? ›

Bavarian gingerbread is traditionally made with honey, spices, ground nuts, rye flour, and orange peel, while American gingerbread prominently features molasses and ginger.

That is called an Oblaten - German for a paper thin wafer. They may look familiar to anyone who has taken Communion in a Lutheran or Catholic Church. It is absolutely edible. I personally prefer to peel the wafer off the bottom of the cookie and set it aside.

Lebkuchenherzen: a somewhat harder dough is used to create the large heart-shaped Lebkuchen decorated with icing that you'll find dangling on coloured strings from the roofs of sweet stalls at Christmas markets – and at festivals throughout the rest of the year.

We've come to the most popular German biscuit – Lebkuchen or known as gingerbread (“Lebkuchen” in English is “gingerbread”).

Oblaten are crisp, white wheat wafers that are available in specialty food shops.

Zimtsterne

These cinnamon stars are another spiced Christmas cookie prepared with almond flour and sometimes decorated with slivers of almonds. Like lebkuchen, zimtsterne cookies are soft, chewy, and glazed with icing.

The root meaning of the name Lebkuchen has been lost, although there are many plausible explanations. While kuchen is 'cake' in German, the particle 'leb' may refer to Old German expressions for crystallized honey, sweetness, or even loaf. These spiced honey cakes first appeared in monasteries in the late Middle Ages.

Lebkuchen - pronounced LAYB-kue-chn - and sometimes called Pfefferkuchen is a German baked Christmas treat somewhat resembling gingerbread. Soft, moist and nutty German gingerbread was invented by medieval monks in Franconia, Germany in the 13th century.

"Lebkuchen" (gingerbread) is also known as "Honigkuchen" (honeycake) in some parts of Germany.