Honey Cakes or Lebkuchen

Name: Honey Cakes or Lebkuchen
Yield: Yield: Approximately 7 Dozen Cookies.
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 2½ tablespoons baking soda; 2 cups plus 3 tablespoons unsulfured molasses; 1 tablespoon ground cardamom; 1 tablespoon ground cloves; 2 cups plus 3 tablespoons honey; ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons chopped citron; 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon; 8¾ cups all-purpose flour; 4 cups ground almonds (9 ounces); 4 tablespoons brandy

1859

Preparation info

Yield: Approximately
7 Dozen
Cookies.

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

The Christmas Cook

By William Woys Weaver

Published 1990

About

This is very close to the Nürnberg Lebkuchen imported to this country at Christmas. The cookies are large, thick, and chewy. Follow my directions explicitly. There is a reason for aging the dough: it undergoes chemical and physical changes essential to the texture and flavor of the cookie.

Ingredients

8¾ cups all-purpose flour
2½ tablespoons baking soda
1 tables

Americas
United States
Cake
Vegetarian
Winter
December
Christmas

Method

Sift the flour, soda, and spices together twice. Add the ground almonds and citron. Mix the honey and molasses in a saucepan and heat to a gentle boil. Remove from the stove. Make a hole in the center of the flour, and add the honey mixture while still hot. As you stir this into the flour, gradually add the brandy. Work this up into a ball of dough, cover, and set aside to ripen in the refriger