Lebkuchen

5 dozen

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
¾ cup Honey
¾ cup Dark brown sugar firmly packed
1 Egg
2 teaspoons Grated lemon rind
3 tablespoons Lemon juice
3½ cup Sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Ground cinnamon
¾ cup Granulated sugar
⅓ cup Water
1 teaspoon Ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon Ground allspice
½ teaspoon Ground ginger
¼ teaspoon Ground cloves
½ teaspoon Baking soda
1 cup Citron (8 oz per cup) finely chopped
1 cup Chopped unblanched almonds
¼ cup Confectioners' sugar (10X)

Directions

SUGAR GLAZE

One of our all-time favorites. This spicy, fruited cookie is best made early to give it time to mellow.

1. Heat honey to boiling in a small saucepan; pour into a large bowl.

Cool about 30 minutes.

2. Stir brown sugar, egg, lemon rind and lemon juice into cooled honey; blend well.

3. Sift flour, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, ginger, cloves and baking soda onto wax paper. Stir into honey mixture a third at a time. Add citron and almonds. Dough will be stiff but sticky. Wrap in foil or transparent wrap; refrigerate several hours, or until firm.

4. Roll out dough, ⅛ at a time, on a lightly floured pastry board, to a 6x5-inch rectangle. Cut into 8 rectangles, 2-½ x 1-½ inches. Place 1-inch apart on greased cookie sheets.

5. Bake in moderate oven (350-degrees F) 10 minutes, or until firm.

Remove to wire racks.

6. While cookies are HOT, brush with HOT sugar glaze. When cookies are cool, decorate with almond halves, candied cherry halves and pieces of citron, if you wish. Use confectioners' sugar and water mixed to a smooth paste as "glue." Store cookies in wax-paper-separated layers in a tightly covered container for 2 weeks to mellow.

Makes about 5 dozen cookies.

SUGAR GLAZE:

Combine granulated sugar and water in saucepan. Bring to boiling; lower heat; simmer 3 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in confectioners' sugar. Makes about ¾ cup.

(ELB Note: ½ sugar glaze is plenty.) Recipe from Elizabeth Burgstahler, mother of Alan Burgstahler.

Submitted By ALAN BURGSTAHLER On 02-19-95

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