From the Keepin’ It Simple Kitchen, it’s time for another Fat Man Cookith here at LedeNews. In fact, as the season of Advent begins, we’ll be bringing you a new recipe every Sunday for the next few, featuring some of our holiday favorites.
This week, we again up the difficulty with one of my favorite Christmastime cookies, Pfeffernüsse. And there’s an important key when making authentic German Pfeffernüsse and that is the spice mixture Lebkuchengewürz, or German gingerbread spice.
Now, you technically can search online to get pre-mixed Lebkuchengewürz. But why? Most of the ingredients are easily finable. I had to order a few others online, but the taste is always worth the extra effort.
Besides, it gives me an excuse to play with my fancy miniature spice grinder I purchased. So, as tradition dictates, time to break out that Bing Crosby White Christmas soundtrack and let’s get baking.
The ingredients for the authentic Lebkuchengewürz. 
The overall ingredients
Ingredient List – Authentic Lebkuchengewürz
- 2 ½ tbsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tsp ground cloves
- ½ tsp ground allspice
- ½ tsp ground coriander
- ½ tsp ground green cardamom
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp ground star anise
- ¼ tsp ground mace
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
Ingredient List – Overall
- 2 ¼ cup flour
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- 3-4 tsp Homemade Lebkuchengewürz
- ¼ tsp ground white pepper
- ¼ cup almond meal
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1/3 cup pure honey
- 5 tbsp unsalted butter
- 3 tbsp heavy cream
- 1 large egg
- 2 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 3-4 tbsp hot water
The Process
First, you mix your Lebkuchengewürz and set it aside. I made a triple batch as I intend to use it further during the holiday season. Yes, the season ends January 6, not this upcoming Friday. Seal it in an airtight container to retain freshness.
Then combine the flour, Lebkuchengewürz, baking soda, salt, almond meal, and white pepper in a bowl. Mix thoroughly with a spoon and set aside.
Then, in a medium saucepan, combine the brown sugar, butter, heavy cream and finally honey. I cut up the butter into 1 tbsp portions for ease of melting. Heat on medium and stir frequently until the butter is melted and the sugar is dissolved. After that’s complete, take it off the burner and let it cool for a few moments.
I poured the liquid mixture into a larger mixing bowl and then began dumping and mixing the dry ingredients in with it, a bit at a time. Once all were mixed, I then cracked and mixed the egg. The dough will be sticky. That’s what you want.
I then molded the dough into a brick and wrapped it in plastic wrap. You want to leave it in the fridge at minimum overnight, or a day or two if you have the time—and patience.
The recipe I used from Daring Gourmet calls for rolling the dough into two lengthy, cylindrical sections. But I’ve cut up enough blocks of fudge in my day to know an unnecessary step when I read one.
I used my pastry knife and began cutting smaller rectangular sections from the dough and subsequently cutting these into ¾ large pieces. Roll them into a ball and place them on parchment-lined cookie sheets.
Into the Oven
After your preheated to 350, place the sheets one at a time into the oven and bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
While this is happening, go ahead and mix up your glaze. This time, it does call for powdered sugar and hot water, which is what I planned to use regardless.
After the cookies have baked and had time to cool, you will want to dunk them one at a time in the glaze mixture to ensure all-over coating. Then place them on a wire rack atop a cookie shit to allow any drippage to hit the sheet, and not your counter.
Seeing as the Keepin’ It Simple kitchen does not possess a wire rack, we simply “painted” the cookies with a brush for coating purposes.
The cookies taste better as they age, though best eat them within a two-week window. That shouldn’t be too difficult.
Mahlzeit!
