A German biscuit similar to gingerbread, lebkuchen is easy to make and a great Christmas treat
AuthorEmma Lewis
Ingredients
250gplain flour
85gground almonds
2tspground ginger
1tspground cinnamon
½tspbicarbonate of soda
200mlclear honey
1lemonfinely grated zest
85gbutter
pincheach ground clovesgrated nutmeg and black pepper
1tspbaking powder
For the icing
100gicing sugar
1egg whitebeaten
Instructions
Tip the dry ingredients into a large bowl. Heat the honey and butter in a pan over a low heat until the butter melts, then pour into the flour mixture along with the lemon zest. Mix well until the dough is combined and fairly solid. Cover and leave to cool.
Heat oven to 180C/fan160C/gas 4. Using your hands, roll dough into about 30 balls, each 3cm wide, then flatten each one slightly into a disk. Divide the biscuits between two baking trays lined with baking parchment, leaving room for them to expand. Bake for 15 mins, then cool on a wire rack.
To ice the biscuits, mix together the icing sugar, egg white and 1-2 tbsp water to form a smooth, runny icing. Dip the top of each biscuit in the icing and spread with the back of a knife. Leave to dry out in a warm place.