Easy German Lebkuchen Recipe (Nürnberger Elisenlebkuchen Cookies)

Make the Lebkuchen Spice Mix: Combine the ground spices in a small bowl or jar. Cover and set aside.

Make the Candied Zest: Wash oranges and lemons.

Zest the citrus using a microplane.

Heat water and sugar in a small saucepan over medium high heat.

Add zest and stir.

Bring to a low boil and simmer for 10 minutes.

Strain out the liquid and let the candied zest cool in a small bowl.

Cover with plastic wrap and store in the fridge until you're ready to use it.

Make the Cookie Dough: Use a food processor to grind the almonds and hazelnuts until they're like crumbs. (But be careful that you don't grind so long that they turn into nut butter! It's ok if you have some larger nut chunks.They don't all have to be the same size.) Set ground nuts aside.

Add the brown sugar, Lebkuchen Spice Mix, baking powder, and salt to a mixing bowl (or the food processor or the bowl of a stand mixer). Mix with a whisk or spoon until combined

Add the candied zest and mix again.

Add the nuts and mix.

Add the spice mix and stir.

And then add the honey and mix again.

Whisk the eggs in a small bowl, then add the eggs to the dough and mix again. The dough should be pretty thick at this point.

At this stage you can cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it chill in the fridge for 12 to 24 hours. Or you bake your cookies right away.

When you're ready to bake your cookies, pre-head your oven to 325F/160C.

Place the Oblaten wafers on a lined baking tray (if using).

If using the 70mm size, spoon 2 tablespoons dough onto the middle of each wafer. If your dough immediately flattens out and spills out over the wafer, add more ground nuts (try grinding another 1/4 to 1/2 cup).

Ideally you want the baked cookies to cover the entire wafer while keeping a domed shape. You can use lightly damp fingers to gently spread the dough towards the edge of the Oblaten. I just barely spread the dough towards the edges.

Bake the cookies for 20-22 minutes or until the edges are browned. Let the cookies cool on a wire rack.

Make the Sugar Glaze: Add powdered sugar, water, vanilla extract, and rum extract (optional) to a small bowl and mix until there are no lumps. Adjust powdered sugar and water as needed. The sugar glaze in the recipe below should be enough to glaze half of the cookies, so double it if you want to use it for all of the cookies.

Make the Chocolate Glaze: Chop the dark chocolate and add a bit of oil (vegetable, coconut, etc). Slowly melt the chocolate in the microwave on 15-20 second intervals or in a double boiler on stove (or place a glass bowl over a saucepan that has simmering water it in). Stir frequently. When 3/4 of the chocolate has melted, simply keep stirring to melt the rest. If you want all of your cookies to have a chocolate glaze, double the recipe.

Glaze and Decorate the Cookies: Use a pastry brush to apply the sugar or chocolate glaze to the top of the cookies. You can also dip the cookies in the glaze (I found it easiest to use the pastry brush).

Add almonds (whole blanched, slivered or sliced) to decorate the top of the cookies before glaze sets.

Let the glaze dry on the cookies for 12-24 hours. Store in an airtight container with wax paper between layers of cookies. They'll keep for at least a couple weeks, longer in the freezer.