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Home » Dairy Free Recipes » Deliciously Festive Lebkuchen – gluten free with a vegan option

Deliciously Festive Lebkuchen – gluten free with a vegan option

Christmas Recipes, Recipes

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I distinctly remember Bethany loving Lebkuchen when she was 4 years old, it was the first year and the last year she had Lebkuchen at Christmas time. I LOVE Lebkuchen and am saddened to say that 3 years after her diagnosis, I started to indulge again with hidden packets of the biscuits in far-to-reach cupboards, behind the jars of pickled gherkins! (Bethany’s version of Kryptonite).

Christmas Calendar and Cookies

With every guilty bite I promised myself Bethany would once again taste gluten free Lebkuchen at Christmas … now she has and can! They say third time’s a charm, and it took three attempts to get this just right but I’m pleased as punch with the results, it’s never failed me since and even better, you can make this well in advance as they actually get better with age…finally! a gluten free biscuit that doesn’t have to be eaten within minutes of coming out of the oven to taste any good!

What is Lebkuchen anyway?

Why I’m glad you asked. (just play along and humour me!) Lebkuchen is pronounced LEB-KOOK-EN with no emphasis on the “chh”, I’ve been saying it wrong all my life but the lovely Eve from Healthy Tart, who is German kindly answered my question on Instastories and sent me a audio clip to help with pronunciation.

Lebkuchen stems back centuries but the bake as we tend to know it now originates in Nuremburg, Germany and was made by monks. sometimes known as ‘honey cake’ sometime ‘Lebkuchen’ or another variation is Pfefferkuchen which is far more heavily spiced and referred to a ‘pepper cake’.

Just to confuse you further there is also a harder biscuit version called Lebkuchenherzen or Lebkuchen Hearts, these are more commonly made with the intention of decorating them elaborately for German Christmas Markets or Oktoberfest. So there you have it, now you have a teeny-tiny insight into the history of Lebkuchen should it ever come up in a quiz!

I’ve kept in some old photos in this post, partly to show you the different styles of decoration I’ve added in the past and partly for sentimental reasons as this is a recipe we always make each year now. Just so you know, the obviously up-to-date photos are the dairy, egg and gluten free version.

German Lebkuchen or Honey Cake

Why I’ve developed a NEW free from Lebkuchen

Since perfecting this recipe back in 2016 I’ve since found myself to be dairy and egg intolerant so can no longer sneak the odd packet or two if I don’t have time to bake them myself – call it karma for going behind Beth’s back! You may also have seen that Schar have brought out their version of Lebkuken biscuits which have been hugely popular across social media, I confess to have had one or two myself and they are delicious albeit a little gooey in texture – I had all the regret afterwards as they are not egg free, neither are they nut free which my version is. As with most shop bought gluten free items there are also a billion-gazillion ingredients, which is to be expected given shelf-life demands but as you’ll see my gluten free, nut free Lebkuchen is way less fiddly when it comes to ingredients.

Schar Lebkuchen Ingredients List

So naturally I dove back into the kitchen on a mission to make my Lebkuchen diary and egg free too (they can’t be vegan as they have honey in them). I’m pleased to say I’ve cracked it, pun not intended. However, the appearance is slightly different to their egg and dairy filled cousins as there is crackling on the surface of the bakes so I’m more inclined to coat them totally in dark chocolate to make them a little prettier. To prevent some of the cracking I smoothed the biscuit batter with the back of a wet spoon.

tips on how to make an egg and dairy free Lebkuchen

Gluten Free Lebkuchen

Glutarama
A delicious spicy cake-like biscuit traditionally eaten in the wintertime and Christmas period, originating in Germany and now made gluten free with dairy and egg free options too.
5 from 4 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 15 mins
Course Tea Time
Cuisine German, Gluten Free
Servings 30 biscuits
Calories 154 kcal

Ingredients
 
 

  • 100 g caster sugar
  • 400 g gluten free plain flour
  • 1 ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 3 tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp clove
  • ½ tsp cinnamon
  • ½ tsp  nutmeg
  • 60 g softened butter or dairy free alternative
  • 1 egg or 1tbsp of flaxseed (no need to mix with water)
  • 115 g treacle
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • 150 ml milk or dairy free alternative
  • 100 g glace ginger

To decorate (not dairy/egg free)

  • 150 g icing sugar
  • 1 egg white
  • 300 g dark chocolate

to decorate (dairy & egg free)

  • 300 g dairy free 70% dairy free chocolate
  • 100 g dairy free white chocolate

Instructions
 

  • Cream the butter and sugar until light.
  • In a jug add the milk, egg, honey and treacle and whisk until combined.
  • Pour into the butter mixture and mix, start to add the dry ingredients, once all ingredients have been added the mixture should be a thick dropping consistency.
  • Add spoonfuls of mixture (about the size of an apricot) to a prepared baking sheet, these will spread to approx 2.5/3inches.
  • Bake in an oven on 180C/350F/Gas 4 for 8-10 minutes – they will turn a dark brown.
  • Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before decorating.

Non free from decoration

  • To decorate I add a dollop of dark chocolate to the bottom of each biscuit and place on the reverse of a textured plastic chopping sheet, this creates a professional look to the underside of your biscuit … it’s sometimes the little attention to detail that impresses to most!
  • To make the icing mix 150g icing sugar with the white of 1 egg and brush over the top, pop in the fridge for the chocolate to harden and the icing top to crust, you may want to repeat the egg and sugar wash process to get a thicker coating

Free from decoration

  • Melt the chocolate and coat the Lebkuchen bottoms and place on a silicone or textured sheet. Pop into the fridge to set.
  • once set coat half the biscuits fully with dark chocolate and the other half drizzle with dairy free white chocolate.

Notes

I’ve added a few of my Lebkuchen photos from the past 3 years to give you some ideas for decoration, these are your creations – go as festive  as you want and please tag me in on your photos if you share them on social media.

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts
Gluten Free Lebkuchen
Amount per Serving
Calories
154
% Daily Value*
Fat
 
5
g
8
%
Saturated Fat
 
3
g
15
%
Cholesterol
 
9
mg
3
%
Sodium
 
66
mg
3
%
Potassium
 
160
mg
5
%
Carbohydrates
 
25
g
8
%
Fiber
 
1
g
4
%
Sugar
 
14
g
16
%
Protein
 
2
g
4
%
Vitamin A
 
58
IU
1
%
Calcium
 
35
mg
4
%
Iron
 
2
mg
11
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Keyword Chocolate Biscuit, Christmas, easy, German, Lebkuchen
Have you tried this recipe?Let me know how it was & I will be super grateful

Other gluten free Christmas recipes to try

I have a few Christmas recipes on this website now for you to try, there’s my Free From Clootie Dumpling: a traditional pudding  and a lovely recipe for Stollen Mince Pies; gluten and dairy free. I also have my Homemade Delicious Dairy Free Baileys Liqueur Recipe. There’s some amazing recipes over on my lovely foodie friends websites too so make sure you check out Vicki’s Gluten Free Panettonne or Kate’s Christmas Mince Pies with Cinnamon Crumble Topping

Delicious warm spicy Lebkuchen made gluten free, perfect for winters and Christmas Holidays

 

01/12/2019 · 15 Comments

Previous Post: « Free From Clootie Dumpling: a traditional pudding
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Comments

  1. Elizabeth says

    07/12/2020 at 9:18 pm

    I’ve tried the Schar version today and would love to bake my own. Do you have the version with dairy/egg for me to try please?

    Reply
    • Glutarama says

      09/12/2020 at 11:53 am

      Hi Elizabeth, thank you for commenting. The recipe holds info on both options. Instead of using the flaxseed egg, simply use an egg, and where it says butter or milk, go ahead and use your normal dairy-filled versions. If you sign up to the newsletter you get the original recipe without both options in the free e-book. I hope that helps and thank you once again for popping by x

      Reply
  2. Laura says

    09/11/2020 at 4:59 pm

    please help me understand; the recipe calls for “plain flour”, what is this gluten free option you have in the recipe? My daughter also would be thrilled to have Lebkuchen again

    Reply
    • Glutarama says

      09/11/2020 at 6:51 pm

      Sorry for the misunderstanding Laura, as this is an entirely gluten free website I sometime forget that people who are new to Glutarama won’t realise that ALL flours I use are gluten free. I am slowly going through my recipes to update this as people are not automatically assuming I mean gluten free when I say flour. We are a Coeliac family and therefore no ‘normal’ flour enters the house…I often fall into the trap of thinking everyone who comes to my site looking for gluten free will assume I mean gluten free flour. Thanks for commenting and bringing this edit to my attention though.

      Reply
      • GFGF says

        01/12/2021 at 7:28 pm

        Hi! I am also wondering exactly what flour you use. Is there a recipe for your blend (a mix of rice flour, almond flour, etc) or a specific brand of GF flour you use?

        Reply
        • Glutarama says

          02/12/2021 at 12:22 pm

          Hello there, I tend to use Dove Flour as this is an easy option and the most widely available in the UK (therefore easy for my readers to source) Not all Dove Farm products are free from, you need to go for the ‘Freee’range in the free from aisles in supermarkets. Hope this helps. Rebecca x

          Reply
  3. Monika Dabrowski says

    15/12/2019 at 5:44 pm

    So I made these! They turned out great! I made a few substitutions as didn’t have all the ingredients at home but the cookies are delicious and very light. I used honey instead of the treacle, added 2 tablespoons of cocoa to darken the cookies, and a drop more milk as my mixture was a little too thick. Really good! Thanks and Merry Christmas.

    Reply
    • Glutarama says

      15/12/2019 at 11:36 pm

      Oh sweetie, that’s lovey to hear and great subs from your store cupboard. Thank you so much for getting back to me Monika xx

      Reply
  4. Monika Dabrowski says

    14/12/2019 at 11:19 pm

    This is my favourite Christmas treat of all time! And I’ve never made it, but if I’ve got a bit of time next week I might attempt your recipe, and if I do I’ll let you know how it turned out. Thank you for bringing your recipe to #CookBlogShare:)

    Reply
  5. Lesley Garden says

    12/12/2019 at 6:38 pm

    I love lebkuchen, a favourite festive sweet treat. My Mum, who’s coeliac will love these, I’ll have to pass her this recipe. Thank you for sharing to #CookBlogShare

    Reply
    • Glutarama says

      15/12/2019 at 11:37 pm

      ooh lovely that’s great to hear…that you’ll pass it on…not that Mum’s Coeliac!!!

      Reply
  6. Vicki Montague says

    06/12/2019 at 4:38 pm

    They look sooo good! Another thing I’ve never made so on the list ;)!

    Reply
    • Glutarama says

      07/12/2019 at 3:08 pm

      I think I’d be baking until Easter if I added everything Christmassy I wanted to try to make to a list hahahaha xx

      Reply
  7. Julie Mcpherson says

    18/11/2017 at 10:30 am

    Your Lebkucken cookies look so festive. I’m sure your daughter loves these gluten free one. Commenting as BritMums Baking Round-up Editor. :)

    Reply
    • Glutarama says

      18/11/2017 at 10:47 pm

      Beth was only 5 when she was diagnosed Coeliac, but we’d already started a tradition of buying Lebkuchen each Christmas by then, I remember the first Christmas being gutted that we couldn’t indulge ourselves again…the Christmas I made these was a very good Christmas xxx

      Reply

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Glutarama - Rebecca, all about me

My name is Rebecca, slightly bonkers but can you blame me! Juggling work and two teens with additional needs plus a great combo of special diets. Welcome to my site you lovely person you and learn how to make anything gluten free with me!

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