Gluten Free Lebkuchen
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. Decorate with a little icing glaze or add a delicious filling and coat in chocolate for that added touch of luxury.
Servings: 30 biscuits
Calories: 146kcal
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(s) or 1tbsp of flaxseed to replace one egg (no need to mix with water)
- 115 g treacle black treacle
- 1 tbsp honey
- 150 ml milk or dairy free alternative
- 100 g glace ginger chop more finely if necessary
To decorate (icing glaze version)
- 150 g icing/confectioners sugar
- 1 tsp lemon juice maybe more to loosen
- 150 g dark chocolate to coat biscuit bottoms
To decorate (chocolate & filled version)
- 300 g dark chocolate
- 100 g dairy free white chocolate option to add contrast lines
To fill (filled version)
- 100 g apricot jam or another filling on your choice [see post]
Instructions
- Cream the butter and sugar until light.
- In a jug add the 'milk', egg [if using a real egg], honey and treacle and whisk until combined.
- In a separate bowl measure the dry ingredients; flour, bicarb, baking powder, flaxseed [if not using a real egg], spices, glace ginger
- 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 200°C | 180°C fan | 400°F | Gas 6 for 8-10 minutes - they will turn a darker brown with a light bounce to the touch.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before decorating.
Icing glaze decoration
- To decorate I add a dollop of dark chocolate to the bottom of each biscuit and place on baking paper.
- To make the icing mix the icing sugar with the lemon juice (add more or less to get the right 'paint' consistency) and brush over the top with a pastry brush.
- Pop in the fridge for the chocolate to harden and the icing top to crust, you may want to repeat the painting process to get a thicker coating.
Chocolate 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.
Filled Lebkuchen
- Once cool enough to touch pipe a little jam into each cookie you plan to fill (this works better is the biscuit is still ever so slightly warm). Allow to cool completely,
- Cover the bottom of each cookie with a dollop of dark chocolate and place on a piece of baking paper then coat liberally with the rest of the dark chocolate until completely covered.
- Allow to harden before eating.
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.
For nutrition purposes I've calculated for the icing glaze and chocolate bottom version.
Nutrition
Calories: 146kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 11mg | Sodium: 75mg | Potassium: 143mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 68IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 45mg | Iron: 1mg