An authentic soft, spiced, almond-based Gluten Free Lebkuchen cookie with a hint of citrus and sweetened with honey. Traditionally found in German Christmas markets. Egg Free. Optional Dairy Free.
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A Recipe for Soft Gluten Free Lebkuchen Cookies
The gluten free Lebkuchen pursuit is on. I am obsessed! Perhaps I am not the only one to love these delightful German Christmas cookies and to feel they are missing out? Hopefully this mission will be to the benefit of all…
Recently, Schär went some way to answering the Christmas prayers of many Coeliacs with their gluten free Lebkuchen. The rush of excitement however was (for me) yet another gluten free disappointment. Although they tasted ok, the spice level was a bit bland and the texture a bit ‘stick to the teeth’. Hopes of Christmas market memories dashed. A determination to make something better spurred…
Gluten Free Alchemist readers will no doubt have seen another recent post for German Gingerbread Cookies (also a type of Lebkuchen) on the blog. But there are many different types of Lebkuchen. The Lebkuchen posted here are very different to the previous recipe, being much softer and infused with a citrus kick alongside the traditional Lebkuchen spice.
They are nonetheless based on traditional recipes and aim to reach the dizzy gluten free heights of uniquely delicious Germanic taste and texture authenticity… They also make fantastic foodie gifts!
If you want to know more about Lebkuchen cookies and why you get them at Christmas, check out my previous Gingerbread Cookies post.
A German Lebkuchen Recipe – Traditional Ingredients and Flavours
Honey, Nuts, Flour and Oblaten for Gluten Free Lebkuchen
Soft and almost cake-like, this Lebkuchen recipe leans on time-honoured ingredients. Sweetened with only honey and with a good proportion of ground almonds in the mix, these treats are close to a type of Lebkuchen called Elisen Lebkuchen (a soft, round Lebkuchen cookie which originates in 18th Century Nuremberg).
Elisen Lebkuchen have traditionally been made with little or no flour and baked onto back ‘Oblaten’ edible flour wafers for stability. To be called Elisen Lebkuchen however, they must also contain at least 25% nuts and no more than 10% flour. I have read that the addition of molasses (black treacle) is forbidden, in favour of honey.
Back Oblaten appear to be fairly essential to holding nut-based soft Lebkuchen together. Back in the 14th Century, they were also used to prevent sticking when baking. Whilst you can get gluten free Oblaten, they are difficult to source. To be honest, I don’t particularly like the texture they give either (traditional or not).
Thus, to maintain structure without back Oblaten, a little more flour has been used in my gluten free Lebkuchen recipe. I have used my Gluten Free Alchemist rice free mix B for best texture. The ratio is nonetheless balanced to ensure the spongy softness akin to more traditional Lebkuchen recipes. Indeed there still remains more than 20% nut content.
German Lebkuchen – Authentic Spice
Although Lebkuchen are often referred to as ‘gingerbread’, most traditional German recipes contain very little of the stuff. But they do contain an incredible array of other spicing which is crucial to the authenticity and which arguably makes German Christmas cookies Lebkuchen. Central to flavour as well as aroma are the use of cinnamon, allspice, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, mace and coriander seed. Some recipes also variously add star anise and/or cardamom.
I did not have a ready-made Lebkuchen spice mix (known as Lebkuchen Gewürz) to hand, but the careful balance of spices in the Lebkuchen recipe below includes all the key necessary ingredients. You can of course buy jars of Lebkuchen spice (Steenbergs do one – link below). Or if you want to grind from scratch, this recipe for Lebkuchen Gewürz from the Daring Gourmet will guide you.
The combination of spicing against the honey and nuts makes these gluten free Lebkuchen cookies magic. They may look simple (being traditionally decorated, if at all, with a light sugar glaze or a thin layer of chocolate), but the complexity and depth of flavours that hit the palate married with the soft chewiness will take your tastebuds to heaven and back.
Gluten Free Lebkuchen Cookies – How to Mellow and Store
To be sure, these German Christmas cookies taste great fresh from the oven. But if you want them at their very best, they need to mellow and mature a little. Soft Lebkuchen benefit from a day or two at room temperature in an airtight container. Why? because this allows the flavour of the spices, citrus, honey and nuts to develop and mingle, becoming rich and complex. The aroma that hits you when you open the tub will instantly remind you that waiting is good! Sometimes patience is essential if you want a good thing to become amazing…
To store, simply layer the Lebkuchen between sheets of baking paper.
Keeping these gluten free Lebkuchen in an airtight container or tin will also ensure they stay sumptuously soft with an almost fudgy cakey texture. These cookies are not meant to be crisp or crunchy. Indeed, the generous ratio of nuts in the recipe will keep them moist for weeks (although I can guarantee they won’t last that long). Once that lid has been popped and the waft of Christmas hits you, the temptation to eat them all may become overwhelming.
So with temptation offered, I share with you my recipe for Gluten Free Lebkuchen 2. As always, if you make them, please let me know. I love seeing your photos on social media and hearing how you have found the recipes I have created. Take a pic and tag me on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter.
If you like these, you might also like other Christmassy Biscuit & Cookie Recipes on Gluten Free Alchemist :
- Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
- Christmas Spiced Star Biscuits
- Ginger Biscuits
- Baci Di Dama (Ladies Kisses)
- Dark & Chewy Chocolate-Peanut Butter Cookies
- Jammy Thumbprint Cookies
- Nutella Thumbprint Cookies
- Gluten Free Brandy Snaps
- German Gingerbread Cookies
- Traditional Gingerbread Cookies and Gingerbread Men
- Christmas Gingerbread House
- Chewy Toffee-Apple Cookies
- Chocolate-Espresso Puddle Cookies
- Soft Italian Amaretti Cookies
- Peanut Cookies with Chocolate Chips
NEED MORE CHRISTMAS INSPIRATION?
Why not browse our dedicated photographic Christmas Recipe Index? For everything else, you can choose where to head next from our amazing Gluten Free ‘Recipe Book’ Index.
Happy baking
Gluten Free Lebkuchen Cookies
Key equipment
- weighing scales
- mixing spoon (silicone/wood)
- small saucepan (+ hob)
- baking paper (non-stick)
- Oven
- sieve
- kettle
Ingredients
- 210 g plain gluten free flour blend Gluten Free Alchemist Rice Free Flour Mix B (see NOTES below)
- 140 g ground almonds (almond meal)
- 1 tsp GF baking powder
- ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
- ½ tsp ground allspice
- 1½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp mixed spice
- 1 orange fine zest only
- 250 g clear honey
- 80 g butter or dairy free spread
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
Citrus Glaze
- 150 g icing (confectioners) sugar
- 1½ tbsp lemon juice
- 1½ tbsp orange juice
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, weigh and thoroughly mix together the flour, almonds, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, spices and fine zest of 1 orange.
- Weigh the honey and butter into a small saucepan and set over a gentle heat, stirring until the butter has just melted and blended into the honey.
- Pour into the bowl with the dry ingredients and the lemon juice and mix until thoroughly blended and even.
- Set aside to cool, folding occasionally with a mixing spoon.
- Once cold, tip the dough onto a sheet of baking paper or clingfilm and wrap well. Place in the fridge to chill for at least 2 hours.
- Prepare a couple of large baking trays by lining with baking paper (batch-bake if necessary).
- Once the dough is firm, pull off small pieces and roll into balls about the size of a walnut. Place on the baking trays with room to spread between each ball. Place back into the fridge to keep firm until ready to bake.
- Heat the oven to 160 C/320 F/Gas 3.
- Bake the cookies for 13 to 15 minutes until just firm to the touch and just beginning to darken. Although they will firm up as they cool, they will remain slightly soft in texture.
- Allow to cool completely on the baking trays.
Citrus Glaze
- Sieve the icing sugar into a small, wide-bottomed dish and add about half the citrus juice. Stir thoroughly into the icing sugar until smooth.
- Depending how thick you want your glaze, add the rest of the juice a drop at a time until you have reached the desired consistency.
- Take each cookie and holding with your fingers, turn over and dip the top into the glaze. Hold so that the excess can drip off back into the bowl, before placing upright on a wire rack (with either a baking tray or a piece of paper underneath to catch the drips).
- Leave the cookies until the icing has fully set and dried.
- Best when allowed to mature for a couple of days. Store in an airtight container, layered with baking paper until ready to eat.
Notes
Nutrition
© 2019-2023 Kate Dowse All Rights Reserved – Do not copy or re-publish this recipe or any part of this recipe on any other blog, on social media or in a publication without the express permission of Gluten Free Alchemist
These Lebkuchen cookies sound amazing and I can’t wait to make them this coming season. I do, however, have a question about substituting honey for sugar in the glaze. I’m worried mixing honey with the citrus will produce a glaze that won’t harden or dry. Do you know of any additional ingredient that might help, any other “natural” alternative to processed sugar or “natural” alternative to zero-calorie sugar substitutes? I thought honey would be the best since there’s already honey in the recipe. Maple syrup might not be the right flavor, plus it might not harden just like the honey. Coconut sugar would be delicious, but again, has a unique flavor that I can’t see working perfectly for this recipe. Thanks for your help and for sharing these awesome recipes!
Thank you Lukas. I’m pleased that you have found the site helpful.
I love my Lebkuchen recipes (I also have a darker version on the site which is very different in character).
But… I agree that honey may not be the best alternative for the icing.
Other more natural sugar options would include coconut sugar (which you mentioned); Panela (which is a pure natural and unrefined sugar from South America). I bought some from the Eden Project in the UK, but it is also now available at Buy Wholefoods Online here too; Or there’s also Jaggery (available in some wholefood/health stores or occasionally in supermarkets (in the Asian section).
I hope that helps
Best wishes
Kate
Hi Kate. I don’t have almond meal so substituted sorghum. The dough was extremely dry. I added an egg, then a bit of chai tea to make it” scoopable”. They looked ok baking, but taste very, very dry. 😟 I used your Basic Blend-A. Ended up with 48 awful cookies. 🥲
Was it possibly the lack of almond meal? I am a seasoned baker (80 next month) and 10 years GF.
I’m going to bed very sad. Lebkuchen has always been my favorite cookie since I was a very young child.
Oh bless you Cheryl.
I think you have guessed correctly…
The ground almonds are crucial to the recipe (as indeed they are to many German gingerbread recipes). It’s such a shame you didn’t have any as they add a significant amount of natural oil and moisture to the cookies so that they have the right texture, flavour and also mature well. Nothing else will really work in its place.
I’m sorry they didn’t work out for you, but please don’t give up. Assuming you can eat nuts (ie you’re not allergic to them), definitely have another go with the ground almonds.
I’m not sure where you live, but in the UK, our ground almonds/almond meal is ground AFTER the skins have been removed by blanching, so there are no gritty bits in the mix.
I hop that helps a little
Best wishes
Kate
I made these using Orgran GF plain flour. They turned out perfectly and tasted wonderful. I baked a batch for the dialysis nurses at my centre and so many came to tell me how much they enjoyed them. So I made another batch for friends and family they were equally well received. It’s a really easy to make fool proof recipe, thank you for sharing 🙏
That’s fantastic Karen. Thank you SO much for letting me know. And you are so welcome! It’s always great to know a recipe works with different flour too xxx
Hello 🙂 I tried your Lebkuchen recipe last year and they were amazing!!! Sent me straight back to childhood and did the same for my friend who hasn’t been able to have them in years due to GF and Egg free issues.
I’m currently making another batch, but it is so sticky I’m having trouble handling it. Should I add more flour at all? I’m worried I’ll ruin it if I sprinkle flour in.
I’m not the most avid baker haha.
Oh goodness… How strange.
Yes… I would literally sprinkle a tiny amount of extra flour on the top (probably no more than half to one teaspoon and knead in… then recheck the texture. I’m assuming that you chilled the dough and for long enough? In which case it will be easier to see the textural change…
As you made them last year, you probably have a better idea of how it felt then… Go with your instinct xx 🤞🤞
These look so yummy! I’m hoping to make them this week. What can I use for “mixed spice”?
Hi Sheila
Mixed spice is a blend of several spices (including the ginger, cinnamon and allspice already listed). The additional spices in mixed spice are usually ground coriander seeds, ground cloves and ground nutmeg (sometimes with a hint of mace too). So perhaps if you add a pinch of any or all of those… Although I would prioritise the nutmeg.
Here’s a link to a mixed spice recipe that will give you a guide on ratios etc.
https://www.daringgourmet.com/british-mixed-spice/
Hi, is there any way I can sub the buckwheat and teff flours? We would really like to make these for tomorrow but I can’t find those flours near me and no time to order them. I saw those are structural but also strong flavored….would oat or sorghum work? I have rice, quinoa and millet as well. Actually, most flours; not sure what happened to those bc I was sure I had them. 😆🤦🏻♀️
Hi Tanica
I would suggest maybe subbing the teff for millet and the buckwheat for oat as that’s what you have. Hopefully that will give a good alternative balance without becoming too ‘oaty’. It’s not something I’ve tried, but I’ll keep my fingers crossed that it goes well. Do let me know!
I would make a half batch of the flour so that you can test it with the recipe to ensure no wastage (just in case) xxx
Best wishes
These look amazing, we are facing our first gluten free Christmas and love Lebkuchen. Would Doves farm flour work?
Thank you Claire.
They would probably work fine with Doves (although it’s not something I’ve tested). The texture may be a little grittier (on account of the significant rice flour in Doves), but they should hold fine as there are plenty of almonds to compensate the structure.
You could always test on a half-batch if unsure xx
Hi, Do you think I could substitute the honey for maple syrup?? or another sugar?? I’m following a low FODMAP diet and can’t tolerate honey.
Hi Rebecca
Probably. It’s not something I’ve tried, as the recipe when created, was my efforts to be as close to Lebkuchen as I could get and they are traditionally made with honey. But I fully understand the need to use an alternative.
Maple syrup or maybe coconut honey should be good subs. It is possible that it may (and I stress may rather than will) affect the dough consistency. So you could either add the syrup to a little less and judge by feel (adding the rest if ok) or add dusting of extra flour or a sprinkle more almonds if the dough feels too ‘wet’. Bear in mind that it will firm up in the fridge before baking though.
Even better… Maybe do a test mini-batch (maybe at a third of the amount) and see how they come out?
I hope that helps
Best wishes and Happy Christmas
Kate x
Kate your lebkuchen look sooooo delicious! Mine melted away when cooking and lost their shape completly! Any tips for perfect round lebkuchen?
Hi Natasha
I’m sorry your cookies didn’t hold their shape. It is likely to be one of a couple issues, either they weren’t chilled enough… or the mixture was too wet (which could be affected by flour blend as much as added liquid), or the type of fat used.
So… A couple of questions to help decipher what might be the problem…
What flour blend did you use?
What fat did you use (and in particular was it hard block butter/dairy free spread or the soft spreadable type?
How long did you chill for?
Also… Can I just check whether you were measuring in grams or an alternative conversion?
Best wishes
Kate x
They look so good, I could eat several!
Me too Kat! In fact… I did xx
I always wait until these biscuits hit the shops then I know it is truly the Christmas season! But I’ve never made them before, I must change that and these will be perfect as I have a few gluten free friends that it would be nice to share with. Thanks for sharing with #CookBlogShare. Michelle
You’re welcome Michelle. They went down very well with friends, so I hope they are as successful for you x
Hi. You have a tbls of Lemon juice in the biscuit ingredients but not in the instructions. I made the dough without it as didn’t notice until too late. Should it be listed?
Thanks for letting me know. It was an oversight on my part! I’ve now amended the instructions. Sorry! I hope they turned out ok? Can you let me know? Thanks and apologies again xx
I can almost smell these! Love Lebkuchen and yours look wonderful. x
These sound delicious. I’ve had some Lebkucken in Germany but never made my own, but these sound totally doable. #BakingCrumbs
Thanks Helen. They are so easy to make! And so good! I made a load as gifts as well, they were so yummy!!
I’m loving these biscuits. They sound just wonderful. I love the sound of all the christmas flavours becoming rich and complex as they sit about in their tin! Thank you so much for sharing with #BakingCrumbs
You’re so welcome Jenny. They really do get better by the day…. but the temptation to eat them all in one sitting is tough! x
Kate these look and sound absolutely amazing! While I do love the thin crispy gingerbread, sometimes a soft lebkuchen is what is needed! I might make these later this week (saves me creating my own recipe)! How many have you eaten so far!? 😛 Thanks for sharing at Fiesta Friday!
Thank you. There is definitely something very special and very Christmassy about the soft Lebkuchen. Somehow they feel more ‘grown up’ too! Sadly for my waist-line, I have now made 4 batches…. although to be fair, I am not the only one eating them and two of the batches were bagged as gifts! x