lebkuchen-msg – 5/18/11

Period lebkuchen cookies. Recipes.

NOTE: See also the files: cookies-msg, desserts-msg, candy-msg, gingerbread-msg, sugar-msg, chocolate-msg, Sugarplums-art, sotelties-msg, 14C-Sweets-art, Digby-Cakes-art, Digby-Cakes-msg.

************************************************************************
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Thank you,
    Mark S. Harris                  AKA:  THLord Stefan li Rous
                                          Stefan at florilegium.org
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Date: Sat, 5 Sep 1998 13:00:00 -0500
From: vjarmstrong at aristotle.net (Valoise Armstrong)
Subject: SC - Lebkuchen

Cariadoc and Allison have both mentioned Lebkuchen. I'd like to shine a
little light on the topic. Lebkuchen was also know as Lebzelten in period
and was indeed baked and crisp. In urban areas there were Lebkuchners or
Lebzeltners who specialized in baking this particular dish. In
_Kunstgeschichte des Backwerks_, edited by Hans Juergen Hansen, there is a
woodcut (dated 1520) showing a Lebzeltner at work, pulling the finished
cakes out of the oven. I think Nuremburg was especially famous for their
Lebkuchen.

They rolled out dough was pressed into round or rectangular oiled molds
made of clay or wood that were decorated with designs. In _Kunstgeschichte
des Backwerks_ there are photos of several molds. They remind me of the
ceramic molds I've seen people use for shortbread. I think the used to sell
them at Rolling Pin and similar stores. These were also used for fancy
marzipan.

This was baked sweet of flour and honey (sugar was added late in period but
didn't totally replace the honey). Spices added could be cinnamon, mace,
ginger, cloves, anise, pepper, and coriander. I haven't ever seen a recipe
with the dried fruit and nuts called for in modern recipes or with the
sugar glaze that some recipes also call for. Other than that, the modern
unleavened Lebkuchen recipes do resemble ones eaten in period.

Kuchenmeyserey, Sabina Welser, and Philipinne Welser all have Lebkuchen
recipes. The one that follows is from Sabina Welser and the most detailed
one I've found.

Valoise

163   To make Nürnberger Lebkuchen

        Take one quart of honey, put it into a large pan, skim it well and
let it boil a good while. Put one and a half pounds of sugar into it and
stir it continually with a wooden spatula and let it cook for a while, as
long as one cooks an egg, pour it hot into a quarter pound of flour, stir
it around slowly and put the described spices in the dough, stir it around
slowly and not too long; take one and a half ounces of cinnamon sticks, one
and a half ounces of nutmeg, three fourths of an ounce of cloves, three
ounces of ginger, a pinch of mace, and chop or grind each one separately so
that they are not too small, the cinnamon sticks, especially, should be
coarsely ground. And when you have put the spices in the dough, then let
the dough set for as long as one needs to hard boil eggs. Dip the hands in
flour and take a small heap of dough, make balls out of it, weigh them so
that one is as heavy as the others, roll them out with a rolling pin, and
spread them out smoothly by hand, the smoother the prettier. After that dip
the mold in rose water and open it up. Take four ounces of dough for one
Lebkuchen. Be careful and get no flour in the molds or else they will be no
good, but on the board you can put flour so that they do not stick to it.
Let them set overnight. And when you take them to the baker, then see to it
that you have another board that is thoroughly sprinkled with flour, so
that it is very thickly covered. Put the board with its covering of flour
into the oven so that the board is completely heated, the hotter the
better. Take it out afterwards and lay the Lebkuchen on top, so that none
touches the other, put them in the oven, let them bake and look after them
frequently. At first they will become soft as fat. If you take hold of them
you can feel it well. And when they become entirely dry, then take them out
and turn the board around, so that the front part goes into the back of the
oven. Let it remain a short while, then take it out. Take a small broom,
brush the flour cleanly away from the underside of the Lebkuchen and lay
the Lebkuchen, in the mean time, on the other board, until you have brushed
off the Lebkuchen, one after the other, so that there is no more flour on
the bottoms. Afterwards sweep the flour very cleanly from off the board.
Lay the Lebkuchen on top of it again, so that the bottom is turned to the
top. Take a bath sponge, dip it in rose water, squeeze it out again, wash
the flour from the bottoms of the Lebkuchen. Be careful that you do not
leave any water on the board, then they would stick to it. Afterwards put
the board with the Lebkuchen again in the oven, until the bottoms rise
nicely and become hard, then take the board out again. See to it that two
or three [people] are by the board, who can quickly turn the Lebkuchen
over, or else they will stick. Afterwards take rose water and wash them on
top with it as you have done on the underside. Put them in the oven again,
let them become dry, carry them home and move them around on the board, so
that they do not stick. And when they have completely cooled, then lay them
eight or ten, one upon the other, wrap them in paper and store them in a
dry place, see that no draft comes therein, then they remain crisp.


Date: Sat, 5 Sep 1998 13:34:52 -0500
From: vjarmstrong at aristotle.net (Valoise Armstrong)
Subject: SC - Re: sca-cooks V1 #914 (lebkuchen house)

Alys Katharine wrote:
>Now, posing a "Cariadoc-type" question, is there any evidence that
>lebkuchen was used to make structural subtleties?  There is, I believe,
>for gingerbread.  But what about lebkuchen?

In _Kunstgeschichte des Backwerks_ there is a wood cut of a lebkuchen house
on page 130. Says it dates from the end of the 15th C. and is a detail
taken from "Das Schlauraffenlandt" ot The Land of Milk and Honey. This is a
fantasy themed picture, but maybe there is some basis for the depiction of
the lebkuchen house is actual practice. Remember the gingerbread house in
Hansel and Gretel? How old was that folk tale before the brothers Grimm
wrote it out?

Valoise


Date: Sun, 6 Sep 1998 17:53:02 -0500
From: "Decker, Terry D." <TerryD at Health.State.OK.US>
Subject: RE: SC - gingerbread, lebkuchen, nurnberger

> Uh, What IS this "lebkuchen"? Or this "Nurnberger"?
>
>   Stefan li Rous

Lebkuchen is a spice cookie or bar.  The name is generic and covers a
multitude of variations.  I tend to make it by the baking sheet, and have
played with reverse-engineering a modern recipe to something more period
because I couldn't find a period recipe.

Nurnberger would likely be a variant developed in Nurnberg.

Bear


Date: Mon, 07 Sep 1998 09:35:55 +0100
From: Robyn Probert <robyn.probert at lawpoint.com.au>
Subject: RE: SC - gingerbread, lebkuchen, nurnberger

>Lebkuchen is a spice cookie or bar.  The name is generic and covers a
>multitude of variations.  I tend to make it by the baking sheet, and have
>played with reverse-engineering a modern recipe to something more period
>because I couldn't find a period recipe.

I make mine with a family recipie handed down through many generations. It
has a very period ingredient list (including flour, honey, fine ground
preserved peel, ground nuts, cardamom and so on - no raising) and starts by
soaking the spices in the honey overnight. It bakes to a crisp finish with a
very "medieval" flavour. We cut them out in shapes (mostly animlas) and ice
them with an egg/sugar/lemon juice mix (each shape has a trad icing pattern
too). Flavour improves with keeping and even more with being hung in a
christmas tree overnight!

I also have a version made with rye flour - I'll try to bring them in
tommorrow...

Rowan


Date: Wed, 8 Dec 1999 18:12:40 -0800 (PST)
From: Huette von Ahrens <ahrenshav at yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: SC - lebkuchen

- --- Stefan li Rous <stefan at texas.net> wrote:
> Huette said:
> > And it is not difficult to make.  There were several
> > recipes for lebkuchen in Sabina Welserin, if I remember correctly.
>
> Ok, so what is this "lebkuchen"? And some recipes from period
> sources would be nice.

Here is what you asked for

Huette

+++++++++++

>From "Das Kochbuch der Sabina Welserin", 1553.

151 To bake good Lebkuchen

Take first a pound of sugar, a quart of clear honey,
not quite a third quart of flour, take two and a half
ounces of cinnamon, one and a half ounces of cloves,
two ounces of cardamom. Cut the other spices as
small as possible, the cinnamon sticks are ground as
coarsely as possible. Also put ginger therein and put
the sugar into the honey, let it cook together, put
the flour in a trough, pour the cardamom into it first,
afterwards the ginger and the other spices.

163 To make Nurnberger Lebkuchen

Take one quart of honey, put it into a large pan, skim
it well and let it boil a good while. Put one and a
half pounds of sugar into it and stir it continually
with a wooden spatula and let it cook for a while, as
long as one cooks an egg, pour it hot into a quarter
pound of flour, stir it around slowly and put the
described spices in the dough, stir it around slowly
and not too long; take one and a half ounces of
cinnamon sticks, one and a half ounces of nutmeg,
three fourths of an ounce of cloves, three ounces of
ginger, a pinch of mace, and chop or grind each one
separately so that they are not too small, the
cinnamon sticks,
especially, should be coarsely ground. And when you
have put the spices in the dough, then let the dough
set for as long as one needs to hard boil eggs. Dip
the hands in flour and take a small heap of dough,
make balls out of it, weigh them so that one is as
heavy as the others, roll them out with a rolling pin,
and spread them out smoothly by hand, the smoother the
prettier. After that dip the mold in rose water and
open it up. Take four ounces of dough for one
Lebkuchen. Be careful and get no flour in the molds or
else they will be no good, but on the board you can
put flour so that they do not stick to it. Let them
set
overnight. And when you take them to the baker, then
see to it that you have another board that is
thoroughly sprinkled with flour, so that it is very
thickly covered. Put the board with its covering of
flour into the oven so that the board is completely
heated, the hotter the better. Take it out afterwards
and lay the Lebkuchen on top, so that none touches the
other, put them in the oven, let them bake and look
after them frequently. At first they will become soft
as fat. If you take hold of them you can feel it well.
And when they become entirely dry, then take them out
and turn the board around, so that the front part goes
into the back of the oven. Let it remain a short
while, then take it out. Take a small broom, brush the
flour cleanly away from the underside of the Lebkuchen
and lay the Lebkuchen, in the mean time, on the
other board, until you have brushed off the Lebkuchen,
one after the other, so that there is no more flour
on the bottoms. Afterwards sweep the flour very
cleanly from off the board. Lay the Lebkuchen on top
of it again, so that the bottom is turned to the top.
Take a bath sponge, dip it in rose water, squeeze it
out again, wash the flour from the bottoms of the
Lebkuchen. Be careful that you do not leave any water
on the board, then they would stick to it. Afterwards
put the board with the Lebkuchen again in the oven,
until the bottoms rise nicely and become hard, then
take the board out again. See to it that two or three
[people] are by the board, who can quickly turn the
Lebkuchen over, or else they will stick. Afterwards
take rose water and wash them on top with it as you
have done on the underside. Put them in the oven
again, let them become dry, carry them home and move
them around on the board, so that they do not
stick. And when they have completely cooled, then lay
them eight or ten, one upon the other, wrap them
in paper and store them in a dry place, see that no
draft comes therein, then they remain crisp.

164 To make a large Nurnberger Lebkuchen

Take a quart of honey and a quarter pound of sugar,
prepare it as for the smaller Lebkuchen, take one
quarter pound of flour and then the spices as follows:
one half ounce of cinnamon, one ounce of cloves,
one and three fourths ounces of nutmeg, four ounces of
ginger, one fourth ounce of mace. Stir it carefully
around, afterwards roll the dough out somewhat. Bake
it as for the smaller Lebkuchen.


Date: Thu, 9 Dec 1999 12:15:24 -0500 (EST)
From: cclark at vicon.net
Subject: Re: SC - lebkuchen

Huette wrote:
>151 To bake good Lebkuchen
> ...
>163 To make Nurnberger Lebkuchen
> ...
>164 To make a large Nurnberger Lebkuchen
> ...

If I recall correctly, the word in the original text (for at least one or
more of these recipes) was "lezelten" or "lebzelten." As far as I know this
is a synonym for lebkuchen.

Alex Clark/Henry of Maldon


Date: Thu, 09 Dec 1999 06:17:02 -0800
From: Valoise <varmstro at zipcon.net>
Subject: Re: SC - lebkuchen

margali wrote:
> think of it [at least the commercial versian that I get at the PX] as
> gingerbread/fruitcakey cookies made on a base of oblaten and occasionally glazed
> with sugar or chocolate. I just dissected [ok, ok, I ate it..] one and found
> some sort of candied fruit bits, and some definitely nut bits, and it is in a
> cakelike cookie of a spicy-like-gingerbread soft cookie on a papery oblaten.

This is a great description of modern Lebkuchen. But the period
version is quite a bit different. It contains no candied fruit or
nuts. The dough of flour, honey, spices and sometimes sugar was
pressed into molds and turned out to bake until crisp. The best
version of the molds that I've seen for sale in to US are at The House
on the Hill
<http://www.houseonthehill.net>

Many people probably purchased the Lebkuchen already made since
Lebkuchners had their own guilds.

Valoise


Date: Fri, 10 Dec 1999 01:17:31 +0100
From: Thomas Gloning <Thomas.Gloning at germanistik.uni-giessen.de>
Subject: SC - lebkuchen -- 2 recipes (16th c. German only; sorry)

Several German recipes only _mention_ lebkuchen or letzelten as an
ingredient that is already at hand to produce some other dish. Here are
two further recipes for lebkuchen/letzelten from German cookbooks (1545,
1560). In one of them, the lebkuchen are finally baked in the oven of a
"Lebkuechner", mentioned by Valoise: "lass bachen bey einem
Lecku:echner/ die haben o:efen darzu" ('let them bake by a Lebkuechner,
they have the right ovens to that purpose').

*****************************************
Kochbuch der Philippine Welser (ca. 1545, p. 180f.)

"Vie man die Lezelten bacht

Item nim Waitzen Mehl vnnd Hönig, das wol
haiß ist, vnnd mach ain Taig, vnnd laß den
taig wol khneten, das man den finger kaimb
darein steckhe, vnnd mach fladen die aines
halben finger dickh werden, vnnd thue die
In ain haffen, Nachdem Prats, vnd wan
die Fladen schön Praun werden, so nimb die wider
aus dem Ofen, vnnd laß Sy erkhulen, so werden
sy hort, Darnach laß die fladen stossen mit
aim Stössl, auf aim schön sauberen Tischthuch,
zu klainen Stuckhlen, Darnach thus In die
Stampff, das mans schön sauber pfeit. dornach
nim wider honig, vnnd laß das wol wermen,
das wol haiß ist, vnnd geuß das ain,
vnnd nim Aniß, vnnd Pfeffer ain Halb
vierdung, Zimmet Rinden anderthalb lott,
Nagelein gleich souiel, Muscat Nuß
ain lott, Ingwer drey oder vier Lott, willt
du des Taigs aber mehr haben, so muest
du aber mehr Gewurtz darein thun,
magst den Taig wol versuchen wird Es
dich dunckhen, das nicht genueg gestupfft
oder gewurtzt sey magst dus woll verbessern,
vnnd laß den Taig nit zu Gach mit den Mehl
vberschitten, laß auch den Taig nit zu vast knetten,
vnnd mach lezellten darauß, vnnd machs nit
zu dinn Darnach thue die In den Offen,
Nachdem Prat das der Offen nur nit zu haiß
sey, du must gueten vleiß haben, damit Sy
dir nit verprinnen, vnnd wan Sy praun werden
so nimbß herrauß."

*********************************
Ein sehr Kuenstlichs vnd fuertrefflichs Kochbuch ... (ca. 1560; Nr. 39)

"Leckuchen bachen der kleinen/ So man 21. fu:er ein gu:elden gibt.

NJm ein grossen Leckuchen/ der dick vnd schwer ist/ oben braun/ wol
gepfeffert/ auch ein fein gros stuck Jngwer drauff/ nim den/ vnnd reibe
jn klein/ vn{d} rede jn durch ein syblein/ so bleibet das grob im
Syblein/ nim dasselb grob/ thu es in ein mu:elterlein/ Nim ein vierteil
ho:enig/ vn{d} gestossen zucker drey lot/ thu es in ein Kesselein/ das
ho:enig vnd zucker auch/ Lass zergehn/ vnnd nicht sieden/ Wann es
zergangen ist/ geus es in das Mu:elterlein/ darinn das grob ist/ So
zergehet es im ho:enig vnd zucker/ ru:ers/ nim ein hand vol geribne
Leckuchen/ thus darein zum ho:enig ins mu:elterlein/ ru:ere es abermal
durch einander/ thue drey lot Muscat zerschniten drein/ gro:eblet/ nim
vier lot neglein auch zerschniten/ vn{d} vil zymetrinden/ auch gro:eblet
schneiden/ thu das alles in den taig/ weil er noch du:enn ist/ nachmals
nim jn/ vnnd ru:ere den wol durch einander/ thu den geribenen Leckuchen
darein/ so wirdt er dick in dem Mu:elterlein/ das man jhn ru:eren kan/
mit einem hu:eltzen scheuffelein/ Darnach behalte des geribenen
Leckuchens/ strewe den in ein eckelein/ thu den taig darauff/ nim
waitzenma:el/ Du must drey taiglein machen/ thu es auff ein tisch/ nim
vber ein weil wenig ma:el zu/ vnd wu:ercke jhn ab/ wie die gewelgerten
ku:echlein/ vnnd nit an henden klebe/ er mus trucken sein/ welches
pletzlein gewelgert ist/ Leg solche fein nach einander/ Strewe ma:el
auff den tisch/ damit sie sich nit anlegen/ Nim ein wag/ wig neun lot/
wie gros dann du sie haben wilt/ welgere die fein mit einem welgerholtz/
vnd strewe jmmer ma:el drunter/ doch nicht zu vil/ Nim mer ein holtz wie
ein welgerholtz/ breit vnnd dick wie ein Lecku:echlein/ vnd ist drey
finger dick/ nim den gewelgerten taig zu eim ku:echlein/ vnd melbe das
holtz/ trucks auff den Leckkuchen/ das gewelgert ist/ so ists eben so
breit vnd so lang/ wie ein Lecku:echlein. Darnach nim eins oder sechs/
die gedruckt sein/ lege die nach einander/ Nim ein holtz/ darauff
geschnitten ist etwan eins fingers breit/ so gibt es einen form/ Darnach
kere das ma:el herab/ das sie nicht melbig sein/ strewe ein ma:el auff
ein brot/ lege die Lecku:echlein drauff/ lass bachen bey einem
Lecku:echner/ die haben o:efen darzu. Als ich den Zucker hab genommen/
seind bey zwo:elff Lecku:echlein/ die geriben alda gewesen/ hab mehr
sechs mas ho:enig/ vnd drey lot zucker/ auch gewu:ertz oben drauff thon/
vnd sind der Leckku:echlein 110. worden/ wie die kleinen
Ru:empffelka:eslein."

Thomas


Date: Wed, 29 Nov 2000 17:20:20 -0800 (PST)
From: Huette von Ahrens <ahrenshav at yahoo.com>
Subject: SC - lebkuchen was leberkuchen

- --- Cynthia Bucheger <dragonlair at mail.wireweb.net> wrote:
> I just realized what was missing to make this
> holiday season start off properly is some
> leberkuchen.  Unforunately I am no longer in Germany
> where I can run down to the local bakeri and pick
> some up.  So that means I need to make my own. 
> Anyone have a good recipe and/or know if it's
> pre-1600?
> 
> Alexandria

Yes, Lebkuchen is pre-1600.  Sabina Welserin has
several recipes in her 1553 cookbook.

151 To bake good Lebkuchen 

Take first a pound of sugar, a quart of clear honey,
not quite a third quart of flour, take two and a half
ounces of cinnamon, one and a half ounces of cloves,
two ounces of cardamom. Cut the other spices as
small as possible, the cinnamon sticks are ground as
coarsely as possible. Also put ginger therein and put
the sugar into the honey, let it cook together, put
the flour in a trough, pour the cardamom into it first,
afterwards the ginger and the other spices. 

63 To make N¸rnberger Lebkuchen 

Take one quart of honey, put it into a large pan, skim
it well and let it boil a good while. Put one and a
half pounds of sugar into it and stir it continually
with a wooden spatula and let it cook for a while, as
long as one cooks an egg, pour it hot into a quarter
pound of flour, stir it around slowly and put the
described spices in the dough, stir it around slowly
and not too long; take one and a half ounces of
cinnamon sticks, one and a half ounces of nutmeg,
three fourths of an ounce of cloves, three ounces of
ginger, a pinch of mace, and chop or grind each one
separately so that they are not too small, the cinnamon sticks,
especially, should be coarsely ground. And when you
have put the spices in the dough, then let the dough
set for as long as one needs to hard boil eggs. Dip
the hands in flour and take a small heap of dough,
make balls out of it, weigh them so that one is as
heavy as the others, roll them out with a rolling pin,
and spread them out smoothly by hand, the smoother the
prettier. After that dip the mold in rose water and
open it up. Take four ounces of dough for one
Lebkuchen. Be careful and get no flour in the molds or
else they will be no good, but on the board you can
put flour so that they do not stick to it. Let them set
overnight. And when you take them to the baker, then
see to it that you have another board that is
thoroughly sprinkled with flour, so that it is very
thickly covered. Put the board with its covering of
flour into the oven so that the board is completely
heated, the hotter the better. Take it out afterwards
and lay the Lebkuchen on top, so that none touches the
other, put them in the oven, let them bake and look
after them frequently. At first they will become soft
as fat. If you take hold of them you can feel it well.
And when they become entirely dry, then take them out
and turn the board around, so that the front part goes
into the back of the oven. Let it remain a short
while, then take it out. Take a small broom, brush the
flour cleanly away from the underside of the Lebkuchen
and lay the Lebkuchen, in the mean time, on the
other board, until you have brushed off the Lebkuchen,
one after the other, so that there is no more flour
on the bottoms. Afterwards sweep the flour very
cleanly from off the board. Lay the Lebkuchen on top of
it again, so that the bottom is turned to the top.
Take a bath sponge, dip it in rose water, squeeze it
out again, wash the flour from the bottoms of the
Lebkuchen. Be careful that you do not leave any water
on the board, then they would stick to it. Afterwards
put the board with the Lebkuchen again in the oven,
until the bottoms rise nicely and become hard, then
take the board out again. See to it that two or three
[people] are by the board, who can quickly turn the
Lebkuchen over, or else they will stick. Afterwards
take rose water and wash them on top with it as you
have done on the underside. Put them in the oven
again, let them become dry, carry them home and move
them around on the board, so that they do not
stick. And when they have completely cooled, then lay
them eight or ten, one upon the other, wrap them
in paper and store them in a dry place, see that no
draft comes therein, then they remain crisp. 

164 To make a large N¸rnberger Lebkuchen 

Take a quart of honey and a quarter pound of sugar,
prepare it as for the smaller Lebkuchen, take one
quarter pound of flour and then the spices as follows:
one half ounce of cinnamon, one ounce of cloves,
one and three fourths ounces of nutmeg, four ounces of
ginger, one fourth ounce of mace. Stir it carefully
around, afterwards roll the dough out somewhat. Bake
it as for the smaller Lebkuchen. 

Here are some modern recipes for Lebkuchen:

1) Christmas Lebkuchen

Ingredients: 

2 eggs whole
4 egg yolks
1 lb sugar
1/3 lb butter
1/2 lb almonds
8 oz. citron sliced thin
1 and 1/2 lb flour
1/2 oz cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 and 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp grated lemon rind

Instructions: 

Melt butter over low heat. Stir it into the sugar,
spices, chopped almonds, and well beaten eggs and
yolks. Add flour slowly, the baking powder
having previously been mixed with the flour.
Roll out the dough thin and cut into shapes as
desired. Place half of one almond in the center of
each cookie and brush top of each cookie with egg
white. Bake in a moderate oven (350F) until brown.

2) Lebkuchen

For the cookies:

     3 whole eggs 
     1 egg yolk (white is used in icing) 
     2 cup brown sugar 
     1 tsp. cinnamon 
     3/4 to 1 tsp. ground cloves 
     1 tsp. ground allspice 
     1/2 cup finely chopped almonds or hazelnuts 
     1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cup of flour 
     1 tsp. baking powder 

For the icing:

     1 egg white 
     1 cup powdered (10X) sugar 
     1/4 tsp. vanilla or almond flavoring 

Directions

Grind nuts in food processor until very fine. My
little food processor takes a bit under a minute to
grind to the right consistency.

Beat eggs and sugar on medium speed until well blended
and the mixture is light. Mix spices, flour, baking
powder and ground nuts together, and add to egg
mixture. Mix on a lower speed until blended. Line a
small jelly roll pan (12x16 inches) with parchment
paper, pour mixture into pan and smooth.

Bake at 325 degrees for 35 minutes. Remove from oven
and let cool for about 10 minutes. Flip pan, remove
pan, remove parchment paper from back of Lebkuchen,
and flip Lebkuchen upright.

In a small bowl, whisk egg white until foamy (not yet
the soft peak stage). Whisk powdered sugar two
tablespoons at a time into the egg white. Whisk in
vanilla or almond extract. Icing will be fairly stiff
but spreadable. Spread on cooling Lebkuchen and allow
to cool for another 20 minutes.

Cut into bars about 3 inches by 1 1/2 inches. Store in
the ubiquitous airtight container.

Notes: You can omit the nuts and add a bit more flour.
Or you may wish to add some (about a half cup?) finely
chopped candied fruit. The fruit should probably not
be as finely chopped as the nuts.

3) Grandma's Lebkuchen 

Serving Size: 16 servings 

Ingredients: 

1 egg 
3/4 cup brown sugar 
1/2 cup honey 
1/2 cup dark molasses 
3 cups sifted flour 
1/2 tsp. baking soda 
1 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg 
1 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon 
1/2 tsp. ground cloves 
1/2 tsp. ground allspice 
1/2 cup slivered almonds 
1/2 cup mixed candied fruits and peels, finely
          chopped 
Lemon Glaze (below) 

Instructions: 

1.Preheat oven to 400. 
2.Beat egg. 
3.Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy. 
4.Stir in honey and molasses. 
5.Sift together dry ingredients and add to
    honey/molasses mixture. Mix well. 
6.Stir in nuts, fruits and peels. 
7.Chill several hours or over night. 
8.Roll out 1/4 inch thick on floured surface.
    Cut in 3 1/2x2-inch rectangles. 
9.Bake on greased cookie sheet at 350F for
about 12 minutes. Cool slightly and remove from pan. 
10.While still warm, brush with lemon glaze. 

Lemon glaze 
Combine one slightly beaten egg white, 1 tablespoon
lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel and 1 1/2
cups sifted powdered sugar.


Date: Sat, 6 Sep 2003 01:30:27 -0700 (PDT)
From: Huette von Ahrens <ahrenshav at yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Cookies was hello there
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

And in period German cookery, specifically Sabina
Welserin, we have documentation for rosettes and
for lebkuchen.

Huette


Date: Fri, 09 Apr 2004 16:18:50 +0000
From: nickiandme at att.net
Subject: [Sca-cooks] Lebkuchen was EK Coronation feast analysis
To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org (scaCooks),
	Trimariscookslist at yahoogroups.com;

I thought lebkuchen was supposed to end up as a intensely flavored  
taffy like item. In the case of recipe 151 I thought it referred to the  
flour made of the ground spices rather than actual flour.  In recipes  
163 and 164 - I have never been able to get it to mold using such a  
small quantity of flour relative to the amount of honey and spices  
used.  Applying any kind of heat to the stuff makes it melt and spread  
thus losing its molded shape.  I've tried taking the honey up to hard  
crack, soft crack, hard ball, soft ball stages.  Nothing seems to help.

A careful reading of Sabina brings up its usage in other recipes where  
a bit of lebkuchen is added to a sauce to melt in and add flavor.

I know the modern interpretation is as a german cookie as we know  
cookies today.  But, this is a misnomer to me.  I think that the name  
was applied to the cookie from the flavoring used -much like medieval  
gingerbread and gingerbread cookies today.  Akin, but not the same  
thing.

I'd like to know the proportions you used on the ingredients to get  
cookies out of it.

Kateryn de Develyn
recipes referred to follow.

151 To bake good Lebkuchen

Take first a pound of sugar, a quart of clear honey, not quite a third  
quart of flour, take two and a half ounces of cinnamon, one and a half  
ounces of cloves, two ounces of cardamom. Cut the other spices as small  
as possible, the cinnamon sticks are ground as coarsely as possible.  
Also put ginger therein and put the sugar into the honey, let it cook  
together, put the flour in a trough, pour the cardamom into it first,  
afterwards the ginger and the other spices.


163 To make Nürnberger Lebkuchen

Take one quart of honey, put it into a large pan, skim it well and let  
it boil a good while. Put one and a half pounds of sugar into it and  
stir it continually with a wooden spatula and let it cook for a while,  
as long as one cooks an egg, pour it hot into a quarter pound of flour,  
stir it around slowly and put the described spices in the dough, stir  
it around slowly and not too long; take one and a half ounces of  
cinnamon sticks, one and a half ounces of nutmeg, three fourths of an  
ounce of cloves, three ounces of ginger, a pinch of mace, and chop or  
grind each one separately so that they are not too small, the cinnamon  
sticks, especially, should be coarsely ground. And when you have put  
the spices in the dough, then let the dough set for as long as one  
needs to hard boil eggs. Dip the hands in flour and take a small heap  
of dough, make balls out of it, weigh them so that one is as heavy as  
the others, roll them out with a rolling pin, and spread them out  
smoothly by hand, !

  the smoother the prettier. After that dip the mold in rose water and  
open it up. Take four ounces of dough for one Lebkuchen. Be careful and  
get no flour in the molds or else they will be no good, but on the  
board you can put flour so that they do not stick to it. Let them set  
overnight. And when you take them to the baker, then see to it that you  
have another board that is thoroughly sprinkled with flour, so that it  
is very thickly covered. Put the board with its covering of flour into  
the oven so that the board is completely heated, the hotter the better.  
Take it out afterwards and lay the Lebkuchen on top, so that none  
touches the other, put them in the oven, let them bake and look after  
them frequently. At first they will become soft as fat. If you take  
hold of them you can feel it well. And when they become entirely dry,  
then take them out and turn the board around, so that the front part  
goes into the back of the oven. Let it remain a short while, then take  
it out. Take a small broom, brush the flour cleanly away from the underside of the Lebkuchen and lay the Lebkuchen, in the mean time, on the other  
board, until you have brushed off the Lebkuchen, one after the other,  
so that there is no more flour on the bottoms. Afterwards sweep the  
flour very cleanly from off the board. Lay the Lebkuchen on top of it  
again, so that the bottom is turned to the top. Take a bath sponge, dip  
it in rose water, squeeze it out again, wash the flour from the bottoms  
of the Lebkuchen. Be careful that you do not leave any water on the  
board, then they would stick to it. Afterwards put the board with the  
Lebkuchen again in the oven, until the bottoms rise nicely and become  
hard, then take the board out again. See to it that two or three  
[people] are by the board, who can quickly turn the Lebkuchen over, or  
else they will stick. Afterwards take rose water and wash them on top  
with it as you have done on the underside. Put them in the oven again,  
let them become dry, carry them home and move them around on the board,  
so that they do not stick. And when they have completely cooled, then lay them  
eight or ten, one upon the other, wrap them in paper and store them in  
a dry place, see that no draft comes therein, then they remain crisp.


164 To make a large Nürnberger Lebkuchen

Take a quart of honey and a quarter pound of sugar, prepare it as for  
the smaller Lebkuchen, take one quarter pound of flour and then the  
spices as follows: one half ounce of cinnamon, one ounce of cloves, one  
and three fourths ounces of nutmeg, four ounces of ginger, one fourth  
ounce of mace. Stir it carefully around, afterwards roll the dough out  
somewhat. Bake it as for the smaller Lebkuchen.

7 To make a sauce in which to put a haunch of venison

Lard it well and roast it and make a good sauce for it. Take Reinfal  
and stir cherry syrup into it, and fry Lebkuchen in fat and chop good  
sweet apples, almonds, cloves, cinnamon sticks, ginger, currants,  
pepper and raisins and let it all cook together. When you want to serve  
it, then pour the sauce over it. It is also for marinating a boar's  
head. Then cook it in two parts water and one third vinegar. The head  
of a pig is also made in this manner.

43 To make a fig pudding

Put wine in a small pot, and when it begins to boil, then put in grated  
Lebkuchen and grated Semmel. Put saffron, almonds, raisins, figs and  
some fat into it.


Date: Fri, 9 Apr 2004 19:51:43 -0400
From: "Robin Carroll-Mann" <rcmann4 at earthlink.net>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Lebkuchen was EK Coronation feast analysis
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

On 9 Apr 2004, at 16:18, nickiandme at att.net wrote:
> I thought lebkuchen was supposed to end up as a intensely flavored taffy like
> item. In the case of recipe 151 I thought it referred to the flour made of the
> ground spices rather than actual flour.

This is the recipe I used.  I don't think that "flour" can refer to the ground
spices, since there is supposed to be almost a third of a quart of flour to one
quart of honey.

[snip]
> I'd like to know the proportions you used on the ingredients to get  
> cookies out of it.

I used the quantities below, and I did not get cookies out of it.  We ended up
adding breadcrumbs, just to get something firm enough to be picked up.

> Kateryn de Develyn
> recipes referred to follow.
>
> 151 To bake good Lebkuchen
>
> Take first a pound of sugar, a quart of clear honey, not quite a third quart of
> flour, take two and a half ounces of cinnamon, one and a half ounces of cloves,
> two ounces of cardamom. Cut the other spices as small as possible, the  
> cinnamon
> sticks are ground as coarsely as possible. Also put ginger therein and  
> put the
> sugar into the honey, let it cook together, put the flour in a trough,  
> pour the
> cardamom into it first, afterwards the ginger and the other spices.

Brighid ni Chiarain *** mka Robin Carroll-Mann
Barony of Settmour Swamp, East Kingdom


Date: Sat, 10 Apr 2004 13:13:03 -0400
From: Kerri Martinsen <kerrimart at cablespeed.com>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Lebkuchen
To: SCA Cooks <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

I used Sabina's Lebkuchen recipe for an A&S entry a couple of months ago.  I
started with the small amount of flour and had no luck.  I added more flour
to get the honey mix just to the point that I could handle it.
Then covered my hands in flour, dropped a spoonful in my hand and worked in
the flour as I rolled it out on a heavily floured board.

I did get a cookie shape - not cake like by any means.  More cracker like.
The later roll outs did hold their shape better due to more flour, but I
think the texture of the early roll outs was better.

Is it possible that her recipes just assumed that you would know to add 
a lot of extra flour in the roll out process?

(I have process pictures of this project if anyone is interested)

Vitha
----
Lady Hrosvitha von Celle
Royal Baker, Kingdom of Atlantia
Shadewes Company, Northshield


Date: Sun, 22 May 2005 19:02:32 -0700 (PDT)
From: Huette von Ahrens <ahrenshav at yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Period-appropriate cookies and cookie-like
	substances....
To: mooncat at in-tch.com, Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

Well, there always is Lebkuchen, which is now a Christmas cookie, but 
it doesn't have to be.

> From Sabina Welserin's 1553 cookbook:


151 To bake good Lebkuchen

Take first a pound of sugar, a quart of clear honey, not quite a third  quart of flour, take two and a half ounces of cinnamon, one and a half ounces of cloves, two  ounces of cardamom. Cut the other spices as small as possible, the cinnamon sticks are ground as  coarsely as possible. Also put ginger therein and put the sugar into the honey, let it cook  together, put the flour in a trough, pour the cardamom into it first, afterwards the ginger and the  other spices.


163 To make Nürnberger Lebkuchen

Take one quart of honey, put it into a large pan, skim it well and let  it boil a good while. Put one and a half pounds of sugar into it and stir it continually with a  wooden spatula and let it cook for a while, as long as one cooks an egg, pour it hot into a  quarter pound of flour, stir it around slowly and put the described spices in the dough, stir it around  slowly and not too long; take one and a half ounces of cinnamon sticks, one and a half ounces of  nutmeg, three fourths of an ounce of cloves, three ounces of ginger, a pinch of mace, and chop  or grind each one separately so that they are not too small, the cinnamon sticks, especially, should  be coarsely ground. And when you have put the spices in the dough, then let the dough set for  as long as one needs to hard boil eggs. Dip the hands in flour and take a small heap of dough, make  balls out of it, weigh them so that one is as heavy as the others, roll them out with a rolling  pin, and spread them out smoothly by hand, the smoother the prettier. After that dip the mold in  rose water and open it up. Take four ounces of dough for one Lebkuchen. Be careful and get no  flour in the molds or else they will be no good, but on the board you can put flour so that they do not  stick to it. Let them set overnight. And when you take them to the baker, then see to it that you  have another board that is thoroughly sprinkled with flour, so that it is very thickly covered.  Put the board with its covering of flour into the oven so that the board is completely heated,  the hotter the better. Take it out afterwards and lay the Lebkuchen on top, so that none  touches the other, put them in the oven, let them bake and look after them frequently. At first they  will become soft as fat. If you take hold of them you can feel it well. And when they become  entirely dry, then take them out and turn the board around, so that the front part goes into the back of  the oven. Let it remain a short while, then take it out. Take a small broom, brush the flour  cleanly away from the underside of the Lebkuchen and lay the Lebkuchen, in the mean time, on the other  board, until you have brushed off the Lebkuchen, one after the other, so that there is no  more flour on the bottoms. Afterwards sweep the flour very cleanly from off the board. Lay the  Lebkuchen on top of it again, so that the bottom is turned to the top. Take a bath sponge, dip it in  rose water, squeeze it out again, wash the flour from the bottoms of the Lebkuchen. Be careful  that you do not leave any water on the board, then they would stick to it. Afterwards put the  board with the Lebkuchen again in the oven, until the bottoms rise nicely and become hard, then take  the board out again. See to it that two or three [people] are by the board, who can quickly turn  the Lebkuchen over, or else they will stick. Afterwards take rose water and wash them on top with  it as you have done on the underside. Put them in the oven again, let them become dry, carry them  home and move them around on the board, so that they do not stick. And when they have completely  cooled, then lay them eight or ten, one upon the other, wrap them in paper and store them in a dry  place, see that no draft comes therein, then they remain crisp. 

164 To make a large Nürnberger Lebkuchen

Take a quart of honey and a quarter pound of sugar, prepare it as for  the smaller Lebkuchen, take one quarter pound of flour and then the spices as follows: one half  ounce of cinnamon, one ounce of cloves, one and three fourths ounces of nutmeg, four ounces of  ginger, one fourth ounce of mace. Stir it carefully around, afterwards roll the dough out somewhat.  Bake it as for the smaller Lebkuchen.

And here is something that almost sounds like a marzipan sandwich 
cookie:
< snip see cookies-msg for these recipes - Stefan >

Huette


Date: Mon, 23 May 2005 07:10:15 -0500
From: "Terry Decker" <t.d.decker at worldnet.att.net>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Period-appropriate cookies and
	cookie-likesubstances....
To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

> Well, there always is Lebkuchen, which is now a Christmas cookie, but 
> it doesn't have to be.
>
> Huette

Must be an Amurikin thang.  When I was living in Germany, Lebkuchen wasn't
just a Christmas cookie and it ran the gamut from plain spice bar to fancy
iced cookie packed in tins.  I was pleased to find that the Germany bakery
in OKC has it as an everyday item, which means I don't have to bake it when
I get the urge.

Bear


Date: Thu, 3 Feb 2011 13:05:11 -0800 (PST)
From: V O <voztemp at yahoo.com>
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>
Subject: [Sca-cooks] question about recipes

Would the 1st recipe be funnel cake? And would the second one possibly be a 
recipe that could be translated to be springerle? I know it says lebkuchen, but 
with all of the stuff about dipping the mold into rosewater, letting them sit 
overnight.? To me it sound like springerle, describing molding the 
cakes/cookies and letting them dry over night. The process of cooking is very 
interesting, I may just have to try this with some of my molds next time.

from 
Das Kuchbuch der Sabrina Welserin (1553)? 

Mirianna

99 To bake white Lautensternchen 

<snip>

163 To make N?rnberger Lebkuchen 

Take one quart of honey, put it into a large pan, skim it well and let it boil a 
good while. Put one and a half pounds of sugar into it and stir it continually 
with a wooden spatula and let it cook for a while, as long as one cooks an egg, 
pour it hot into a quarter pound of flour, stir it around slowly and put the 
described spices in the dough, stir it around slowly and not too long; take one 
and a half ounces of cinnamon sticks, one and a half ounces of nutmeg, three 
fourths of an ounce of cloves, three ounces of ginger, a pinch of mace, and chop 
or grind each one separately so that they are not too small, the cinnamon 
sticks, especially, should be coarsely ground. And when you have put the spices 
in the dough, then let the dough set for as long as one needs to hard boil eggs. 
Dip the hands in flour and take a small heap of dough, make balls out of it, 
weigh them so that one is as heavy as the others, roll them out with a rolling 
pin, and spread them out smoothly by hand, the smoother the prettier. After that 
dip the mold in rose water and open it up. Take four ounces of dough for one 
Lebkuchen. Be careful and get no flour in the molds or else they will be no 
good, but on the board you can put flour so that they do not stick to it. Let 
them set overnight. And when you take them to the baker, then see to it that you 
have another board that is thoroughly sprinkled with flour, so that it is very 
thickly covered. Put the board with its covering of flour into the oven so that 
the board is completely heated, the hotter the better. Take it out afterwards 
and lay the Lebkuchen on top, so that none touches the other, put them in the 
oven, let them bake and look after them frequently. At first they will become 
soft as fat. If you take hold of them you can feel it well. And when they become 
entirely dry, then take them out and turn the board around, so that the front 
part goes into the back of the oven. Let it remain a short while, then take it 
out. Take a small broom, brush the flour cleanly away from the underside of the 
Lebkuchen and lay the Lebkuchen, in the mean time, on the other board, until you 
have brushed off the Lebkuchen, one after the other, so that there is no more 
flour on the bottoms. Afterwards sweep the flour very cleanly from off the 
board. Lay the Lebkuchen on top of it again, so that the bottom is turned to the 
top. Take a bath sponge, dip it in rose water, squeeze it out again, wash the 
flour from the bottoms of the Lebkuchen. Be careful that you do not leave any 
water on the board, then they would stick to it. Afterwards put the board with 
the Lebkuchen again in the oven, until the bottoms rise nicely and become hard, 
then take the board out again. See to it that two or three [people] are by the 
board, who can quickly turn the Lebkuchen over, or else they will stick. 
Afterwards take rose water and wash them on top with it as you have done on the 
underside. Put them in the oven again, let them become dry, carry them home and 
move them around on the board, so that they do not stick. And when they have 
completely cooled, then lay them eight or ten, one upon the other, wrap them in 
paper and store them in a dry place, see that no draft comes therein, then they 
remain crisp. 


Date: Thu, 3 Feb 2011 17:25:48 -0500
From: Barbara Benson <voxeight at gmail.com>
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] question about recipes

<<< I should put together a collection of the lebkuchen recipes I've come
across, but perhaps there is a collection of them in the florilegium
already. ?... ?I love to make little thin rounds
of lebkuchen, fill them with almond paste and dried fruit oreo style, dip
them in an almond/egg batter, deep fry them and finally sugar them. ?I
call them crack.

Katherine >>>

Sounds delicious - are you going to be a spoon tease or share the recipe?

I have a very interesting woodcut image that shows several men sitting
at a table and sharing lebkuchen. The lebjuchen is round in shape and
there is an image of Christ on the cross obviously molded onto it. One
gentleman has sliced the lebkuchen and is handing a piece to one of
the other men. The thing that has always struck me about the image is
that the lebkuchen is about the size of a modern pizza and the slice
that has been taken out is in a classic "wedge" shape. I giggle to
myself whenever I see it that they are eating Jesus pizza.
--
Serena da Riva


Date: Thu, 3 Feb 2011 16:40:28 -0600
From: "Terry Decker" <t.d.decker at att.net>
To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] question about recipes

Period gingerbread and lebkuchen were often pressed in a mold to add a 
decorative element.  The use of honey, sugar, a little flour and a lot of 
spices say to me this is a spice cake, a lebkuchen.

Springerle use eggs, flour and sugar and usually have some of chemical 
leaven, commonly hartshorn.  The traditional spicing for springerle is 
usually anise, dusted on the baking sheet rather than incorporated into the 
dough.

Bear

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "V O" <voztemp at yahoo.com>

Would the 1st recipe be funnel cake? And would the second one possibly be a
recipe that could be translated to be springerle? I know it says lebkuchen, 
but with all of the stuff about dipping the mold into rosewater, letting them 
sit overnight. To me it sound like springerle, describing molding the
caakes/cookies and letting them dry over night. 

from
Das Kuchbuch der Sabrina Welserin (1553)

Mirianna

163 To make N?rnberger Lebkuchen

<the end>
Edited by Mark S. Harris	lebkuchen-msg	Page 19 of 19