Lebkuchen Stars
Ingrediënten
Ingredients to Start the Dough
- 2 cups 660 g Honey
- 2¾ cup 220 g Confectioner’s sugar
- ⅓ cup 75 ml Water
- 5 cups 500 g Rye flour
- 1⅔ cup 200 g Wheat flour
To Complete the Dough
- 2 Egg yolks
- 1 oz 30 g Lebkuchen spice mix (or gingerbread spice mix, preferably a 9 spice mix)
- ¼ cup 6 cl Milk
- 2⅔ cups 300 g Wheat flour Milk for brushing
- Almonds hazelnuts, or walnuts to decorate
- Egg white glaze to taste
Instructies
- Preheat oven to 350 °F (180 °C).
- For the dough, warm the honey.
- Boil the sugar and water, mix in the honey, and let cool to about 86 °F (30 °C).
- Make dough by kneading with the rye flour and wheat flour.
- Let rest.
- Beat the egg yolks with the lebkuchen spices and work into the dough along with milk and flour.
- Roll out the dough to about 4mm thick.
- Cut out stars with a cookie cutter and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Brush with milk, place almonds or other nuts on top, and bake for 15–20 minutes.
- Cover with egg white glaze while still hot.
Notes / Tips / Wine Advice:
Tip: You can store the cookies for several days or even weeks wrapped in plastic (before glazing, of course!).
Why Are There Cookies for Christmas?
The twelve days of Christmas are a dangerous time in Germanic folklore. The origin of Christmas cookies is an old superstitious belief that the evil spirits of the Wild Hunt, a ghostly hunting party that foretold disaster, could be placated with sweet goodies. Of course, the cookies that were placed in windows were not really eaten by demons, but by children, beggars, and peddlers.
The snacks for demons were not complicated Christmas goodies, but rather, for the most part, simple gingerbread. The delicious and decorative cookies that are baked today appeared in the nineteenth century.
Why Are There Cookies for Christmas?
The twelve days of Christmas are a dangerous time in Germanic folklore. The origin of Christmas cookies is an old superstitious belief that the evil spirits of the Wild Hunt, a ghostly hunting party that foretold disaster, could be placated with sweet goodies. Of course, the cookies that were placed in windows were not really eaten by demons, but by children, beggars, and peddlers.
The snacks for demons were not complicated Christmas goodies, but rather, for the most part, simple gingerbread. The delicious and decorative cookies that are baked today appeared in the nineteenth century.
