Pfefferkuchen, also known as Lebkuchen, is a German Christmas spice cookie, similar to gingerbread. There are many regional variations ( the most well-known is the Nürnberger Lebkuchen) to this traditional Christmas treat, but are usually flavoured with honey and spices and containing nuts and citron. Those Pfefferkuchen are not only great with coffee, they are also a wonderful accompaniment with cheese from FineFoodSpecialist, blue cheese particularly, and wine. Pottasche or pearlash is also known as potassium carbonate (K2CO3). It is an alkaline salt which reacts with water or an acid to create carbon dioxide, which gives baked goods lift.
Whole Spelt Pfefferkuchen
adapted from Eat Smarter
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- Dissolve the potash with warm water in a small bowl. Heat the honey and chai in a small pot. Stir in vanilla sugar, milk sugar, and coconut oil. Stir until the mixture is warm and well blended. Remove it from the heat and set aside until ready for use.
- Whisk together the chopped almonds, whole spelt flour, lemon zest, and spices in a mixing bowl. Add in dissolved potash and honey-chai mixture. Using a hand mixer fitted with dough hooks, mix at low speed until you have a firm dough.
- Place the dough in a large bowl, dust with a little of flour and cover it with a plastic film. Leave it on the kitchen counter for at least 1 week or up to 6 weeks to allow for the development of aroma and flavours.
- Thoroughly knead the dough one more time, and place it between two sheets of plastic films. Roll out the dough to a 5-mm / ¼-inch thickness. Cut into diamond shapes or use your favourite cookie cutter to cut out the cookies. Place them on the parchment lined baking trays.
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Bake for 8-12 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool in the baking trays briefly. Transfer the cookies on the wire racks to cool completely before storing in the air-tighter containers.
204 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 1 – 200 of 204 Newer› Newest»i'd never heard of this cookie but then again, there's so many christmas cookies! this is one good one for my folder.. i simply love spicy cookies
OMG, what a fun word haha!! Pfefferkuchen!! I imagine I would just adore these cookies- I love alll the spices used!
Oh...I never try this type of cookies before. They look good and special to me :)
I thought potash was used in metallurgy, not Pfefferkuchen! The things you learn here, it's wonderful!
Wow Angie the flavors in this cookie/biscuit sound even better than gingerbread. Plus they're thinner and my guess is crispier too. Now that I just finished making huge batches of gingerbread for houses I'd like to try these. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
A wonderful creation! They must be very flavorful and divine.
Cheers,
Rosa
They are so cute and festive!
Hugs,dear!
I think this cookie must tastes wonderful with all the spices in it and very pretty too!
Wow these cookies look amazing and so much healthier than normal cookies.
I would love some now with my hot chocolate!
They look good and this post is so festive. I take the time now to wish you and yours the best of the Season!
I had no idea Pfefferkuchen was good with cheese. Well, that makes me love it even more as I am more of a savory than sweets girl. I am third generation German-American and I wish I had some of my great-grandmother's German recipes, I bet she had a Pfefferkuchen one in her file.
Sam
Delicious - what a great twist on an old tradition!
Amo estas galletas de fiestas se ven deliciosas y bonitas
Lebkuchen is on my list of cookies to make next week. Yours are beautiful as always and are way more healthy than the ones I'm going to make. These are wonderful cookies Angie! Hope you have a lovely weekend.
Healthy, tasty and pretty - just my type of recip!
German cookies are very tasty, we love them a lot! Your variation is absolutely divine!
These look perfect for entertaining during the holidays Angie - love the Santa ;)
Ficaram um mimo!
Bjs, Susana
Nota: Ver os passatempos a decorrer no meu blog:
http://tertuliadasusy.blogspot.pt/2013/11/1-aniversario.html
http://tertuliadasusy.blogspot.pt/2013/12/strudle-de-bacalhau-e-couve-com-chourico.html
I can never forget Christmas time in Germany. I worked there long time ago. It is really special and the cakes and decorations are amazing. Just like these ones you made! Yummy and healthy recipe!
These German cookies look so wodnerful and they are perfect for this holiday season. May I have a few pieces now :) Great post!
I can see you had fun with these Angie! They look wonderful!
I've never had this type of cookie before. They look and sound tasty.
Great tasty special cookies, Angie! I love the look of them too! :)
I want to gobble them up!
I love all the warm winter spices in these cookies, Angie! They look incredible!
Your photos are adorable. Such a pretty way to display these cookies!
I would love a few of these and a wedge of blue cheese for my dinner! That would make me very happy :)
What a great Old world cookie! and very festive!
oh these cookies are so beautiful and delicious...absolutely festive,great food clicks as always,thanks :-)
I love these Angie and I love your pictures, look lovely!!
This looks like a perfect festive cookie!
Your pfefferkuchen look pretty amazing. I don't mind all that spelt flour you put in there :) ela
I've had these, and loved them. Yours look great, Angie. Love your spices. What on earth is milk sugar?
i was just telling you that the GF molasses cookies makes a fabulous addition to christmas cookies, this one too! your house must hv smelt good while baking these!
What a lovely presentation, everything is so X'masy!
I love the lebkuchen we can get in the UK from shops like Lidl and Aldi, and have been thinking for a while of trying to make my own - but yours look quite different so I would love to try this recipe, too :)
Your cookies look delicious and so festive! I didn't know potash are edible! I suppose a bit won't be a problem huh.
They do look lovely and festive Angie.
@Barbara Another name for milk sugar is lactose, Barbara.
What a perfect cookie for Christmas! Looks great, Angie =)
ils sont absolument divin et festive
bonne soirée
The honey and chai make me love this cookie already! Looks fabulous, Angie =)
Oh no, another cookies I want to make. I love lebkuchen and I actually have potasche. What do you mean by chai?
@Magda The fluid drink, not the spice..you can use black tea instead.
I LOVE gingerbread cookies so I know I'll love these. Pinned. :) Have a great week Angie!
Oh wow Angie, they just look so very good. I love lebkuchen they are delicious and yours look amazing
I have to learn to pronounce it first :), looks very festive
Hi Angie, send me a dozen of this awesome cookies, please! Love your cute presentation.
Great cut-out cookies. They would be perfect at a holiday party.
Nice cut gingerbread Angie, i hope my mom making this kind of spiced cookies for christmas.....
btw, we used to called this kind of pfefferkuchen as spekuk cookie in Indonesia.......
My turn to learn something new! Potash in baking. This looks like a wonderful Christmas cookie. G
@Angie Schneider Oh great. My friend loves chai latte, but I've actually never tried to make it. I saw some mixes in store somewhere, but I don't have a clue where. But I do have loads of tea :)
Thank you
Angie, I love the sweet and spicy flavor, and the crunchy texture of this amazing little treats. Beautiful Christma theme as well!
Delicious cookies, love the yummy flavors in it..
Angie these cookies look terrific! I love all the spices in them - so yummy.
I love the look of these cookies and also love how you are presenting them with the cute Santa in the background. Have a good week Angie! :)
delicious
Lebkuchen is one on my to-bake list ! Love how you made these with whole spelt !
The chai and coconut oil in these sounds delicious, Angie! I've never tried baking with potash but would love to try these.
Oh these cookies look wonderful, exotic to me even in their tradition. I would love to try these with blue cheese particularly and wine.
Pfefferkuchen is like Christmas on a plate, it's so delicious and festive.
Love the cute presentation!
interesting cookies.
delicious presentation! Xx
The Christmas mood is here, isn't it?
I love how fun and holiday oriented you made these pictures, pretty!
I don't think I've ever had this type of Christmas cookie! Sounds tasty!
these look great love the christmas tree decor too like wee hats, Merry christmas
I love the combination of spices in these little cookies -- I can just imagine how delicious our home would smell with these baking in the oven. Your festive decorations are so fun Angie!
Loaded up with all those yummy spices, the cookies are bound to be delicious!!!!
Gorgeous! I am sure they taste fabulous!
Angie, those look sooooo good! I'd like to have two of them right now with a nice cup of tea!
i'd greatly prefer these cutouts to the plain ol' sugar cookies you see everywhere during this time of year. great recipe!
The lodge we went to on our honeymoon but these cookies out when they did the turn down service. These make me nostalgic. Great recipe.
Never tried such cookies. It sounds lovely with so many wonderful warm spices. Thanks for sharing.
I love gingerbread and spiced cookies, so I'm sure I'd polish off the entire batch.I love all the little shapes.
Very awesome recipe, love all the spices in this.
Of all my food memories during our visits to Germany during the Christmas season, it has to be these wonderful little cookies.
Never made these before but I've heard of them - Yours look great - Happy New Year!
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