Maple Gingerbread inspired by traditional German Lebkuchen

Maple Gingerbread inspired by traditional German Lebkuchen

Maple Gingerbread inspired by traditional German Lebkuchen

Heather Bowes

Traditionally made with honey and almonds, this treat instead combines maple syrup and walnuts for a wonderfully rich and delicious take on the authentic Lebkuchen. Some recipes use ginger, some do not. I have found that Ginger works so well here to balance out the deep flavor of the sweet syrup.

Ingredients

    Dough

    • ½ cup maple syrup 
    • 1 cup dark brown sugar
    • ¼ cup unsalted butter cubed
    • 1 large egg beaten
    • 2 tablespoons lemon zest
    • 2 ¾ cups all purpose flour
    • 1 cup ground walnuts 
    • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
    • ½ teaspoon baking powder 
    • ½ teaspoon baking soda
    • 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
    • ½ teaspoon allspice
    • ½ teaspoon ginger
    • ¼ teaspoon cloves
    • ¼ teaspoon nutmeg

    Glaze

    • 1 egg white beaten
    • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
    • 1 ½ cup confectioners sugar 
    • ½ teaspoon lemon zest

    Directions

    1. In a small saucepan heat the sugar and maple syrup, stirring until dissolved.
    2. Add in the butter and lemon zest, stirring to melt.
    3. In a mixing bowl whisk together the baking powder and baking soda, salt, spices, lemon juice and egg so there are no small lumps.
    4. Mix in the flour and ground walnuts to form a soft sticky dough.
    5. Gather the dough with your hands to form a ball (flour your hands if needed as the dough will be sticky). Set the ball in a bowl and cover.
    6. Let the dough rest, covered at room temperature for one hour or overnight. Make sure the dough doesn’t form a crust from drying out.
    7. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F
    8. Whisk together the glaze ingredients and set aside with a brush.
    9. Prepare baking sheets with parchment paper.
    10. Flour your work surface and divide the dough in half or thirds to roll out.
    11. Roll out the dough to ¾ inch thickness. It will be sticky and using parchment on top to roll, and silpat on the bottom will help.
    12. Cut out circles or leave in a large rectangle shape. If baking in a rectangle shape, score the cuts so that you can divide into individual servings when finished baking but still warm.
    13. Bake approximately 12 minutes, the dough will be set, still soft in the middle, and just starting to brown at the edges when done.
    14. Remove from the oven, let cool a couple of minutes and brush gently with the glaze while still warm.
    15. A bit of orange peel in an airtight container once these have cooled completely is the best way to store them.
    16. Enjoy!
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