Gluten free lebkuchen are my favourite Christmas biscuits! A German biscuit which is commonly found in Christmas markets, made gluten free. This recipe makes around 24 biscuits, depending on size.
Prep Time20 minutesmins
Cook Time15 minutesmins
Chilling Time2 hourshrs
Total Time2 hourshrs35 minutesmins
Course: Baking
Cuisine: German
Keyword: german biscuits, gingerbread, Gluten free, lebkuchen, pfferenüsse
Servings: 24
Author: Sarah Howells
Ingredients
100gdark brown sugar
120grunny honey
50gunsalted butter
250gplain gluten free flour
3tspbaking powder
1/2tspxanthan gum
3tspmixed spice
40gground almonds
1large egg
For the glaze:
300gicing sugar
4tbspboiling water
Instructions
Add the dark brown sugar, honey and butter to a large saucepan and place on a low heat. Continue to heat, stirring occasionally, until the butter has melted and the mixture has combined to form a smooth liquid. Do not let it boil. As soon as it's melted, remove from the heat and leave to cool for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, mix the plain gluten free flour (see notes below if using self-raising), baking powder, xanthan gum, mixed spice and ground almonds to a large mixing bowl and stir well.
When the sugar/honey mixture has cooled slightly (you want it warm, not hot, so it doesn't cook the egg!) pour it into the flour mix and stir well until it starts to form a sticky dough.
Lightly beat the egg in a small bowl then add to the mixture. Continue to stir until the mixture has combined into a thick, sticky dough, with no clumps of flour. Don't worry - it's supposed to be super sticky at this stage!
Now for the most important part - CHILL. Scrape the mixture out into some clingfilm (or just pop the mixing bowl into the fridge) and leave to chill for at least 2-3 hours. Ideally overnight to allow all the flavours to really be absorbed by the dough.
When the dough has completely chilled, preheat the oven to 180'C / Fan 160'C / Gas Mark 4. Remove the dough from the fridge.
Break off small pieces of dough and roll into balls, approximately an inch in size. Working as quickly as you can to keep the dough as chilled as possible, place the balls of dough on a baking tray with plenty of space between them.
Place the tray in the oven and cook for 10-12 minutes, until the cookie dough balls have transformed into small domes which are golden brown on top. Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely before removing them from the tray. (Note: If you have to cook them in batches, keep any uncooked dough in the fridge before placing in the oven if you can, to avoid it warming up too much).
Once the biscuits have cooled, make the glaze by adding the icing sugar to a bowl then adding the boiling water, 1 tbsp at a time, until you have a thick glaze. Dip the biscuits into the glaze until coated, then place on a cooling rack until completely set (you might want something underneath to catch any drips!).
Notes
If you are using self-raising flour, omit the baking powder. If the flour already has xanthan gum in it, only add 1/4 tsp extra instead of 1/2.
These cookies will keep for several days in an airtight container but are best glazed as soon as possible to eating as it can crack or lose its colour after a couple of days.
You can freeze the uncooked dough and cook from frozen - it will take around 15-18 minutes instead of 10-12. You can also freeze the cooked biscuits without the glaze and then ice once defrosted.