There's an entire section of Luisa Weiss' Classic German Baking devoted to "Christmas Favorites." I made five Christmas recipes from the cookbook for our holiday party: Springerle; Basler Leckerli; Biberle; Eisenlebkuchen; and Pfeffernüsse.
I made the Springerle first, since I know from experience that these cookies are meant to be aged. This recipe has some significant differences from one I've previously used. The batter is made from eggs whipped with sugar, grated lemon peel, all-purpose flour, baker's ammonia, and salt. I also added some lemon oil. You chill the dough for an hour before molding the cookies one at a time, and then leaving them out to dry for 24 hours. Before baking, you place the cookies on a dampened towel for 5 minutes; this step helps the the cookies form a "foot" on the bottom, similar to what happens with a macaron. I still personally prefer the softer texture of a freshly-made Springerle, but I understand the appeal of the complete dried aged version -- it's very good for dunking.
I
originally planned to make Weiss' Lebkuchen (Old-Fashioned German
Gingerbread) recipe, but failed to adequately plan ahead. I purchased
the potash leavener required for the cookies (it was available at the Cafe Mozart German Deli
in downtown D.C.), but somehow missed the part of the recipe where it
says you need to rest the dough for two whole months (!) before using
it. So instead I made her Elisenlebkuchen (Glazed Flourless Nuremberg
Lebkuchen). These cookies are baked on thin wafers called Oblaten
-- thankfully, these were also available at the German Deli. The dough
is flavored with grated almond paste, Lebkuchenwürz, candied orange and citron
peel (I again substituted lemon peel for the citron), ground hazelnuts,
and ground almonds. You mound some batter on a wafer -- the wafers I
purchased were 50mm in diameter, or about two inches -- and bake, and
coat the cookies with a sugar glaze while hot (an alternative is a chocolate
glaze that can be applied after the cookies are cool). And even though the cookie dough is flourless, the wafers contain wheat, so the finished product is not gluten-free. These are the
cookies in the front of the plate in the photo above. They tasted pretty similar to the Leckerli.
I also made Weiss' Pfeffernüsse (Iced Spice Cookies), which are made with a dough that include honey, Lebkuchenwürz, white pepper, a little cocoa powder, and baker's ammonia. You coat them with a lemon-sugar glaze while hot from the oven. I don't have any photos of the Pfeffernüsse because I forgot to set some aside before our holiday party and they were all eaten -- but I wasn't particularly impressed with them.
My favorite of all of these cookies were the Biberle. Although at a certain point I felt that making so many of these holiday cookies was really unnecessary because several of them tasted so similar. Not just because they used the same Lebkuchenwürz spice mix, but also because honey, candied peel, almonds, and hazelnuts were common themes. At least these cookies didn't add too much burden to my workload because all of them keep well and can be made well in advance. Now I just have to remember to make my Lebkuchen dough in October so that I can have the cookies ready by Christmas this year!
Recipes: "Springerle," "Basler Leckerli, ""Biberle," "Eisenlebkuchen," and "Pfeffernüsse," from Classic German Baking by Luisa Weiss.
Previous Posts:
I made the Springerle first, since I know from experience that these cookies are meant to be aged. This recipe has some significant differences from one I've previously used. The batter is made from eggs whipped with sugar, grated lemon peel, all-purpose flour, baker's ammonia, and salt. I also added some lemon oil. You chill the dough for an hour before molding the cookies one at a time, and then leaving them out to dry for 24 hours. Before baking, you place the cookies on a dampened towel for 5 minutes; this step helps the the cookies form a "foot" on the bottom, similar to what happens with a macaron. I still personally prefer the softer texture of a freshly-made Springerle, but I understand the appeal of the complete dried aged version -- it's very good for dunking.
The
Basler Leckerli (Swiss Spice Squares) are cookies baked in a single
sheet that are glazed and cut into pieces while hot from the oven. The are full of honey,
chopped almonds and hazelnuts, cloves, and candied orange and citron
peel (I
substituted candied lemon peel for the citron). I liked these super
chewy cookies (they are rectangles at the top left of the photo below) quite a
bit. The candied peel is potent, though, so a little cookie goes a long
way.
The
other cookies I made all use a homemade Lebkuchenwürz spice mix,
comprised of cinnamon, cloves, allspice, cardamom, ginger, mace, and
aniseed. Weiss' recipe makes about half a cup of spice mix and I've
almost used all of it.
Biberle (Gingerbread Almond Nuggets) and formed
by wrapping a gingerbread dough (flavored with honey, brown sugar,
Lebkuchenwürz, and cinnamon) around a log of solid almond paste, and
cutting the cookies into little trapezoid pieces before baking (they are
the cookies at the top right of the photo below). I love almond paste
and used Odense Mandelmassa LYX that I brought back from Sweden -- it's
60% almonds, but was quite inexpensive. I love these spicy little bites,
which became quite firm after aging -- although I wish the almond
flavor was a little more prominent. These are definitely more gingerbread-y than almond-y.
I also made Weiss' Pfeffernüsse (Iced Spice Cookies), which are made with a dough that include honey, Lebkuchenwürz, white pepper, a little cocoa powder, and baker's ammonia. You coat them with a lemon-sugar glaze while hot from the oven. I don't have any photos of the Pfeffernüsse because I forgot to set some aside before our holiday party and they were all eaten -- but I wasn't particularly impressed with them.
My favorite of all of these cookies were the Biberle. Although at a certain point I felt that making so many of these holiday cookies was really unnecessary because several of them tasted so similar. Not just because they used the same Lebkuchenwürz spice mix, but also because honey, candied peel, almonds, and hazelnuts were common themes. At least these cookies didn't add too much burden to my workload because all of them keep well and can be made well in advance. Now I just have to remember to make my Lebkuchen dough in October so that I can have the cookies ready by Christmas this year!
Recipes: "Springerle," "Basler Leckerli, ""Biberle," "Eisenlebkuchen," and "Pfeffernüsse," from Classic German Baking by Luisa Weiss.
Previous Posts:
- "The Wait Is Just Beginning: Springerle," November 13, 2011.
- "Baked Sunday Mornings: Lebkuchen," August 27, 2017.
- "I'm Dreaming of an European Christmas, Part I: Leckerli and Pfeffernüsse," December 30, 2016.
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