Nurenberger Lebkuchen

Another Nuremberg specialty is Lebkuchen and boy is it lecker!!  Every day we went back for “just one more,” and before we left, we bought a bag full from this bakery where they were made fresh every day.

The company Gottfried Wicklein GmbH & Co. KG, based in Nuremberg , is a manufacturer of baked goods, particularly Nuremberg gingerbread . This company was founded in 1615, making it one of the oldest gingerbread shops in Nuremberg.

I’ve never made Lebkuchen, and I had so many questions about it that one of the shopkeepers gave us our own Lebkuchen tutorial.  They teach classes here and so she pulled out her samples of all the ingredients to show us.

These are the 11 spices that are used in their famous recipe.

Here’s the English:

These are the different varieties of Lebkuchen.  The traditional have 25% ground nuts (hazel nuts, walnuts and almonds) and only 10% flour.  Others have up to 40% flour.

Of course, the fresh ones are the very best, but these cookies last a long time and there are so many packaged ones to choose from.

I learned something I never knew about my very favorite spice:  Mace.  It’s made from the FLOWER of the nutmeg nut, not from the shell as I’d been told.  I use Mace on just about everything from hot oatmeal to my best cinnamon rolls.

If you  have time and if you’re interested, here’s a website that explains the history of Lebkuchen in Nuremberg and there’s a 45 minute film (in German) showing another baker making Lebkuchen.  He explains that the dough can be kept for several months before it’s completely mixed with the spices, rolled out and cut.

Here’s another site with a family recipe.  This baker says, “Here is the Lebkuchen recipe my family uses. The dough can rest in the fridge for several months. The famous German bakeries make the dough for next Christmas in January to let enzymes develop and spices mellow. I have kept mine in the fridge for up to 4 months.”

I loved learning about Lebkuchen.  My grandma Elsa made something similar, but simpler and also good.  This brings back happy memories.