These vegan lebkuchen are exactly what you want from dairy free gingerbread, slightly crisp on the outside and chewy in the centre. These vanilla lebkuchen are delicately spiced with ginger and cinnamon before being covered with dark chocolate and roasted pistachios.
Is Lebkuchen the same as gingerbread?
Lebkuchen are very similar to gingerbread biscuits however Lebkuchen tend to be softer and more moist than their English counterparts. The traditional German recipe usually calls for ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves but in lesser quantities than gingerbread. The German cookies are then heavily decorated with either a lemon glaze or with intricate designs made from icing sugar. For tips on how to bake perfect lebkuchen that are chewy and delicious read my post ‘How to Bake Vegan Cookies’.
The ingredients
The lebkuchen are made vegan by swapping out the usual butter for a dairy free alternative. Lebkuchen is commonly sweetened with honey; as honey isn’t strictly vegan I’ve instead used maple syrup as a replacement. I actually prefer maple syrup as it has a more complex flavour profile. The ample quantity of maple syrup makes these lebkuchen soft and chewy, as well as adding lovely caramel notes. I didn’t want the spices to overwhelm the biscuit so I’ve used vanilla bean paste to add a sweet and slightly woody flavour.
More vegan biscuits
redcurrant jelly and marzipan cookies
Leave a comment and let me know how you get on making these Vegan Lebkuchen. I would love to see your creations over on instagram!
Vegan Lebkuchen
Ingredients
- 85 g vegan butter
- 200 mls maple syrup
- 2 tbsp vanilla bean paste
- 275 g plain flour
- 35 g ground almonds
- 2 tsp ginger
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
- Melt the vegan butter, syrup and vanilla paste in a saucepan.
- In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, ground almonds, spices, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt.
- Add the syrup mixture to the dry ingredients and mix until all the ingredients are just combined.
- Cover the bowl with cling film and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Pre heat the oven to 180C/ 160C fan. Generously flour your hands and the work surface. Proceed to roll the dough out to roughly the thickness of a pound coin. Use a 7 cm cookie cutter to cut out 24 cookies.
- Place the cookies on a parchment lined tray and bake in the oven for 12-14 minutes. Remove from the oven, the cookies should be light gold in colour and slightly soft to the touch. Allow to cool completely.
- Melt the chocolate and smooth half over the cookie. You may find it useful to use a piece of foil or kitchen paper to keep the design neat. Crush the pistachios and sprinkle over the melted dark chocolate. Leave to cool.
Simple to bake. Didn’t have all spice so just used a dash more cinnamon, Tasted like a milder gingerbread, loved by everyone who tried the lebkuchen
Could I make this gluten free by using almond flour in place of plain?
Adding to my Christmas to bake list!