Lebkuchen were one of the most anticipated and treasured traditions for our family Christmas. My mother usually made two batches of about 50 and they never lasted long enough to get stale. The recipe is from my GG Aunt Mary Dutcher Field (1848-1929). Besides this recipe, another item of note about GG Aunt Mary was that she was the granddaughter of Isaac van Wart, one of The Three Patriots who stopped Major Andre and discovered that he was carrying the military plans for the defense of West Point from General Benedict Arnold to the British. This very fortuitous event likely prevented the British from dividing the Colonial Army, holding the Hudson, and winning the Revolutionary War.
Here is my annotated version of my GG Aunt Mary's Lebkuchen recipe, which you are free to share:
1 cup ground unblanched almonds
4 ounces citron
1 lb dark brown sugar (about 2 cups, packed)
2 cups flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cloves
1/2 fresh nutmeg, grated (I cheat and use 1/2 tsp nutmeg)
5 eggs (hold out 1 egg white for frosting)
Make your frosting (the following amounts are very approximate) by blending together:
Frost while warm and allow to dry about 3-5 minutes in a warm but not hot oven.
Peel off the aluminum foil as you cut them into squares. Store in an air tight container with wax paper between layers so they do not stick together or dry out. (In our family, they never last long enough to dry out...)
The tray just after drying the frosting and before cutting up:
Edge-on view as I am removing the foil and cutting into squares:
Lebkuchen being packed to take to Vermont for Christmas...
Mahlzeit.