The German Christmas market has become a global celebration of the festive period. But in many parts of the world, they’re not going ahead in 2020. So to bring an authentic taste of the annual celebration to your home, here is a recipe for one of the market staples. Check out our traditional German Lebkuchen recipe!
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German Lebkuchen
Lebkuchen is a honey-sweetened German cake that is similar to gingerbread. It has become a popular treat at Oktoberfest and especially Christmas celebrations. Today, lebkuchen is growing in popularity around the world due to the global success of German-style Christmas markets.
Lebkuchen is easily recognizable as it is often cut into large heart shapes and decorated with colourful icing. They are usually hung from a string and can sometimes be seen hanging around the neck of the person they have been gifted to. They usually have a declaration of love iced onto them reading, “ich liebe dich” and other sentiments.
Exploring the bustling Christmas markets was one of my favorite ways to pass the time when we visited Germany. No matter how cold it is, everyone is jolly, the air smells of sweet treats and you’re never far from a glass of mulled wine to warm your hands! The festive cheer of a Christmas market is infectious, and now you can recreate a little bit of it at home with this German Lebkuchen recipe.
Creating the Lebkuchen Recipe
When recreating the recipe, I wanted to make the lebkuchen as authentic to the German market variety as I could. Lebkuchen are becoming a more common seasonal item in supermarkets around the world, but nothing quite beats the real deal!
Lebkuchen isn’t a recipe for those who are impatient though! For the true German taste, these treats are carefully iced and left in a tin for a few days to soften. I opted for icing pens rather than mixing my own icing. But to be honest, I ate most of them without icing them anyway. Decoration (and patience!) are not my strongest of qualities!
Overall though, recreating this German classic was loads of fun. They taste delicious and are a great treat if you want to transport yourself to Germany for a few moments…no matter what the time of year!
Check out the recipe below and give this yummy festive treat a try. I hope you enjoy it!
Have you been to a German Christmas maket? Where were you visiting?
If you have fallen in love with our German Lebkuchen recipe, why not plan a trip to experience the real deal? Check out 15 reasons why you need to visit Berlin for more inspiration!
German Lebkuchen
This tasty German cookie is similar to gingerbread but is sweetened by honey, rather than ginger. Lebkuchen is a popular treat, which is often found at Oktoberfest celebrations or German Christmas markets. Now you can enjoy enjoy them at home too!
Ingredients
- 300g honey
- 150g sugar
- 100g butter
- Lemon zest
- 500g plain flour
- 3 tbsp baking powder
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder
- A pinch of salt
- 0.5 tsp cinnamon
- 1 egg yolk
- Icing pens (optional)
Instructions
- Combine the honey, sugar, and butter in a saucepan until melted. Be careful not to boil the mixture.
- In a bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, cocoa, salt, cinnamon, egg yolk, and lemon zest.
- Pour the honey mixture from the saucepan into the dry ingredients and mix together.
- Knead the mixture into a soft dough, initially in the bowl, then on a floured surface.
- Roll the dough out on the floured surface to about 1-inch thickness.
- Use cookie cutters to cut the dough into shapes.
- Place the shapes onto a baking tray and cook for 10-12 minutes at 180°C
- Once cooked, remove them from the oven and place on racks to cool.
- When cooled, you can decorate with frosting or icing pens if you wish.
- Place the lebkuchen into a tin and store for a few days to soften.
- Enjoy!
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Hello, I’m Hannah! I’m a writer and photographer who loves experiencing the wonders of Yorkshire. My guides will help you escape from your daily routine by showing you that you don’t have to go far to find an adventure.
I love German christmas markets! The last ones I visited were in Cologne and Berlin, I think! But it’s been way to long so I can’t wait to try this recipe out!!
Christmas markets are great, aren’t they! I’d love to visit some in Cologne. The ones in Berlin were incredible! I hope you enjoy the recipe!
These looks so good! Pinning now so we can be ready to celebrate next month!
I hope you enjoy them as much as we did! They are great fun to make and perfect for Christmas!
Hi Hannah! Love your blog. These German Christmas treats look to die for. Can’t wait to try! Also, can’t wait to read your post on 15 reasons to visit Berlin!
Hi Ashlee! I’m so pleased you like my blog! I hope you enjoy the lebkuchen and get an opportunity to plan a trip to try the real deal!
Wow, those look so delicious! I will definitely be making these this year as well as traditional Christmas gingerbread. Can’t wait to try them!
I hope you love them and have a great time making them! I love to spend an afternoon on a weekend baking, especially in the run up to Christmas!
I tried one of these at Oktoberfest in Munich, but never thought about making them myself. Can’t wait to try!
They are surprisingly easy to make and loads of fun! I hope you enjoy trying out a homemade batch!
Omg I love buying these at the Christmas market. And since I can’t go to one this year I’ll have to make my own, so thanks for the recipe!
They’re incredible, aren’t they! They always remind me of Christmas and I love to see them hanging up on the stalls at the markets. I hope you enjoy making them!
Oh my gosh I’m so excited to try and make these. I love the Christmas market season and I’m so devastated it’s not happening this year where I am. Great idea to bring that to the home instead. Now I just need a recipe for gluehwein and I’m set
It’s so disappointing that there are no Christmas markets this year, isn’t it! With one of these in hand and a glass of gluhwein, you’re set to enjoy the market from home instead! I hope you enjoy recreating the market at home!
I love lebkuchen! I had them a few times when I visited the German Christmas markets. 🙂 Thank you for providing a recipe.
I hope the recipe makes a batch as good as the ones you had at the Christmas markets! ANd I hope you have a ton of fun making them!
I love anything Christmas related! I want to try and make these for this coming holiday season! Thanks for sharing!
I hope you have fun making them and I hope they taste amazing! I’m like you and love anything Christmas related! This is a great recipe to try out year after year for a brilliant festive treat!
What a fabulous idea!! I am definitely going to make this for Christmas! I love German Christmas Markets and I am sooo sad that I can’t go this year, so this is perfect. You’re right, I will transport myself to Germany!! Thank you!
I’m sad there are no Christmas markets this year too! Hopefully, these will tide you over until they return next year (fingers crossed!) and you can enjoy a taste of Germany until we can next visit!
These look so tasty! I think I might need to try them as I love anything with cinnamon this time of year! I will miss the Christmas markets this year but making these is a nice way to keep the festive mood. 😁
They are great for Christmas and taste amazing! I’m definitely going to be cooking up another batch of these in the run up to Christmas and recreate the market feeling at home. I hope you enjoy them too!
I’ve never heard of these, but they look quite wonderful! I loved Berlin, too, so I’m sure I will make it back one day and hopefully be able to try them in person :). Thank you for helping expand my knowledge!
Hi MacKenzie! I hope you get back to Berlin near Christmas one year to see these for yourself in person. They’re pretty spectacular at the Christmas markets because they are huge! I chose to make a selection of small ones for at home, but I’d definitely recommend grabbing one of the enormous ones at a Christmas market if you get the chance!
I love German lebkuchen! I’ll 100% be using this recipe this holiday season <3
I hope you love these as much as the ones from the Christmas markets! Have fun making them!
These look SO good! I love German cookies and pastries. Adding to my Xmas baking list for this year!
I hope you enjoy making them! They’ve become such a Christmas staple in our house! They’re definitely our favourite Christmas cookie!