How to make
In a pot over medium heat, heat the honey and sugar without boiling, until the sugar has almost melted.
Remove from the heat and add the butter. Stir, until it has melted.
Mix the flour, spices* (nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, coriander), lemon peel and cocoa in a bowl. The ammonia soda is dissolved in 2 tsp (10 ml) of water.
The egg, honey mixture and ammonia soda are added to the flour mixture.
Mix with a wooden spoon for about 5 minutes, until a soft, homogeneous and slightly shiny dough is obtained. No more flour is added!
The cookie dough is wrapped in several layers of foil and left to cool, but not in the refrigerator. It is left for at least 1 night and can be left for up to 2 months.
It is lightly kneaded on a floured surface and half of it is rolled out to a thickness of 0.2″ (5 mm). Cut out the Christmas cookies (stars and hearts). With the rest, the same is repeated. They are moved to a tray covered with baking paper and left at room temperature for 1-2 hours (or overnight).
The oven is heated to 340°F (170°C) with upper and lower resistor wire on. The Lebkuchen are baked for about 10 minutes, without letting them brown on the edges! Baking depends on their size.
While they are baking, mix the powdered sugar with the water in a pot and boil for 8-10 minutes. While still hot, the Lebkuhen are quickly coated with the glaze using a brush.
By the next batch, the glaze may have hardened, so a little water is added and it is reheated just before festive cookies are taken out of the oven.
Leave the Aromatic Lebkuchen Cookies to cool.
