I just adore Christmas baking, and these Vegan Lebkuchen (German Gingerbread Cookies) are not only one of my favourites to make, but to eat too! They make the house smell glorious when they're being baked, which is always a bonus, and can be decorated in a variety of ways too!
Lebkuchen are traditionally made in Germany as part of the festive season. Often households will make a variety of different cookies, including lebkuchen (between 7 and 12 types!) to share with guests or to take as a gift when visiting friends and relatives. It can get quite competitive, in the nicest possible way. Fortunately, the cookies tend to store quite well, so you can make them well ahead of time. The lebkuchen are also easily made vegan, so everyone can enjoy them.
🍪Key Ingredients
- Spices: Ground Ginger, Cinnamon, Mixed Spice and Nutmeg all combine to create the classic Lebkuchen 'Gingerbread' style spice mix. The smell when baking is just heavenly.
- Brown Sugar and Agave Syrup: Traditional lebkuchen is made with honey. I substitute a mix of these two sweeteners for the stickyness and depth of flavour.
- Flour: You can use all purpose flour or even spelt flour.
- Ground Almonds: these provide a pleasing texture and slight nuttiness.
- Vegan Butter: I like to use Naturali butter, but you can choose your favourite vegan butter block.
- 1 Lemon: juice and zest. For a lovely fragrance that really 'lifts' the cookie taste!
- Icing Sugar/Powdered Sugar: Mixed with a little water, this becomes the classic glaze that the lebkuchen are dipped into.
- Optional: Chocolate for dipping or decorating! Chocolate goes really well with the lebkuchen spices, but you don't have to use it, it's a personal preference. I love them just glazed, Vanessa prefers them dipped in chocolate!
👩🍳How-To
For the full recipe and ingredients for these Vegan Lebkuchen, head to the recipe card below!
- First melt your butter, sugar and agave syrup. Mix until the sugar is properly melted
- In a large bowl, sift in the flour and spices.
- Mix the butter/sugar mix into the flour.
- Add the bicarb soda, the lemon zest and slowly add the lemon juice until you have a sticky dough.
- Chill the dough in the fridge for half an hour- or even overnight.
- On a non-stick mat or board, roll the dough out to about 5mm thick.
- Now you can cut out pretty shapes. Make sure to use quite simple shapes as the dough is quite fragile.
- Lay the shapes on a lined baking tray and bake for 10-15 minutes until just turning golden.
- Leave to cool completely on a rack.
Melt together the butter, sugar and syrup. Add the flours and mix well. Add the lemon zest and juice. Add the juice bit by bit and stir. You will end up with quite a sticky dough. Chill the dough in the fridge to make it easier to roll out. Roll out the dough and cut into shapes, lay on a lined baking tray. The cookies are ready when slightly puffed up and golden.
- To glaze, mix the icing powder with water and dip the cookies in.
- Then if you choose to add chocolate, you can now dip or drizzle the chocolate over the lebkuchen cookies! Be sure to cool the chocolate covered ones on a non-stick baking sheet or they will stick to the tray (I know this from silly experience!)
Sift icing sugar and add a little warm water. The mixture should be smooth and quite runny. Dip your lebkuchen into the icing mixture and allow to set. You can choose to also dip or drizzle chocolate onto the cookies, or decorate in other ways too!
🥄Troubleshooting
Rolling out the dough- The dough is quite sticky, so make sure the dough is chilled before rolling it out! If it's too wet, add a tiny amount of flour to help it out.
Making the dough- When adding the lemon juice, do it bit by bit. Not all lemons are the same size so you might end up with more juice than you need! You'll know the dough is ready when it comes together in a sticky mass, that can still be smooshed together into a smooth ball.
Cutting out the cookie shapes- the lebkuchen dough is quite fragile so I suggest using a simple cookie cutter shape (a plain star for example, rather than a fancy pants one). A good non-stick surface to roll out on is also essential. I like this silicon mat for pastry work.
❓ FAQ
Up to a month in an airtight container, or probably longer. They're designed to stay soft and slightly chewy.
These are fun little vegan sprinkles that we found on Amazon.
No, you do you! Eat them plain and unglazed. Or just dipped into chocolate.
Add a little more water for a thin coating, or it's also just as nice to make a thicker coating.
Add a little more plain flour and mix well, bit by bit until the dough is able to easily be moulded into a smooth ball. Refrigerate for a bit to make it easier to roll out.
🥨Similar Recipes
Why not make lots of cookies or treats for Christmas, alongside these vegan lebkuchen to hand around to your friends just like they do in Germany! Who knows, you might start your own friend's tradition!
- Coconut Shortbread Stars
- The Best Vegan Gingerbread People
- Granny's Famous Rum Balls made Vegan!
- Valentine’s Day Chocolate Dipped Cookies (just make these in Christmas shapes!)
- Vegan Cinnamon and Macadamia Biscuits with White Chocolate Drizzle
📖 Recipe
Vegan Lebkuchen Gingerbread Cookies
Equipment
- Silicon Non-stick mat
Ingredients
For the Cookies
- 100 g brown sugar
- 100 g agave or maple syrup (I used agave, but maple is fine too)
- 200 g plain flour
- 85 g vegan butter (I like naturali block, but use your favourite)
- 100 g ground almonds
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon mixed spice
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg (freshly grated is nicest)
- 1 lemon, juice and zest
For the Decorating
- 100 g icing sugar (also known as powdered sugar)
- 2 tablespoon warm water
- 100 g Dark vegan chocolate (totally optional!)
Instructions
To make the lebkuchen Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas Mark 6
- Melt the butter and mix in the syrup and brown sugar. Make sure the sugar is properly melted.
- Remove from the stove, and mix together all the dry ingredients, including the zest of the lemon.
- Carefully mix the melted butter mixture into the flour mixture. It will be not quite wet enough.
- Now carefully add in lemon juice bit by bit. You'll end up with a soft sticky dough.
- Form the dough into a ball and refridgerate for half an hour. This makes it easier to roll out.
- Once the dough is cooled, roll out onto a non-stick surface and press out the cookies into shapes.
- Put the cookies onto 2 lined baking trays and bake for around 15 minutes.
- Depending on your cookie shape, you might need to do 3 trays of cookies! You can keep rolling the dough out until there is none left. I have even cheated with the leftovers and just rolled up with my hands and squished out onto the tray !
- The cookies are ready when they are slightly puffed up and gently golden. They will still be quite soft when you remove them from the oven, so let them cool before handling them.
- Allow to properly cool on a rack before decorating.
How to decorate the Vegan Lebkuchen
- Allow the lebkuchen to cool.
- Mix together the sugar and water. How much water you add will affect the thickness of the glaze so do how you wish!
- Dip the cookies into the glaze and allow to set. Add little stars here if you want.
- Alternatively, melt chocolate and dip the cookies in the chocolate, allowing to dry on non-stick baking paper.
Katherine says
I adore lebkuchen and can't wait to make this vegan version!
Louise-Claire Cayzer says
We hope you like making them as much as we did!
Mirlene says
These looks so good! I have never tried the German version of gingerbread cookies. I'm sure these are even more tastier!
Louise-Claire Cayzer says
They're really yummy. I hope you like them!
Lily says
These cookies look beautiful, delicious, and like the perfect cookie recipe to make with my 3 year old! She will love cutting out the cookies and decorating them.
Louise-Claire Cayzer says
Such a fun thing to make (and eat!) with your family.
Nathan says
These cookies are so adorable, and I don't think I've seen a recipe for vegan gingerbread so this is a great find. Thanks so much for the tips!