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Brown butter & cardamom lebkuchen

Brown butter & cardamom lebkuchen biscuits

Brown butter & cardamom lebkuchen

Name: Brown butter & cardamom lebkuchen
Prep time: 35 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: Makes around 35-40
Ingredients: 100g salted butter; 150g light brown soft sugar; 200ml honey; 350g plain flour plus extra for dusting; 100g ground almonds; 1 tsp ground cardamom; 1 tsp ground cinnamon; ¼ tsp ground cloves; ¼ tsp ground allspice; ¼ tsp ground ginger; pinch of ground mace; pinch of ground nutmeg; 1 tbsp cocoa powder; 1 tsp baking powder; ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda; 1 egg; 1 lemon zested; 200g icing sugar sifted; 1 egg white

Ailsa Burt

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Makes around 35-40

More effort

Prep: 35 mins

Cook: 25 mins

plus 1 hr chilling and 1 hr setting

A star rating of 5 out of 5.1 ratingRate

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Make a twist on the classic lebkuchen over Christmas. Spiced with fragrant cardamom, brown butter gives these chewy cookies a nutty edge

Vegetarian

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Alternatives

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Ingredients

Nutrition

Units:

MetricUS

100g salted butter
150g light brown soft sugar
200ml honey
350g plain flour

plus extra for dusting
100g ground almonds
1 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground cloves
¼ tsp ground allspice
¼ tsp ground ginger
pinch of ground mace
pinch of ground nutmeg
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 egg
1 lemon

zested

For the icing

200g icing sugar

sifted
1 egg white

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Nutrition: Per serving (40)

kcal126
fat4g
saturates2g
carbs21g
sugars14g
fibre0.5g
protein2g
salt0.2g

Method

step 1

Tip the butter into a saucepan over a medium heat. Once melted, cook until the butter foams, stirring regularly. It should start to smell nutty and the milk solids at the bottom will turn golden brown in around 7 mins. Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar and honey. Return to the heat on low. Cook for 3-5 mins until the sugar has melted. Set aside to cool slightly.
step 2

Combine the flour, ground almonds, spices, cocoa powder, baking powder and bicarb together in a bowl. Whisk the egg into the cooled butter mixture then pour into the dry ingredients and add the lemon zest. Mix well and bring into a ball. Set aside in the fridge for 1 hr to firm up.
step 3

Lightly dust a clean work surface with flour and line two large baking trays with baking parchment. Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Tip out the dough and roll out to around 1cm thick. Use cutters shaped like hearts, gingerbread people and stars of varying sizes, around 5-8cm, to stamp out the lebkuchen. If you want to hang them, use a skewer to poke a little hole in the top. Arrange on the baking tray, with a little space in between. Bake for 13-15 mins until golden on the edges and just set, then leave to cool fully on the trays.
step 4

To ice the cooled biscuits, whisk together the icing sugar and egg white to form a smooth, pipeable icing. Pour into a reusable piping bag and pipe decorations onto the top of the biscuits. Set aside for the icing to set, at least 1 hr. Will keep in an airtight container for five days.

Recipe from Good Food magazine, Christmas 2025

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