Name: Christmas-spiced and iced lebkuchen biscuits
Total time: 17100 s
Yield: 10
Ingredients: 150 gram orange and cinnamon honey; 2 tablespoon dark treacle; 55 gram unsalted butter; 100 gram soft dark brown sugar; 275 gram plain flour; 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda; 1/2 teaspoon baking powder; 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon; 3 teaspoon ground ginger; 1 teaspoon mixed spice; 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg; 50 gram ground almonds; 1 teaspoon lemon; 1 teaspoon orange; 1 egg; 1/2 lemon; 150 gram icing sugar; 100 gram dark chocolate

Step 1

Put the honey (150 g) , treacle (40 g) , butter (55 g) and sugar (100 g) into a saucepan and heat until the sugar has dissolved.

Step 2

Sift the flour (275 g) , bicarbonate of soda (2 g) , baking powder (2 g) , cinnamon (3 g) , ginger (5 g) , mixed spice (2 g) , nutmeg (as needed) and ground almonds (50 g) into a large bowl with a pinch of salt and black pepper. Add the lemon zest (4 g) , orange zest (4 g) , egg (1) and melted honey and sugar mix, and beat until smooth. Knead into a ball, cover with cling film and chill for 4 hours, or preferably overnight.

Step 3

The next day, line some baking sheets with parchment and preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan. Dust a work surface with plain flour and divide the dough in half for ease. Roll to a thickness of 5-7mm and cut out shapes with cookie cutters. Repeat with the second half. Gather any dough scraps together, re-roll and stamp out more shapes. Chill the biscuits on the trays for 15 minutes, then bake for 12 minutes until firm, but not crisp.

Step 4

Meanwhile, whisk the lemon juice (1/2) , icing sugar (150 g) and 2 tbsp hot water in a bowl until smooth and thick enough to coat the biscuits. Combine the chocolate (100 g) with 1 tsp sunflower oil and melt in the microwave or over a bowl of simmering water.

Step 5

Once cooled, dip half of the biscuits in the lemon glaze to coat. Dip the remaining biscuits in the chocolate glaze to coat the tops. Spoon the remaining chocolate glaze into a piping bag, then drizzle over the biscuits. Allow the biscuits to set, then package up.

Christmas-spiced and iced lebkuchen biscuits

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