How To Make Lebkuchen...

While Lebkuchen can be made and decorated in many different ways, this particular concoction's flavor gets better with age.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup honey
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1 egg
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
3 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped candied citron
1/2 cup chopped candied lemon and/or orange peel
1/2 cup chopped candied cherries
1 cup chopped almonds

Decorations:

3 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon orange extract
1 teaspoon lemon extract
1 teaspoon rum extract
milk
candied cherries, halved
sliced almonds

Let's Make Lebkuchen!

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Bring the honey to a boil in a large saucepan. Remove from the heat and add the brown sugar. In a small bowl beat the egg. Add a teaspoon of the honey mixture to the egg and beat rapidly. Add the egg mixture to the saucepan and beat. Add the lemon juice and zest. In a small bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, ginger, and salt. Blend into the honey mixture until well incorporated. Fold in the candied fruit and almonds.

Place the dough in a bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Chill for 48 hours. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface a 1/4 inch thick. Cut the cookies with a 2 inch circular cutter and place on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until the edges just start to turn pale golden brown. Cool the cookies on the sheets for 5 minutes, then finish cooling on wire racks.

Once the cookies are cooled, mix the powder sugar with the extracts in a small bowl. Add enough milk to form a thin glaze. Place a teaspoonful of glaze on each cookie and spread with the back of a spoon, only coating a few cookies at a time. Place a candied cherry half in the center of each cookie and fan out the almond slices around the cherry half to form "flowers" Let dry overnight, then tightly wrap in an airtight container. Let mature for two weeks before eating.

How To Make Marzipan Candies

Marzipan candies are considered to be "German edible art." These fun treats are not only entertaining but delicious, too!

Ingredients:

1 pound almonds, shelled, blanched
1 pound confectioners' sugar
1 egg white, unbeaten
rosewater or orangewater
food colors

Let's Make Marzipan!

Carefully dry the shelled almonds, then grind to a powder in an electic blender. Blend almonds, the sugar, the egg white and just enough rosewater or orangewater to make a pliable stiff dough. Knead with fingers, then place on board dusted with confectioners' sugar and form into desired shapes, to resemble miniature apples, peaches, strawberries or, if you have an artist's touch, little pigs or birds. Tint with food coloring. Balls of marzipan may be rubbed in chocolate dots or colored sugar. (If dough becomes too stiff, work in a little lemon juice, rosewater or orangewater, adding drop by drop.)

When candies are shaped, dry thoroughly in a cool, airy place for 24 hours, then wrap separately or place in a container and cover completely with plastic wrap. Makes approximately two pounds of candy.