Vegan Lebkuchen (Dairy-Free German Christmas Cookies)
Easy, cakey lebkuchen without eggs or dairy.
Ingredients
- 150 g Soft brown sugar (¾ cup)
- 50 g Vegan block butter (3 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon)
- 150 g Agave nectar (~7+½ Tablespoons)
- 60 ml Soy milk (4 tablespoons)
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 220 g Plain flour (1+¾ cup)
- 130 g Ground almonds (1+⅓ cup)
- ½ Teaspoon Baking powder
- 2 Tablespoons Cocoa powder
- 2 Teaspoons Ground ginger
- ½ Teaspoon Ground cinnamon
- ¼ Teaspoon All spice (can be subbed for mixed spice)
- ¼ Teaspoon Ground nutmeg
- 2 Tablespoons Candied mixed peel (sub for lemon and/or orange zest)
For the lemon glaze:
- 180 g Icing sugar (1 cup + 3 tablespoons)
- 2 Tablespoons Lemon juice
- 1 Tablespoon Cold water
Instructions
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In a large bowl, mix together the sugar, butter, agave nectar, vanilla extract and soy milk. It will look curdled once mixed but don't worry!
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Add the rest of the ingredients to the bowl, except the mixed peel. Mix well until it comes together. It will be a very sticky dough.
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Stir in the mixed peel then place the dough in the fridge for 30 minutes.
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In the meantime, preheat your oven to 170°C/340°F (or 150°C/300°F if you're using a fan or convection oven). Line a large tray with baking paper.
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After the 30 minutes are up, remove the dough from the fridge. Take around 2 tablespoons of dough at a time and roll into balls. Place the balls onto your lined baking tray and gently press them until they're around 1+½ inches thick. Don't flatten them too much or they'll be too crunchy after baking.
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Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until you can gently press on the tops of the cookies without them sinking. Leave them to cool completely on the tray.
For the glaze:
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Mix the icing sugar, lemon juice and water together to make a smooth, runny glaze.
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Dunk the cooled cookies into the glaze and let the excess drip off. Place them on a wire rack with baking paper underneath and let them sit at room temperature until the glaze has hardened.
Recipe Notes
- If making lebkuchen hearts or stars, roll small pieces of dough at a time to around 1-inch thick. Do not try to roll the whole batch of dough out! Because the dough is so sticky, you'll need to do this on a heavily floured surface, and use a floured rolling pin and floured cutter. Do not add extra flour to the dough itself as this will spoil the soft, cakey texture.
- Coat the lebkuchen in dark chocolate if you prefer a not-so-sweet cookie.