Vegan lebkuchen - these soft, chewy, spicy German gingerbread cookies are easy to make and full of festive flavour.
They keep well so are perfect for gifting, or just for snacking on throughout the holiday season.
There are a few different kinds of lebkuchen, but the most well known outside of Germany are similar to gingerbread, but with a soft, chewy, cakey texture and a different spice profile.
That is the kind that I decided to veganise. You can usually get accidentally vegan lebkuchen from Aldi and Lidl, but as always, homemade ones are much nicer!
These vegan lebkuchen are simple to make, warmly spiced and very addictive!
I like to glaze half with a simple lemon glaze and dip the other half in melted chocolate. You can do all one or the other if you prefer.
What Do I Need To Make Vegan Lebkuchen?:
Golden syrup and treacle: Traditionally lebkuchen are made with honey. To make them vegan I use a mix of golden syrup and treacle instead. You could use all golden syrup if you prefer, I just like the depth of flavour from the treacle.
In the US, use molasses instead of treacle, and if you can't get hold of golden syrup then agave or maple syrup should work ok instead.
Vegan butter: Please, for the love of holy baking, use a block butter/margarine to make these cookies, not the spreadable kind in a tub.
Spreadable will likely make the dough too soft, and the biscuits may be more tough as it contains more water. I recommend Naturli Vegan Block or Flora Plant Butter.
Plain flour: Just regular plain (all-purpose) flour is best here. I haven't tried making these gluten-free.
Ground almonds: Essential for the right texture. I believe that in the US it would be called almond flour rather than ground almonds. Ground hazelnuts would also work.
Brown sugar: Either light or dark brown sugar is fine.
Spices: Lebkuchen are made with Lebkuchengewürz, which is a blend of spices. It is hard to get hold of in the UK, so I've just used individual spices instead - cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, cardamom and coriander.
Baking powder and soda: Use both for the right texture. They are not interchangeable.
Orange zest: Optional but the finely grated zest of an orange or lemon really adds to the flavour.
Milk: Any kind of non dairy milk will work (except tinned coconut). I use soy.
How To Make Vegan Lebkuchen:
(Full measurements and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the page)
Place the golden syrup, treacle, vegan butter and brown sugar in a pan. Heat gently until melted.
Remove from the heat and whisk in the ground almonds, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt, milk, orange zest and spices.
Add the flour and stir to form a soft, sticky dough.
Scrape into a bowl, cover and refrigerate for at least a couple of hours, until the dough is firm.
Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface to 6-10mm thick, depending on how thick you want your lebkuchen to be.
Use cutters to cut out as many cookies as possible. Place them spaced apart on a couple of lined baking sheets.
Bake the lebkuchen for 10-15 minutes until they are lightly browned around the edges and the suface of the cookies no longer looks wet.
Top Tips:
As with all of my baking recipes I really do recommend using the metric measurements with a digital scale rather than the cup conversions. Cups are a wildly inaccurate measuring system and you will get far better, more consistent results using a scale, not to mention that it is also easier and less messy than cups!
Be careful not to overbake the lebkuchen or they will be crunchy rather than soft and chewy.
These are cakey cookies so stick to simple shaped cutters such as stars, hearts and circles.
The dough needs to chill for at least a couple of hours before you roll it out so make sure that you start making these vegan lebkuchen early enough in the day. Alternatively, the dough can be stored, covered, in the fridge for a couple of days.
Rather than rolling out the dough, you can pinch small pieces off (about a tablespoon) and roll them into balls. Place them spaced apart on a couple of lined baking sheets and flatten them slightly then bake as per the recipe.
You can use coconut oil instead of vegan butter but the dough may become more firm when chilled. If it gets too firm to roll out, let it sit out at room temperature for a bit before rolling.
Make sure that you accurately weigh out the golden syrup and treacle otherwise your cookies may spread too much. Even a difference of a few grams can affect the texture of the dough.
As all ovens vary and the bake time will be different depending on the size of your cookie cutters and whether you want soft or crunchy cookies, I suggest baking a couple of test cookies first to figure out the perfect bake time for you.
If you want shiny chocolate then you will need to temper it. I don't bother because it's a faff and is difficult to do with small quantities of chocolate. (And I'm really bad at it!).
You can swap the lemon juice in the glaze for a mixture of rum and water if you like.
How To Store Vegan Lebkuchen:
The cookies will keep for 2-3 weeks stored in an airtight container. Separate them with layers of greaseproof paper and make sure that the glaze is completely dry first!
Can I Freeze The Dough?:
Yes, provided it is well wrapped the dough can be frozen for up to 3 months. Let it defrost overnight in the fridge then bring it up to room temperature for a bit before rolling it out.
How Long Will The Dough Keep In The Fridge?:
Once you have prepared the dough, place it in a silicone bag or wrap in clingfilm and store it in the fridge for up to three days. You might need to let it come up to room temperature for a bit before rolling it out.
More Vegan Christmas Cookies:
- Vegan vanillekipferl
- Vegan chocolate pistachio biscotti
- Vegan gingerbread biscotti
- Vegan biscotti with almonds and cranberries
- Vegan chocolate orange shortbread
- Vegan cranberry orange shortbread
- Vegan pecan snowball cookies
- Vegan nussecken
- Vegan linzer cookies
- Vegan shortbread fingers
- Vegan gingerbread cookies
If you tried this recipe let me know how it went! Rate it, leave a comment or tag @domestic_gothess on Instagram and hashtag it #domesticgothess
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Vegan Lebkuchen
Ingredients
Dough:
- 100 g (4 ½ Tablespoons) golden syrup
- 100 g (4 ½ Tablespoons) treacle
- 90 g (⅓ cup + 1 Tablespoon) vegan block butter (NOT the spreadable kind. I use Naturli Vegan Block)
- 50 g (¼ cup) brown sugar
- 100 g (1 cup) ground almonds
- 2 Tablespoons non dairy milk
- finely grated zest of 1 orange or lemon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ¼ teaspoon ground coriander
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 250 g (2 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
To Glaze:
- 150 g icing (powdered) sugar sifted
- 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
- 150 g dark chocolate melted (ideally tempered)
Instructions
- Place the golden syrup, treacle, vegan butter and brown sugar in a pan. Heat gently until melted.
- Remove from the heat and whisk in the ground almonds, milk, orange zest, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, nutmeg, cloves, cardamom, coriander and salt.
- Add the flour and stir to form a soft, sticky dough.
- Scrape into a bowl and cover, or wrap the dough in baking parchment, and refrigerate for at least a couple of hours, ideally overnight, until the dough is firm.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/350°F/ gas mark 4. Line two baking sheets with baking parchment.
- Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface to 6-10mm thick, depending on how thick you want your lebkuchen to be. (Mine were about 7-8mm).
- Use cutters to cut out as many cookies as possible. Place them well spaced apart on the baking sheets. Bring together the scraps of dough, re-roll and cut out more cookies.
- Bake the lebkuchen for 10-15 minutes until they are lightly browned around the edges and the suface of the cookies no longer looks wet.
- Allow to cool on the trays for a few minutes, then carefully transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Once the lebkuchen have cooled, place the sifted icing sugar in a small bowl and stir in the lemon juice to form a runny glaze.
- Dip the tops of the lebkuchen in the glaze or in melted chocolate, then place them on a wire rack until set. Once set store in an airtight container at room temperature.
Notes
- See post above for tips, details and step-by-step photos.
- As with all of my baking recipes I really do recommend using the metric measurements with a digital scale rather than the cup conversions. Cups are a wildly inaccurate measuring system and you will get far better, more consistent results using a scale, not to mention that it is also easier and less messy than cups!
Petra
This looks fab, can I replace treacle with molasses or honey pls?
Hannah
Hi Petra, yes, either will work.
Kathy Pickles
Lovely, easy recipe with precise instructions. I would highly recommend these to anyone, vegan or not. I covered mine in chocolate to send as a gift but the remaining unchocolated ones were almost as good. I may make another batch just for myself and my husband.
Pippa
You never disappoint with your recipes! Made a double batch with my 13yr old son, hoped they'd last til christmas and sent some to my brother who recently moved to a remote area, I will have to make more. They are delicious,I did find the dough tricky as it warmed up even though id chilled overnight, but it re rolled just fine and there's no evidence of being overworked. This recipes a keeper and we will make every year now, thank you for sharing.
Lena Krupinsky
Hi, if I make these How many biscuits should it make ? They look lovely !
Hannah
Hi Lena, it makes around 30.
Lena Krupinsky
Thanks Hannah , I'm making them second time now ! I used Gluten Free Flour as my daughter is sensitive to wheat . I used to get Sarah the shop ones but now she has problems with certain ingredients your recipe is a Godsend ! Means that she can still have treats at Christmas Time.ManyThanks! Wonderful recipe and we love your icecreams also✨
leona kadir
Why is the type of butter so important when it’s being melted?
Hannah
Hi Leona, because of the fat content; spreadable butters have a lower fat content than the block varities and using one may make the dough too soft to roll out once it is chilled.
Hannah
Could you use a mixed spice instead of buying all the separate spices?
Eager to try these
Hannah
Hi Hannah, yes that will be fine.
Jenni
Could you make these without using the ground almonds? Or substituting them for something less nutty?
Hannah
Hi Jenni, I haven't tested them without the almonds and they really do contribute to the texture but you could try using an extra 80g of flour instead. Again, I haven't tested this so can't say for sure how it will turn out. I do also have a gingerbread cookies recipe that is nut free: https://domesticgothess.com/blog/2019/12/19/vegan-gingerbread-cookies/
Laura Harris
Made these at Christmas and they went down a storm. I love Lebkuchen and haven't found any that are vegan, happy I can now make some. I dipped some in dark chocolate, dipped some in icing and drizzled some with dark chocolate on top of the white icing which looked nice .
Georgie
These look great! Does the recipe use five whole or ground cloves? Thanks
Hannah
Hi Georgie, it's 1/4 teaspoon of ground cloves.
Keo
I love this recipe! I subbed treacle with molasses and chose orange for the zest. I debated using almond flour but ended up grinding some roasted unsalted almonds and I believe it added to the flavour. The spice blend is absolutely PERFECT! I'd give an extra 5 starts for the lebkuchen spice recipe alone. The only change I made was leaving out the Allspice simply because I didn't have any. I baked my first round for 15 mins and they came out firmer and crunchy at the border. (They lost the crunch being stored at room temp overnight). The 2nd round I baked for 10 mins and they were so soft, I prefer a softer cookie. They're almost all gone in 24 hrs, will remake and gift for Christmas.
Scott Grenerth
This recipe nailed it!!!
I grew up LOOOOVING lebkuchen made by my grandmother, aunt and later my cousin, but of course it wasn't vegan. I've wanted to figure out how to make it vegan for way too many years. The *FIRST* time I made this recipe (with minor adjustments to make it lower in carbs) it was ah-maz-ing. I took some to my mom who said "these are better than any that your grandmother made." It's that dang goooooood!
Thank you!
Thank you!
Scott G
Solveig
Top recipe - easy to make and delicious! Thank you. I painted the icing on with a pastry brush for a thin translucent layer.
Renee
Hi, I want to try making these in advance as Christmas gifts, sealing them in bags with a cute ribbon! How long would they last, do you know?
Hannah
Hi Renee, I think they should keep for 2-3 weeks.
Keo
I love this recipe! I subbed treacle with molasses and chose orange for the zest. I debated using almond flour but ended up grinding some roasted unsalted almonds and I believe it added to the flavour. The spice blend is absolutely PERFECT! I'd give an extra 5 starts for the lebkuchen spice recipe alone. The only change I made was leaving out the Allspice simply because I didn't have any. I baked my first round for 15 mins and they came out firmer and crunchy at the border. (They lost the crunch being stored at room temp overnight). The 2nd round I baked for 10 mins and they were so soft, I prefer a softer cookie. They're almost all gone in 24 hrs, will remake and gift for Christmas.
Ruth R
I made this for my solstice party a few days ago. I can’t eat gluten and my friends are gluten free so it’s hard to find sweet treats that we can all eat. This was perfect. I substituted the flour with Dove’s Farm gluten free all purpose flour and it worked really well. Everyone loved the biscuits. They were delicious. Will become one of my winter staples I think. I also used half golden syrup and half maple syrup as I didn’t want to buy treacle as well.