Germany’s Favorite Holiday Treat Has Finally Arrived in New York
I first discovered the joys of lebkuchen while staying with friends in Bavaria—we were on a shooting weekend during the winter months, and while I wasn't allowed to actually shoot anything, I was certainly encouraged to partake in the delights of the pre- and post-outing snacks. One in particular caught my eye: oversized, glazed, with nuts on top and a edible wafer on the bottom, lebkuchen are most often referred to as a gingerbread (and though they sort of taste like that, they're just really so superior), but to me it looked like the perfect cold-weather cookie. A nibble later, I was convinced.
Lebkuchen have been famous in Germany (specifically Nuremberg) since around 1300, and their soft, cakey, gently spiced flavor has pleased Teutonic holiday crowds ever since, generally making a mockery of your average rock-hard American candy-house-foundation gingerbread, or lebkuchen-branded but ultimately lightweight supermarket imitations.
As I find myself less in Bavaria these days than I'd like, I sort of assumed my lebkuchen days had passed me by. Which is why I was beyond thrilled to discover Leckerlee, a New York based lebkuchen-only bakery selling beautifully decorated collect-em-all tins of my long-lost holiday cookies at New York's Union square holiday market (and once I found the website, also at various retail locations across the country). Do I exaggerate when I say that I was suddenly overcome by a warm sense of self-satisfaction that only comes when you realize you have sorted out half your Christmas shopping and certainly every holiday party hostess gift? Reader, I do not.
And lest you think this is the product of some random pastry arriviste, here to carpetbag a beloved European tradition, Leckerlee founder Sandy Lee (the company’s name is a play on the German words for delicious and her surname) comes by it honestly: Lee spent nearly 3 years in Berlin, where she became obsessed with the treat and with perfecting her recipe while endeavoring to keep it as authentic as possible. (Lee bakes all of her lebkuchen by hand in small batches in New York, and only during the traditional winter season—she made an incredibly endearing Youtube video detailing the process.)
"Leckerlee specializes in the original Nuremberg-style lebkuchen, the crème de la crème of gingerbread, distinguished by its high nut content, minimal wheat flour, marzipan, premium spices, candied citron and orange peel, and a signature 'oblate' wafer (it’s edible!) on the bottom," reads the company's website, which goes on to recommend an approach for judging your gingerbreads: "Nuremberg lebkuchen must contain a minimum of 25 percent nuts (and less than 10 percent wheat flour). The finest artisanal lebkuchen bakeries in Nuremberg boast close to 40 percent nut content, and so does Leckerlee." So there you have it. Go try some for yourself: Seasonally-printed holiday tins come with 7 mini lebkuchen or 6 large ones, and you can opt for either the regular glazed flavor or the chocolate dipped. Take my advice and go for both. Then get a few tins for friends, so you don't have to share yours.
