Elisenlebkuchen

Elisenlebkuchen (transl. Elisen-gingerbread) are typical German biscuits originating from the city Nürnberg.
Elisenlebkuchen belong to my favourite christmas biscuits. They cannot miss on my christmas plate. They are easy to make, you only have to note that the dough has to rest overnight in a cool place before you bake the biscuits.

Ingredients   for 40 – 50 biscuits

3 eggs (medium)
200 g sugar
1 package
(10 -15 g) Lebkuchengewürz (Gingerbread spices)
100 g ground almonds
100 g ground hazelnuts
4 drops bitter almond oil
grated lemon peel
100 g walnuts
100 g candied orange peel
100 g candied lemon peel
40 – 50 baking wafers 5 cm Ø

For decoration
250 g chocolate coating (70 %)

icing sugar
lemon juice
almonds, dried cranberries, pistachios, sugar pearls

Beat eggs and sugar until fluffy. Add the gingerbread spices, ground nuts, bitter almond oil and lemon peel. Chop walnuts, candied orange and lemon peel. Add all to the foam mass. Cover the dough and let it rest in the fridge overnight.

Preheat the oven to 160°C.
Put some dough on the baking wafers with 2 teaspoons. Bake the biscuits for 25 – 30 minutes.

For the decoration, melt the chocolate coating in a double boiler. Cover half of the biscuits with chocolate and decorate them with almonds or sugar pearls. Mix icing sugar with lemon juice and cover the rest of the biscuits. Decorate them as well.

If you don’t cover the biscuits they will dry out.