How to Bake Traditional Lebkuchen Biscuits

Ingredients

* 90g unsalted butter

* 70ml runny honey

* 100ml black treacle

* 30g dark muscovado sugar

* Zest of 1 lemon and 1 orange

* 250g self-raising flour

* 1tbsp cocoa

* Pinch of salt

* 2tsp ground ginger

* 1tsp cinnamon

* ½ tsp allspice

* ½ tsp nutmeg

* ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda

* 60g ground almonds

* 1 egg yolk

Equipment

* Saucepan

* Wooden Spoon

* Sieve

* Mixing Bowl

* Rolling Pin

* Cookie Cutters

* Baking Tray

* Greaseproof Paper

* Cooling Rack

* No.2 Piping Tip

* Piping Bag

Preheat oven to 180°C/160°C fan/Gas 4.

Put the butter and honey in a saucepan with the treacle, sugar and zest. Place over a low heat, stirring occasionally until melted. Cool for 10 minutes.

While still warm, sift in the flour, cocoa, spices, bicarbonate of soda and salt. Stir in the almonds and egg yolk and mix to form a dough.

Gently knead the dough until smooth – it should be warm, soft and greasy. Line 2 baking trays with non-stick baking paper.

Roll out the dough approximately 5mm thick and stamp out star shapes with the cutters. Bake for 10-12 minutes until firm and lightly browned.

Leave the Lebkuchen on the trays for 10 minutes to firm up before transferring them to a cooling rack. Let cool completely before decorating.

Fit a piping bag with a No.2 piping tip and spoon in some royal icing.

Find the centre point of each biscuit and pipe 5 straight lines from the centre to the end of each star point. Pipe shorter lines, swirls and dots to decorate them like snowflakes.

Your traditional lebkuchen biscuits are now finished!