Paleo Lebkuchen Gingerbread Men

These little guys had me giggling so much when I was photographing them! They are super super cute!!!

So if you don’t know what Lebkuchen is, it is a soft German gingerbread cookie. They are usually slightly crisp on the outside and gorgeously soft and doughy on the inside. You can fill them, coat them and do pretty much whatever you want with them but I couldn’t think of anything more deliciously Christmassy than some Paleo Gingerbread Men! Yup I went there and it was gloriously tasty (and fun)!

I have tried to stick as closely to a traditional recipe as possible, I don’t use pork lard or potash but it’s pretty close to the real thing. I have used rum but if you want to you can replace this with some yummy freshly squeezed orange juice.

I used the Sukrin Almond Flour that I usually use in these due to it’s reduced fat content as it is so much like ordinary flour to work with that it just makes Paleo baking a breeze.

These are so much fun to make with the kids too (if you have any that is) my daughter loved cutting the little men out!  Don’t be put off by the overnight rest as the dough itself is incredibly quick and easy to make, and because these little guys bake and cool so fast you won’t have to worry about being stuck in the kitchen in all day!

If you don’t fancy making the glaze you can always dip them in chocolate! It’s delicious!

I hope you enjoy these as much as my family did!

Makes: Roughly 30-35 large gingerbread men

Preparation Time: 1 hour (plus overnight rest for dough)

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Please note that all cup measurements used are British cups and equal to 250ml.

Ingredients:

For the Lebkuchen dough:

100g coconut sugar
3/4 cup raw honey
50g raw unsalted grass-fed butter (25g coconut oil with 25g coconut manna could also work)
200g tapioca flour
125g Sukrin almond flour
100g ground almonds
3 tsp ground cinnamon
1.5 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground cardamom
1 egg
2 tbsp rum (I used Kraken) or orange juice
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp baking powder

For the fragrant rum glaze:

1 cup Paleo Fragrant Spiced Faux Icing Sugar
1/2 tbsp to 2 tbsp of Kraken rum or orange juice (dependent upon whether you want a thin glaze or thicker)

You may even add 1/2 to 1 tbsp raw unsalted grass-fed butter to the mix and it will make a more traditional confectioner’s style glaze that you see on pastries.

For the decoration:

50g currants
Zest of 1/2 orange

Method:

1. In a small pan combine your coconut sugar, raw honey & butter. Heat on a low heat until it begins to boil. Reduce the heat and gently simmer for 5 minutes.
2. Whilst your ‘syrup’ is cooking combine your half of your tapioca flour (100g) and the rest of the flours, ground almonds and spices into your food processor.
3. Carefully pour your syrup into the flour mix and pulse a few times before processing on high speed.
4. Dissolve your bicarbonate of soda and baking soda into your rum.
5. Pour into the mix and process.
6. Next add your egg and the remaining tapioca flour and process until smooth.
7. Next you need to check the dough as it may not come together into a ball due to being too warm. To check if it is ready grab a chunk and roll between your fingers. If any dough that was stuck to you comes away easily when rolling the dough between your fingers or hand it is ready. If not leave the mix for 5 minutes, pulse and try again. If you are still having problems then you may want to add a tablespoon of tapioca flour at a tim until you get the right consistency. The dough should be sticky due to the high sugar content!
8. Remove the dough and roll into a ball. Wrap in clingfilm and leave in the fridge to rest overnight.
9. Remove the dough from the fridge, it should be a nice, tough and sturdy dough to manipulate. Divide into 4 chunks. Keep 1 chunk to use and leave the other 3 in the cling film to prevent the dough from going too dry.
10. Pre-heat your oven to 180C.
11. Lightly dust your work surface with some tapioca flour and roll the dough out to approximately 7-8mm thickness.
12. Begin to cut out your gingerbread men using your little gingerbread man cutter
13. Line a baking tray with baking parchment and place the shapes onto your tray. Place the tray into the oven and cook until they are lightly golden all over and fairly firm to the touch. This can take anywhere from 10-20 minutes depending upon your oven and the thickness of your shapes and dough!
14. Remove and leave to cool on a wire rack. Repeat the process until you have cooked all of your dough!
15. For the spiced rum glaze add your icing sugar into a bowl and if using butter thoroughly stir this in now.
16. Add a teaspoon of rum (or orange juice) at a time until you get the thickness of glaze that you desire.
17. Pour the glaze into a shallow but large bowl and begin to dip your gingerbread men in individually. Be sure to coat them all over (underside included) and use a pastry brush to get into the corners if necessary.
18. Place onto a wire rack and begin to pop your currants on for eyes and the buttons and cut your orange zest to size for the mouth. Curve it around and dab it on gently but firmly. Repeat the process until you have completed all of them.
19. Leave to dry and eat to your hearts content! Yummy scrummy in your tummy!!!

 

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