THE essential ingredient to authentic tasting Lebkuchen, Pfeffernusse and more, absolutely NOTHING compares to the bold and vibrant flavors of homemade Lebkuchengewurz! This German gingerbread spice mix will make you think you’re walking the streets of one of Germany’s famous Christmas markets!
Many of you will have no idea what this is. Others of you will be cheering because you know exactly what it is and what it’s for.
Lebkuchen Gewürz is a German gingerbread spice blend with an exceptionally beautiful depth and complexity of flavor. It’s unrivaled by anything comparable. Lebkuchengewurz an essential ingredient for a variety of German baked goods during the Christmas season, most notably Lebkuchen and Pfeffernüsse.
For those of you who are familiar Lebkuchengewurz and live outside of Germany or western Europe, you’ll know how nearly impossible it is to find it. And if you do, it’s expensive. Amazon carries this one and this one. They’re expensive and I don’t know how good the quality or flavor is. But if you prefer the convenience of store-bought, those are options.
BUT, if you want a cheaper option (if you use the spices in your cooking anyway) AND, most importantly, a superior flavor (if you buy whole spices and grind them yourself), this recipe is for you!
Now, I know what you may be thinking: I don’t want to buy all of those spices just to make this Lebkuchen-Gewürz and then the rest goes to waste!
NOT TRUE!
Most of these spices have sooooo many different uses for a wide variety of cuisines. For example, I can think of one cuisine that regularly uses every single one of these spices: Indian.
Need some great Indian recipes? I’ve got you covered! Some Great Indian Recipes.
And of course you’re not just limited to Indian food, these spices are super duper versatile. Just type in their names one at a time into the search box above or Google them and see what you find!
Some of these spices you can find in your local grocery stores but many you won’t. Most good health food stores will though. And again, if at all possible go for the whole spices so you can grind your own for better flavor.
If you don’t have a well-stocked health store nearby, Amazon is a great place to find all of these spices and at a reasonable cost. Here’s what you’ll need (and don’t cut corners and leave anything out because each of these spices plays an important role). You can buy pre-ground but I always buy whole spices and grind them myself in a coffee/spice grinder for a far superior flavor for any dish I’m making.
Whether using pre-ground or grinding your own as pictured below in a coffee/spice grinder, you simply combine the ingredients together.
Keep the Lebkuchengewürz stored in an airtight container in a cool, dark place and it will keep for up to a year.
For best flavor though, only make what you need for a period of a week or two because the flavors will dissipate over time.
That’s it!
Your Lebkuchengewürz is ready to use. And I’m going to be sharing some authentic German recipes with you shortly that will allow you to put this magical spice blend to good use!
Authentic Lebkuchengewürz (German Gingerbread Spice)
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon ground green cardamom
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground star anise
- 1/4 teaspoon ground mace
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Instructions
- Combine the spices together and store in an airtight jar in a cool, dark place for up to one year.
- For superior flavor results, grind these spices from toasted and freshly ground whole spices. Simply heat a dry skillet over medium heat and toast the spices in it until very fragrant. Be careful not to scorch the spices or they will become bitter. Using the freshly ground blend within a few days is optimal.
Dana Chiu says
This is very good! I used in a soft gingerbread cookie recipe from smalltownwoman to try to replicate a local bakery’s gingerbread cookie bar that my SIL loves. They turned out very well! The only adjustment I made is I used 1/2 t. ground anise seed instead of the star anise.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Wonderful, Dana, so glad you enjoyed it, thank you!
Angelina S. says
Hey, I read both this article and the one on British mixed spice mix. Wondered if you can shed any light on this spice mix my aunt bought in England that has a list of spices in French, that looks similar to both the Lebkuckengewuerz here and the British mixed spice: Cinnamon, ginger, coriander, anis, cloves, star anise, nutmeg, pepper. I thought at first this was just a pumpkin spice, but now I’m wondering if there’s a French equivalent to British mixed spice? TIA.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Angelina, other than quatre épices which only contains four spices I’m not sure if there is a ready-made spice blend, like a French gingerbread spice blend per say. There’s the traditional recipe, pain d’épices, that is made with a combination of spices like a gingerbread spice blend, but I’ve never seen those spices sold as a blend in a packet.
Andy says
Being from England, the mixed spice combination my family have used for many years:
3 measure ground cinnamon *
3 measure ground nutmeg
2 measures ground mace **
1 measure ground cloves
1 measure ground coriander
1 measure ground Ginger
* Cinnamon – it must be ‘true’ cinnamon’, or ‘Ceylon’ cinnamon. If you have Cassia, which I understand is the type of cinnamon usually sold in the USA, please do not use it. Cassia is a cheap imitation, very bland and apparently highly toxic in comparison.
** If mace is not available add another measure of nutmeg – Mace is the dried waxy coating of nutmeg and has a similar, but milder taste to nutmeg.
I love experimenting with herbs and spices, so have tried this mix and adding other ingredients.
My favorite extra so far has been a measure of chocolate mint (home grown as I cannot find any for sale on the internet).
Renate Winter says
I have been using your wonderful recipe for the last 3 years. I’m selling these Elise Lebkuchen at our winter market and get a lot of appreciation, excitement and happy smiles. Just want to say thank you, your recipe is simply the finest! I’m just getting ready for the first batch of this season.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Fantastic, Renate, that’s wonderful, thank you!
Keith A Breedlove says
I got a really good lebkuchen recipe from a German friend and used this recipe for the lebkuchengewurz (lebkuchen spice), using mostly pre-ground spices. I think that fresh ground will make a more flavorful lebkuchen. The lebkuchen recipe used about 2/3 of the spice mixture. What to do with the leftover? It goes nicely with coffee, although you’ll have to experiment with quantities because too much can be overpowering (unless you drink Starbucks or other “Seattle-style” scorched-bean coffees).
Justin says
Hi Kimberly, I’ve made this for the past two years and love it in my Pfeffernüsse, peppernut, an gingerbread.
This year I used Ceylon Cinnamon and like the flavor much better since it doesn’t overpower everything else. I aslo use anise seed instead of star anise for the same reason. From a lot of my research, anise seed would have been more traditional to Europe as imported star anise would be expensive.I also added a half teaspoon of fennel.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thanks, Justin! Even anise seed would have come with a high price tag because it had to be imported from the Mediterranean. While the nobility used exotic spices on a regular basis at least the Middle Ages, for the less privileged classes most of these spices would have been far rarer treats.
Kathryn McMorrow says
Kimberly, your ingredients say cinnamon stick. Would you recommend the Ceylon cinnamon (cinnamomum verum)
or the Chinese cassia (cinnamomum cassia)? Sticks of true cinnamon (cinnamomum verum) arr easier to grind in a average coffee grinder, like a Krups, by first crumbling it a bit in your hand and putting the piecesin the grinder. But Chinese, and Vietnamese (“Saigon” cinnamon) stick cinnamon is impossible to crunch in hand, so you’d need to smash it with a heavy tool, like a hammer, and even then, it might be difficult to pulverize in a coffee grinder. I finally broke my Braun coffee grinder by regularly grinding whole cloves in it, but my Krups grinder is now picking up the job where the Braun left off. (The Braun grinder was an older purchase) But I use both kinds of cinnamon often, as they both have different attributes. Just a heads up on grinding the cassia sticks, It is not very easy.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
That’s a good point, Kathryn, thanks for those insights. I’ve never had a problem grinding them in my Krups grinder but off-hand I’m also not sure which kind of cinnamon sticks I have, I’ll have to take a look. In the meantime I would just say, use which ever ones your grinder has the capacity to grind!
Molly says
Kimberly, when you grind the cardamom do you use the whole pod, or do you just use the seeds inside? Can’t wait to try this!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Molly, you use just the seeds inside and grind those.
Laurie Hawkins says
I love lebkhuchen cookies from the store….m now I can make them at home
Carol Kroeger says
I am SO happy to have found your recipe for Lebkuchen and the lebkuchengewuerz. My German mother-in-law (from Nuremberg) used to make these every year at Christmas. She became ill and passed away before she could teach me how to make these. My brother-in-law found her recipe (in German) and translated it, but several ingredients and most of the directions were missing (no spices listed and only half the nuts). I’ve experimented over the years, and have something approximating her delicious cookies, but I’ve been totally guessing on the spices. One of the few things I was sure about, was that Oma’s recipe was gluten free, and every other recipe I’ve seen for Lebkuchen has flour in it. Thank you, thank you, thank you for posting these recipes – I will be baking them as soon as the Back Oblaten arrive!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Wonderful, Carol! Please let us know what you think once you’ve tried them!
Laurie says
Step two for the spice mixture suggests that for superior flavor one should grind the spices from toasted and freshly ground whole spices.
I can find no instruction for toasting the spices.
So I am wondering if you might give the oven temperature and the toasting time.
I plan on making this type of Lebkuchen this year.
Thank you ever so much!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Laurie, sorry for not providing clarification. To toast the spices you just need to heat a dry skillet over medium heat, add the whole spices and toast them until they’re very fragrant. Be careful not to scorch the spices or they will become bitter.
Kim Cochran says
Thanks so much for answering so soon. I will def try my hand at this recipe when I get some almond meal or grind my own I have some almonds..thanks again.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
You bet, Kim, let us know how it turns out!
Gudrun says
Bob’s Red Mill sells almond meal and flour. It freezes well, too. Just go to their website directly. I use for marzipan,
kim says
Hello. Ive never been to Germany. I bought some pefferneuse at a grocery store here that imports sometimes at the holiday. FELL IN LOVE. Buy them whenever I see them. Tried like mad to find a recipe 2yrs ago..Researched. Found one. Spent money I couldn’t afford to buy to make these..including the chilling the dough 24hr(don’t think was your recipe) Epic fail. They were too doughy and melty and didn’t cook but spread. I ate all that mess. But they were supp to be gifts. Last yr the store didn’t import any I was depressed. I wrote the store. They said would have this yr. Just found some. Bags and cookies are smaller but still same. Nothing like them in the world tho they are a bit stale. No doubt I would flip over fresh ones. However I decided to research this again. Led me to this. Looked up the lebkuchengewurz..amazon out of stock. SO I looked at the ingredients..it lists ”pimento”. It is only dawning on me this second could this be pepper? This was my question cause you didn’t mention pimento..and I was thinking red pepper pimento what the heck and knew it had to mean something else? Also in my prev yrs research I noticed some recipes have orange added–some brandy(which I tried-and I don’t drink). I passed up the ones w orange added but now I wonder if these cookies do seem to have a citrus backnote. It is winternacht pefferneuse to which I refer. But one thing I had not recognized before was almond meal..but yourpics look exactly like the little cookies that drive me wild. SO. I have cardamom but it is ground and I have whole allspice, whole nutmeg, and well all these spices as they are my fav spices. What do you say is def have to for the recipe besides this spice mix? thank you
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Kim, here is a very authentic recipe for traditional Pfeffernüsse: https://www.daringgourmet.com/pfeffernuesse-german-iced-gingerbread-cookies/. Yes, almond meal is traditionally included for both flavor and texture. There’s no citrus is traditional Pfeffernüsse, there is however citrus in Nürnberger Elisenlebkuchen (which, like Pfeffernüsse, is another type of Lebkuchen): https://www.daringgourmet.com/traditional-nuernberger-elisenlebkuchen-german-lebkuchen/. The “piment” is German for allspice, so it sounds like you’re all set go. Happy baking! :)
Deborah Darnell says
I did 3 yrs in Nurnberg Germany in the US Army and I loved the Lebkucken so much I purchased many german cookbooks that were translated to english and I do have the recipie packed cuz I’m moving soon. to everyone out there if you ever have a chance to go to germany you must. They have a Christmas store you can purchase wooden handmade ornaments all yr long. Plus it is just a beautiful place to see!!!
I’m going to make this spice a lot. However, I must tell you that the Grmans say the longer you keep the cookies the more the spice gets into the cookie and makes them taste better.
Matt says
I like a stronger ginger taste to my Pfeffernüsse so I doubled the ginger, I also couldn’t get Mace where I am so I substituted it with All Spice.
It a good easy recipe to follow same with Pfeffernüsse one.
I do hate it when people give things 5 stars because they think the recipe looks good but never make it. Comment sure no problem but don’t give it stars if you haven’t made it.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thanks, Matt, I’m so glad you enjoyed them!