Chocolate Dipped Spiced Cookies (German Lebkuchen)

These chocolate lebkuchen cookies are made with warming spices and dipped in chocolate to make them an extra special treat during the festive holiday season. They only take 10 minutes to bake and store well for the perfect edible gift. The history of German Lebkuchen, a traditional Christmas cookie, is rich and can be made with a variety of ingredients, including honey, flour, sugar, eggs, nuts, candied fruit and spices like cinnamon, cloves, anise, cardamom, coriander, ginger and mace.

In the 13th century, monks in the Franconian monasteries of Germany are believed to have invented Lebkuchen. The monks combined honey, spices and breadcrumbs to create the dough. Bakers would store the dough in a cool place for a few weeks to allow it to naturally ferment. This process created air bubbles that improved the quality of the bread. Nuremberg became the world capital of Lebkuchen and is the most famous exporter of the product today. Lebkuchen is also known as "honey cake" (Honigkuchen) or "pepper cake" (Pfefferkuchen).

Machine production of Lebkuchen began in 1867. The tradition of making decorated gingerbread houses began in Germany in the early 1800s. The tradition of making gingerbread continued in German-speaking communities of Pennsylvania and Maryland until the early 20th century. German Jews ate Lebkuchen for Sukkot, Rosh Hashanah and Hanukkah.

Dough:
1 cup + 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour, unbleached
¼ cup sugar
dash sea salt
⅓ cup butter, cold, cubed
3 Tbsp. water
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Topping:
¼ cup butter, softened
¼ cup sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1 Tbsp. Canola oil
⅔ cup quick-cooking oats
½ cup all-purpose flour, unbleached
⅓ cup ground almonds
⅓ cup ground hazelnuts
¼ cup baking cocoa
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
¼ tsp. ground cloves
¼ tsp. cardamom
¼ tsp. ground allspice
¼ cup candied lemon peel, finely chopped
¼ cup candied orange peel, finely chopped

Glaze:
6 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped
¼ cup butter, cubed

Preheat an oven to 325°F (165°C/140°C fan, Gas Mark 3).

In a small bowl, combine flour, sugar and salt; cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Combine water and vanilla; gradually add to crumb mixture, tossing with a fork until dough forms a ball.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/16" thickness. Cut with a floured 2½" round cookie cutter. Place on ungreased baking sheets.

Bake until set, about 8-10 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.

For the Topping:
In a small bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Beat in egg and oil. Combine the oats, flour, nuts, cocoa, baking powder and spices; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Fold in candied peels.

Drop 1 rounded tablespoon topping onto each cookie; gently press down. Place 2" apart on ungreased baking sheets.

Bake until set, about 13-16 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.

In a double-boiler, melt chocolate and butter; stir until smooth. Dip each cookie halfway into chocolate; allow excess to drip off. Place on waxed paper; let stand until set. Store in airtight containers.