Unicorn (Unicorn@Indenial.com)
Wed, 02 Dec 1998 16:48:53 -0500
Reader Ruth Hahn sent us the following joke, an illustration of "bad
taste": Two cannibals are sitting around a fire, watching their dinner
cooking in a large pot. One says to the other, "You know, I never did
like my mother-in-law." The second cannibal responds, "O.K. so just
eat the vegetables."
These have molasses in them instead of honey or brown sugar, and were
truly baked in the old-fashioned German way. The dough, which had to
sit for 3 weeks in a cool basement, was made early in December so the
cookies would be ready by the Christmas holidays. They are still
great if you don't have the full 3 weeks. But the flavors really have
time to marry this way and they have such a wonderful flavor.
Braune Lebkuchen (Brown Christmas Cookies)
3 lbs (1350 g) Flour (about 6 cups, 1.5 L)
1 lb (450 g) sugar (about 2 cups, 500 ml)
1+1/2 lb (675 g) molasses (about 3 cups, 750 ml)
5 oz (140 g) Butter
5 oz (140 g) Lard or shortening
2 oz (60 g) candied orange peel
1/4 oz (7 g) baking powder
1 cup (250 ml) rose water (or 1 cup water)
1/2 oz (15 g) Cloves
1/2 oz (15 g) Cinnamon
1 grated lemon rind
1 cup (250 ml) almonds, blanched and split in halves
It is better to take again as much butter and lard. Cook molasses and
sugar for a little. Let cool. Stir everything else in. Then add
flour. Leave dough stand for three weeks. Roll out fairly thin, cut
into rectangles 1and a half inches by 3 inches (4 x 8 cm) with a
fluted cutting wheel, or just a knife. Brush with beaten egg to make
them glossy, decorate each with 1/2 slice of almond, and bake for
about 10 minutes. This recipe makes lots of cookies, but they keep
well if kept in a tightly covered tin or in the Freezer.
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.0b3 on Fri Dec 11 1998 - 11:13:36 EST