Lebkuchenherzen: German Gingerbread Hearts With Messages
Servings:
10 large hearts
Ready In:
14 hours
Calories:
N/A
Good For:
Oktoberfest
About this Recipe
Question: If you wake up the morning after Oktoberfest without a Wiesnherz around your neck, did Oktoberfest really happen?? Let’s make sure you’re not goign to face this moral dilemma! Text your Wiesn-ready friends right now to invite them over for an evening of decorating Lebkuchenherzen aka Wiesnherzen for your Oktoberfest party. Because your Dirndl and Lederhosen aren’t complete without a homemade gingerbread heart. Typically awarded by a good friend or lovebird, these hand-decorated German Gingerbread Hearts are THE WAY to someone else’s heart. There are the typical messages and saying gracefully piped on with sugar icing, such as ‘I mog di’ (Bavarian German for ‘I like you’) or Schatzi (German for ‘treasure’ or ‘darling’). And then there are the more fun ones, less usual ones, often funny ones like this one right here. ‘Sie kann kochen’ translates from German to ‘she can cook’ and is definitely going to be dirndl husband’s neck anchor for the upcoming Oktoberfest in Kansas City… whether he wants it or not! It may just end up in his mouth before the party is over. If you’re into dry humor, try phrases like ‘Ich hasse Bier’ (German for ‘I hate beer’) or ‘Depp’ (German for ‘idiot’). Whatever kind of phrase or words your mind can create, pipe it on and gift generously! I promise everyone will love these. So why waste time? Get to making these Lebkuchenherzen or Wiesnherzen ASAP. The dough comes together quickly, but then should have some time to rest overnight. This is called a curing process, and MĂŒnchen where they make these Wiesnherzen in large batches, the dough cures for several weeks (this is a cool video showing a large production Wiesnherzen bakery – it’s in German, but you’ll get the just of it)! Ain’t nobody got time for that! The Lebkuchenherzen bake quickly, the frosting is easy, but you will need to be careful that you’re not spending endless time decorating them. I may have had a little too much fun with mine! To make things go quicker, a little help from friends or kids could be useful! Scroll on down for this very time-sensitive Oktoberfest recipe (or think waaaaay ahead for Christmas time now)!
Ingredients For Lebkuchenherzen
- 13 Tbsp (200 g) butter
- 1 2/3 c (550 g) honey
- 1 1/4 c (250 g) sugar
- 1 pinch gingerbread spice (click here to make your own German gingerbread spice)
- 4 Tbsp (30 g) cocoa powder
- 10 c (1200 g) flour
- 1 pinch baking powder
- 2 eggs
- 1 pinch salt
Lebkuchenherzen Icing:
- 1 1/2 c (150 g) powdered sugar
- 1 fresh egg white
- food coloring (I like using this more natural kind)
Decorating Tools:
- Parchment Paper
- Ribbon Rose Tip
- Flower Nail (you’ll need those for your ribbon roses)
- Small Purple Flower Tip
- These Russian tips could make your life a lot easier!
- Leaf Piping Tip
- Border Piping Tip (small hearts)
- Decorating BagsÂ
- My dough seemed a bit too dry at first, but kneading it by hand will help warm it up and make it easier to roll out.
- Apart from using small cookie cutters to punch out the holes for the ribbon, you can also use a straw or the end of a chopstick.
- Traditionally hearts are what are worn for Oktoberfest, local Volksfeste and are also sold at German Christmas Markets, but beer mug shapes are also common at Oktoberfest. Feel free to cut out whatever shape you would like and have fun decorating!
- Your icing has to be pretty stiff, so it doesn’t run off! Control thickness by adding powdered sugar and water.
Lebkuchenherzen Essentials
Lebkuchenherzen Step By Step Instructions
Step 1
Heat butter, honey, sugar, cocoa powder and gingerbread spice in a pot over medium heat. As soon as it turns into a cohesive mixture, remove the pot from the stove and allow to cool.
Step 2
Sift flour and baking powder into a bowl, add salt, eggs and honey mixture and knead for about 15 minutes.Â
Step 3
Cover the dough in plastic wrap and allow to cure for half a day at room temperature (if youâre in a hurry, skip this step).Â
Step 4
Prep a couple of baking sheets with parchment paper. Using parchment paper, cut out stencils for your shapes (hearts, beer mugs, etc), and use them to cut the shapes out of your rolled out dough after rolling it out on a flour-dusted surface.Â
Step 5
Before baking, make sure you create holes with a small round cutter or the end of a straw for the ribbon to go through.Â
Step 6
Bake in a preheated oven at 200 Celsius / 390 Fahrenheit for 12 to 15 minutes.
Step 7
For the icing, combine all ingredients, then add more egg or powdered sugar to achieve a thick icing consistency.
more OkToberfest Recipes
Drink Pairing:
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I received compensation from Niche Import Co. in exchange for writing this post. Although this post is sponsored, all opinions, thoughts and recipes are my own. This post contains affiliate links, which means that I may be compensated if you click certain links.
Can i do a smaller amount on the cookies. There are just 2 of us. And i need to skip the icing. I had the cookie in Germany and bought the spice mix there. A y help in breaking it down?
I made a half recipe and ended up with 2 large hearts and 6 smaller hearts. If you made a quarter batch, you should end up with 3 large hearts or about 6 small hearts. Does this help? They’re perfect for gifting, too!