Baking for Beginners: Lebkuchen

I have a bit of a (well deserved) reputation for leaving things to the last minute. For example, when I was at University, I was always the person who pulled all nighters to write an essay due in for 9.00am the next morning. I always pay my bills on the last possible date before they send people round to break my legs. And when it comes to Christmas shopping...well, let's just say it's not been unknown for me to do it all at 3.00pm on Christmas Eve whilst in the throes of a cracking hangover.

So, it's as much of a shock to me as it is to all of my nearest and dearest that I actually managed to get all of my Christmas shopping done this year by the 19th. This is no small part due to the wonders of Mr. Internet. Oh lovely Amazon.com, if you were a real life person I'd kiss your face. So instead of spending tomorrow running around Liverpool in a blind panic wondering what on earth I can purchase for my Shirley Bassey obsessed father, I'm going to spend it doing what I do best. Namely, baking.

If you - like me - are going to be spending most of tomorrow in the kitchen, I can think of no better treat to whip up for your own consumption than these delicious Lebkuchen. Choc-full of sugar, spice and everything nice, they make everything they come into contact with smell of Christmas. Add a coating of deliciously zingy lemon icing, and you've got a delicious biscuity-cakey-gingerbread-resembling- festive treat. If you can restrict yourself to only eating one of these bad boys then you're a better person than me! (Mainly because I managed to eat five of these in one sitting the other evening whilst watching 30Rock. Ooops!)

LEBKUCHEN (Makes around 15 large cookies)

You will need:

250g plain flour

85g ground almonds

2 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

pinch each of ground cloves, grated nutmeg and black pepper

200ml clear honey

85g butter

The finely grated zest of a lemon

For the Icing

100g icing sugar

1 egg white, beaten

Juice of a lemon

Equipment

A rolling pin

A large baking sheet

Cookie Cutters (whatever shape you have avaliable - I chose hearts!)

MAKE IT!

Tip the dry ingredients into a large bowl. Heat the honey and butter in a pan over a low heat until the butter melts, then pour into the flour mixture along with the lemon zest. Mix well until the dough is combined and fairly solid. Cover and leave to cool.

Heat oven to 180C/fan160C/gas 4. Using your hands, roll dough into about 15 balls, each 3cm wide, then flatten each one slightly into a disk. Divide the biscuits between two baking trays lined with baking parchment, leaving room for them to expand. Bake for 15 mins, then cool on a wire rack.

To ice the biscuits, mix together the icing sugar, egg white and lemon juice to form a smooth, runny icing. Dip the top of each biscuit in the icing and spread with the back of a knife. Leave to dry out in a warm place.

Gobble in front of "It's a Wonderful Life". Merry Christmas!