Skip to main content
Epicurious
Cookbooks

Lebkuchen Spice Mix (Lebkuchengewurz)

By Luisa Weiss
Image may contain Plant Spice Food Produce and Vegetable
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Astrid Chastka, Food Styling by Katherine Sacks

Every autumn, German grocery stores start stocking specialty items just for the Christmas baking season. Little cardboard display cases are set out that are fully stocked with bars of baking chocolate, packets of potash and baker’s ammonia, candied citron and orange peel, vials of flavor extracts, and spices like anise and cardamom, as well as spice mixtures for Stollen and Lebkuchen. When January rolls around, the picked-over stands are packed up and put away again. It’s one of those cultural rituals I am very fond of.

I like to make a batch of this in early fall so that I’m ready for the baking season. The mixture below is a great all-purpose one. But you can also tinker with the amounts if you want to highlight one flavor or another. Use it in Christmas Glazed Apple Cake, cinnamon rolls, or substitute it wherever you’d use Pumpkin Spice mix.

Cooks' Note

If mace is unavailable, substitute an equal amount of ground nutmeg.

See Related Recipes and Cooking Tips

Read More
Palets Bretons
Palets bretons are oversize cookies that feature butter, and because they’re from Brittany, they’re traditionally made with beurre salé, salted butter.
Île Flottante
Originally called omelette à la neige (snow omelet) in reference to the fluffy snow-like appearance of the meringue, île flottante (floating island) has a lengthy history that dates back to the 17th century.
Homemade Whipped Cream
Fluffier, fresher, and fancier than anything from a tub or can.
Béchamel Sauce
This classic 15-minute sauce is your secret weapon for homemade mac and cheese, chowder, lasagna, and more.
Not-So-Secret Burger Sauce
Every sauce needs a few secrets. Ours is smoky, sweet, and savory—use it for burgers, fries, tenders, and more.
Charred Vegetable Ragù
This sauce is slightly magical. The texture cloaks pasta much like a traditional meat sauce does, and the flavors are deep and rich, but it’s actually vegan!
Mississippi Mud Cake
This cake was created from thrift and was supposedly named after its appearance, which reminded people of the muddy Mississippi River bottom.
Grape Dumplings
Native American people made these with cornmeal dumplings, simmering them with wild grapes, which were harvested at their peak sweetness.