Lebkuchen Recipes

Hi Folks, my local store has at long last gotten in the ingredients for making the Stollen recipe that Harry has shared with us.  I will be making it within the next 2 weeks.

At the risk of sounding greedy, does anyone have any reliable Lebkuchen recipes?  For those not familiar with Lebkuchen please see what Wikipedia says on the matter..

Lebkuchen is a traditional German Christmas baking good, somewhat like soft gingerbread, which was probably invented by Medieval monks in Franconia, Germany in the 13th century. Lebkuchen bakers were recorded as early as 1296 in Ulm, and 1395 in Nuremberg, the latter being the most famous exporter today, known as Nürnberger Lebkuchen (Nuremberg Lebkuchen).

Historically, and due to ingredients, Lebkuchen is also known as honey cake (Honigkuchen, de:Honigkuchen) or pepper cake (Pfefferkuchen, de:Pfefferkuchen). Sometimes Lebkuchen is packaged in richly decorated nostalgic tins and boxes which have become collectors' items. Lebkuchen range in taste from spicy to sweet and come in a variety of shapes with round being the most common. The ingredients usually include honey, spices and nuts, almonds or candied fruit. Salt of Hartshorn and Potash are often used for raising the dough. Lebkuchen dough is usually placed on a thin wafer base called Oblate. This was an idea of the monks who used communion wafers to prevent the dough from sticking. Honey cakes were also worn as a talisman in battle or as protection against evil spirits. Folk etymology often associates it with Leben (life), Leib (body) or Leibspeise (favorite food).

Many people in Germany seem to think that eating it is a good cure for winter depression.

I love that last line.  Just think of it, eat Lebkuchen for mental health.  I love it.  8-)