german christmas cookies "Elisenlebkuchen" (gluten free) recipe

These are my husbands favorite cookies. They are a bit tricky, but if you know what to watch out for you will be amazed!

you need (ca 80):

5 eggs
2 organic oranges
2 organic lemon
600g ground almond ( Trader Joes sells almond meal, which is perfect for this)
350g raw brown sugar
a pinch of nutmeg
2 tbs cinnamon   
a pinch of salt 
parchment paper ( or Oblaten, if you happen to bring them from Germany)

icing:
100g powdered sugar
lemon juice as needed

what you do:

• preheat the oven at 300° Fahrenheit
• mix the eggs, sugar and spices
• wash the oranges and lemon with hot water
• peel the skin and dice them
• add the diced peel and ground almonds
• keep on mixing
• when done use a couple of spoons to place a cookie on the parchment paper.
• the cookie should be flat (mine seldom are)
• bake for 12-15 minutes ( the trick is to get this right, the Lebkuchen should still be moist in the middle, if not it becomes very quick to hard, if you undercooked it you will notice when you taste it, in this case just put them back in the oven and bake a few more minutes)
• prep the icing mixing powdered sugar with lemon juice, be careful not to use too much juice, the icing should be white not transparent like the one I did.

Guten Appetit!