Lebkuchen

Ingredients

• 3 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 cup butter or margarine
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 tablespoons warm water
• 5 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder

Preparation

1. Combine sugar, water, and butter in a large Dutch oven; bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Add cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves; stir well, and cool.
2. Dissolve soda in warm water. Add flour, baking powder, and dissolved soda to cooled spice mixture; mix well.
3. Shape dough into three 10- inch-long rolls; wrap in waxed paper, and refrigerate 8 days. Dough will be sticky.
4. Unwrap roll, and cut into 1/4- inch slices. Place cookies on lightly greased baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 12 minutes. Cool on wire racks.
5. Note: For a uniform cookie slice, use a piece of string wrapped around the cookie roll. Wrap the string around the bottom of the roll and criss-cross the ends at the top. Pull string away from roll to slice.
6. This results in a more uniform cookie slice which doesn't affect the shape of the remaining roll.