Sticky’s part of the deal with lebkuchen.
The honey, the molasses, the spices—they make the dough rich and alive.
If it’s clinging too much to your hands, chill it longer until it firms up a bit.
And when you roll it out, dust your board with a little flour—or better yet, powdered sugar—so you keep the dough sweet, not heavy.
The dough should feel soft and a little stubborn, but it should still obey your hands.

This is usually the dough whispering:"you rushed me."

Lebkuchen dough needs to stay cold before it hits the oven.
Warm dough will spread, and a lukewarm oven won’t shock it into shape.
Next time, chill your dough a little longer and make sure your oven is hot and ready before you slide the tray in. If that still doesn't work, add a little more flour (or powdered sugar) to the dough to stiffen it up.

Those spots are moisture surfacing through the sugar.
Usually it happens when:

• The glaze is a little too thin
• The cookies were still a bit warm when glazed
• Or the air is super humid

Next time, cool the cookies completely before glazing.
Mix your glaze a little thicker—like pourable cream, not watery milk.
And let them dry slow in a dry place, not sealed up right away.
Spots or no, they still taste like a story worth eating.

Royal icing is patient work.
It can take anywhere from 12–36 hours to fully set, depending on how thick you flood it, how humid your kitchen is, and how warm the air feels.
If it’s sticky after a few hours, don't touch it.
Let it sit longer, uncovered, at room temperature.
A fan or gentle air circulation can help—but don't blast it with heat.
Good icing dries slow and strong. Yes, it's okay for Lebkuchen to sit out uncovered for that long, and no they won't get stale!

We get it—nobody wants to take unnecessary risks in the kitchen.
If you're using pasteurized egg whites (the kind sold in cartons at most U.S. grocery stores), you're fine. They're treated specifically to be safe for recipes like royal icing.

If you're baking for someone vulnerable (pregnant, elderly, immune-compromised), or if you just prefer it, you can swap in meringue powder without blinking.
(Just know: in some places, meringue powder is expensive or nearly impossible to find—that’s why we write recipes with egg whites, so nobody’s left out.)

Your kitchen. Your comfort. Your call.
We’re just here to hand you the tools and let you make it yours.

Yes, absolutely.
Both work beautifully.
We use egg whites in the recipe because in some parts of the world,meringue powder is hard to find or costs way more.Use whichever makes the ritual easier for you.
Just follow the conversion on your meringue powder package for best results.

Lebkuchen age like a good story. Many lebkuchen bakeries keep their cookies out for several weeks during the holiday season.
Stack them between sheets of parchment in a tin or airtight container and leave them at room temperature.
In a few days, they soften. The spices deepen. The whole kitchen smells like memory.
They're one of the rare bakes that get better with time, if you let them.

You can—both iced and uniced cookies.
Once they’re baked and cooled (even iced with Royal icing), layer them gently with parchment and tuck them into an airtight container.
They'll hold their magic for up to two months.
When you're ready to eat or gift them, let them come back to room temp for 2 hours if uniced. If iced, let them defrost for 24 hours and do not open the container until then. The condensation can ruin the icing if opened too soon.

It is not recommended to freeze glazed lebkuchen.

The trick is simple but charming:

• Let the icing dry completely first—overnight is safest and up to 48 hours if your royal icing borders are thick.
• Wrap each cookie carefully in clear cellophane.
• Tie it with ribbon, string, or even a strip of colorful fabric.
• Stack them in tins or arrange them like ornaments on a platter if you want to show them off.

Lebkuchen hearts at the markets are made to be hung, carried, gifted, and kept as little edible souvenirs.
Yours will be just as unforgettable.