Braune Lebkuchen		Cream of Wheat Dumpling Soup or Griessnockerlsuppe
Kartoffelsuppe Emma (my grandma Emma's Potato Soup)		Lebkuchen Cake like or Bar Cookie
It is time to make Christmas cookies and so my first one is usually Lebkuchen. In specific Braune Lebkuchen that is a thin cookie with amazing flavor that can be chewy or crispy depending if you use Hartshorn. Lebkuchen has many styles, shapes sizes and textures and an interesting history. Winter is here and soups are part of my daily routine. One they are comforting, can be low in calories and they use up valuable tidbits, you know the ends and pieces too good to throw away or those few carrots, asparagus or peas that aren't enough for a meal. Also I recently made a soup my German grandma use to make that we called Cream of Wheat Dumpling soup. I know this may sound odd but its also a German classic called Griessnockerlsuppe. Cream of Wheat is a trade name for a thicker cut wheat than flour.
Kartoffelsuppe with Apfelkuechle by Simmone		Potato Soup with bacon would seem to be very German but surprisingly enough you won't find that nice white creamy soup with bits of bacon and nice chunks of potato if you go to Germany. Also blending this soup makes a really great texture, and a great side to go with this is apple fritters called Apfelkuechle. Thank you Simone!
	I recently made Graupensuppe (German Barley Soup) and it was great and I cold canned the rest so it will keep for a long time. When you have the habit down, a soup can be made very quickly, between chores, or put in a crockpot before you go to work. When it makes more than a pot for the day then I do what I call cold canning, which is putting it in a canning jar hot, seal it but keep it in the fridge. It will last a month or more.	Graupensuppe (German Barley Soup)

 

Braune Lebkuchen

IF you want to skip the history
Go Here for the Lebkuchen Recipes

I have always loved the flavor of Lebkuchen and gingerbreads something fierce. I can start while watching a movie and eat a plate full by the time the bad guy is caught. I also love to read about it. There is so much history behind this little cookie, bar or cake that taste similar to Gingerbread. I can only give a few tidbits that I think you will enjoy. How did it become so popular? Lebkuchen or Gingerbread type cookies became popular in the old world because it is believed that ginger was a natural preservative. Gingerbread then became popular to make into shapes to take on a hunt, journey or out to sea. So the idea spread quickly to other countries. Honey and spices were always associated with something almost sacred. A honey cake was believed to bring good luck. Soldiers sometimes would wear a honey cake into battle as a Talisman around his neck. Documents are recorded that Franconia Monks started to make these cookies and give them out to kids as rewards for good prayers and behavior. They even made a special lebkuchen that had loose dough and placed it on rice wafers that they used for communion so they wouldn't stick to the baking pan. These were well liked and to this day are produced and very popular. The Franconian area of Bavaria is in the North.

 

 

Nuremberg becomes the Lebkuchen Capital

Nuremberg
is in the Franconia area of Bavaria

 

Lebkuchen were first baked in the city of Nuremberg, with the earliest records from the year 1395. During the Middle Ages, spice inspectors at the gates to the city checked the spices used for baking the gingerbreads which traveled as far as China. In 1643 the city of Nuremburg approved the first Lebkuchen Baker's Guild which began with 14 master gingerbread bakers who were bound by strict regulations.

Being along the spice route was one advantage that Nuremberg had. Another was the local Lorenzer Forest. This was a colorful, foresty countryside filled with many different kinds of flowers and blooms - the perfect environment for bees and honey production.

Until 1867, Lebkuchen were made by hand. Automated processing started thereafter with the liberalization of Bavaria's commercial trade.However, many of Nuremburg's bakeries still produce some of their Lebkuchen specialties by hand. using traditional recipes passed down from generation to generation. The oldest gingerbread recipe from the 16th century is housed in the German National Museum in Munich. In 1996, Nuremburg gingerbread was declared a "protected geographical indication" and is authorized to use the EU stamp

 

 

In Nuremberg the Christkindle markets are very popular

 

 

Why at Christmas ?

	Most of us of Germanic origin probably had a relative that was part of a Yulefest that sacrificed an animal as an offering to the gods that you would have an easy winter , and a good harvest. These were celebrated around this time of year, when it was cold. Many families couldn't afford to sacrifice a needed farm animal so they would use a bread or cake shaped as an animals for a symbol. Other shapes like hearts and even people were popular also that had symbolic meaning. This is of course where our gingerbread men came from.
When Christianity came the Yulefests turned into Christmas but the festivals were so much fun that they just kept them and turned pagan symbols into Religious symbols. So many shapes of Lebkuchen are in animals and other symbols. Even pictures are cut out and mounted on top of the lebkuchen.   Kaiserlein These are Lebkuchen onto which a picture is drawn or imprinted. Karen Kinanne bought me a Lebkuchen Santa made by Pahana Lebkuchen company, when she was in the Kristkindle market in Dresden. Just cut out your favorite Santa and out paste it on top of the cookie. Here is an old hand written recipe for Lebkuchen believed to be centuries old. click to enlarge picture

 

 

 

Gingerbread Houses are believed to become popular after the German authors The Grimm brothers wrote Hansel and Gretel .

However it may have been the other way around, that someone had made Gingerbread houses and the Brother's Grimm developed a story around them.

Lebkuchen Recipes

 

Braune Lebkuchen

Brown Lebkuchen thin cookies, with Molasses

This is a cookie that is very rich in flavor but has an
old world texture, that is a little chewy but every year
I get the family that requests me to make them.

 

 

Come into my kitchen and let's make
Braune Lebkuchen
With Step by Step Pictures

 

Ginger bread type Lebkuchen

Cake Like or a Bar Cookie

like Lebkuchen Some Lebkuchen is baked in cake form and served with
whipped cream or lemon sauce.

Here is my grandma (Oma's) recipe for
"cake like" Lebkuchen.

 

Bahlsen Contessa Lebkuchen ........Yum ! Order them here   Elisen Lebkuchen Elisen Lebkuchen is considered the finest. It needs to use only almonds, hazelnuts or walnuts and must be at least 25% of the dough, and flour needs to be only 10% of the dough. This is a nice soft lebkuchen cookie with lots of good spice in it and a nice glazed top This is cut into strips instead of round. Go here for the recipe for Elisen lebkuchen ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Chocolate Lebkuchen This Lebkuchen has chocolate mixed right in with the dough and a thin orange frosting. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Cream of Wheat Dumpling Soup

Greissnockerlsuppe

My Grandma use to make these dumplings for us particularly when we were sick as
they were easy on the tummy and tasted warm and good in chicken broth. In Germany it is called
Griessnockerlsuppe. Griess (the cream of wheat) ...Nockerl is a style of dumpling ....and suppe is soup
The word Nockerl has connections to the Italian word Gnocci which is a style of pasta or dumpling in Italy.

Why Use Cream of Wheat for Dumplings?

Flour is much cheaper but
I want to share a little history here because I think many of you will have a hard time relating to
using a breakfast cereal for a heartwarming dumpling soup or meal and even other foods like desserts.

First of all what is Cream of Wheat?

The Cream of Wheat web site says this special coarse ground flour is from the first milling and is the source of flour of the highest grade.  Thomas Amidon the head Miller called it “Cream of Wheat" and his family loved to make a nice porridge out of it.
In 1893 Thomas Amidon of the Diamond Mill Flour Company in Grand Forks, North Dakota thought this might be marketable as the company's sales were down and they needed to do something to stay afloat.	Grand Forks, North Dakota , around turn of the century. There is a great deal of our German brothers and sisters here.
	This same flour is often referred to as Semolina or Farina both are Italian words for flour and has been used in Germany for ages and is called Griess . It isn't pronounced like the English ...Grease but roll the "r" a bit. The word Griess comes most likely from the Germanic word ...griss ...that means grind.
This is Durum Semolina which is very popular for pasta. It is a hard winter wheat so it gives a nice chewier texture to the pasta.
	Words that are close to Griess are Grütze..(pronounced Gruzzi) or as we say Groats are related words which are large kernels of grain, such as wheat, oats or barley, and in the southern United States they use the word grits for their famous side dish that is made from corn. Oat Groats are often referred to as Steel cut oats, pinhead or Irish oats
Not only has the words intertwined with different cultures but also the style of these dumplings. Using the two spoons to make them is a real French tradition for making fancy dumplings which they call Quenelles.

 

Go here to make Cream of Wheat Dumpling Soup (Griessnockerlsuppe)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Graupensuppe

(German Beef Barley Soup)

To make a soup like this in Germany you very possibly would stop at the market to get some......

Suppengrün

When I was in cooking college one of the first things I learned about was a blend of vegetables called the
French cooking term "Mirepoix". It was basically carrots, onions and celery chopped coarse or fine and used to flavor any soup, sauce, ragout, roast you name it. Sometimes it would be strained out after flavoring a clean looking sauce, pureed or even just left in.
In Italian cuisine it is called Sofrito.

In Germany celery was not always available so they opted for using celeriac or celery root that could stay in
the root cellar with carrots all winter. Leeks are a very hearty vegetable that grows in tough climates as well.

 

In Germany you can find these vegetables packaged with some herbs that is enough
for a family meal making life easier for the Hausfrau or whoever is cooking.
Learn more about Suppengrün here

 

Go here to make Graupensuppe or German Barley Soup with Beef

 

Also Cold Canning Soup

I have been doing this for some time now. I make a big batch of soup and I know it won't get eaten and spoil. Waste and more work to throw it out and clean the moldy mess. This way the soup stays good for a month or more. by sealing it in a hot jar you reduce the oxygen in the space between the lid and the soup to very little and so the lid will suck down and keep a nice tight seal.

Go here for directions on how I do Cold Canning or Jarring Soup

 

Kartoffelsuppe Emma

German- American Style Potato Soup

Nothing perhaps warms the evening and get's a thumbs up quite like it than when you say
"How about I make a potato soup for dinner" .

"Ohh Yes Please!"

It was my dad's favorite soup.
Grandma didn't make this as much as other soups because most of her soups
were bits and pieces of whatever was in the fridge. We almost always
had a soup course.

 

If I was able to talk to my German grandmother today about her potato soup, and
tell her it is not really a Kartoffelsuppe that would be made in Germany she would
probably argue with me. At her family home and farm in Steinsfurt they may not have
grown leeks. as I don't remember her cooking much with them.

Go here to make Kartoffelsuppe Emma

If you want to see some German style recipes google "Kartoffelsuppe Rezept" and
then if you can't read German you will see in the google search results it has a link
"translate this page" and then click on that. You wlll see that most of the good recipes for
kartoffelsuppe have the Suppengruene in them. You will also notice that they have a
orange-ish tint to them from the carrots, especially if they puree the soup.

 

This is from a friend from Germany Simone that served a family tradition of
Kartoffelsuppe and Apfelkuechle (apple fritters). As you can see the soup has all
the Suppengrune in it plus some tomato.

Then many Germans and myself like to puree half or the whole soup. It makes
such a pleasurable smooth texture.

Go Here to make German Style,

Kartoffelsuppe with Apfelkuechle

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Other Links,

Griessnockerlsuppe

A taste of Austria Griessnockerlsuppe

Gresskloesschensuppe

Define Grütze or Groats

The History of Cream of Wheat

 

 

~☼~☼~☼~☼~

 

German Music Selection Through modern technology we can enjoy music from Germany at the touch of your computer, there are many venues now, Pandora, Amazon music, and Youtube is free. I love my noise canceling headphones that are completely wireless and give incredible sound! Bose Headphones over 2500 perfect reviews, it is a bit of an investment but worth every penny.   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Toni Unger - Lasst uns froh und munter sein Let us be happy and cheerful Volksweise aus dem Taunus Traditional song from the Taunus region DEUTSCH Lasst uns froh und munter sein Und uns in dem Herrn erfreu'n! Lustig, lustig, tralera-lera, Bald ist Nikolausabend da! Bald ist Nikolausabend da! Dann stell ich den Teller auf, Niklaus legt gewiß was drauf, Lustig, lustig, tralera-lera, Bald ist Nikolausabend da! Bald ist Nikolausabend da! Wenn ich schlaf, dann träume ich: Jetzt bringt Niklaus was für mich. Lustig, lustig, tralera-lera, Bald ist Nikolausabend da! Bald ist Nikolausabend da! Wenn ich aufgestanden bin, Lauf ich schnell zum Teller hin. Lustig, lustig, tralera-lera, Bald ist Nikolausabend da! Bald ist Nikolausabend da! Niklaus ist ein guter Mann, Dem man nicht g'nug danken kann. Lustig, lustig, tralera-lera, Bald ist Nikolausabend da! Bald ist Nikolausabend da! ENGLISH (lit. prose) Let us be happy and cheerful And rejoice in the Lord! Jolly, jolly, tralera-lera, Soon Nicholas Eve is here! Soon Nicholas Eve is here! Then I put the plate out Nick'll surely put somethin' on it. Jolly, jolly, tralera-lera, Soon Nicholas Eve is here! Soon Nicholas Eve is here! When I sleep then I dream: Now Nicholas brings me something. Jolly, jolly, tralera-lera, Soon Nicholas Eve is here! Soon Nicholas Eve is here! When I rise (in the morning) I dash quickly to the plate. Jolly, jolly, tralera-lera, Soon Nicholas Eve is here! Soon Nicholas Eve is here! Nicholas is a good man Whom we can't thank enough. Jolly, jolly, tralera-lera, Soon Nicholas Eve is here! Soon Nicholas Eve is here!   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Weihnachtslied Alle Jahre wieder...     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Angela Wiedl - Süßer die Glocken nie klingen   More German Music Here         More German Music

 

Karin Elliot born and raised in Germany
is a chef and wonderful friend giving me encouragement through the years here and donated her recipes for our newsletter. She also does wonderful volunteer work like providing meals for school children in need in Tuscon, Arizona.

Many German-Americans and German immigrants are interested in Native American items from books and movies to jewelry and arts and craft supplies. Karin will take care of you personally with her online store Native Rainbows