Lebkuchen Spice Mix (Lebkuchengewurz)

Every autumn, German grocery stores start stocking specialty items just for the Christmas baking season. Little cardboard display cases are set out that are fully stocked with bars of baking chocolate, packets of potash and baker’s ammonia, candied citron and orange peel, vials of flavor extracts, and spices like anise and cardamom, as well as spice mixtures for Stollen and Lebkuchen. When January rolls around, the picked-over stands are packed up and put away again. It’s one of those cultural rituals I am very fond of.

I like to make a batch of this in early fall so that I’m ready for the baking season. The mixture below is a great all-purpose one. But you can also tinker with the amounts if you want to highlight one flavor or another. Use it in Christmas Glazed Apple Cake, cinnamon rolls, or substitute it wherever you’d use Pumpkin Spice mix.