German Lebkuchen Cookies

I love these German Christmas Cookies. I lived in Germany during the early 70's and experienced Christmas there. My wife and I  had the opportunity to visit the German Christmas Market in Birmingham, England in 2012. It's the largest German  Christmas Market outside of Germany. There's nothing quite like Christmas in Germany and the Christmas German Market.  There's an iconic taste to these cookies that remind me of those memories.
I buy the Oblaten Wafers at our local German Deli.

Here's what you'll need:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
Sheet Pans lined with Parchment Paper

Cookie ingredients:

5 Large Eggs
1 3/4 C Granulated Sugar
2 1/2 C finely ground Almonds, with skins.
1 C Flour
1/2 C finely diced Candied Orange Peel
1/2 C finely diced Candied Lemon Peel
2 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Cardamom
1/2 tsp Nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground Cloves
1/4 tsp Allspice
1/4 tsp ground Ginger
50 - 2 3/4" to 3" Oblaten German Baking Wafers

Icing ingredients:
Half of the cookies will be iced with Lemon Glaze and half of them will be iced with Chocolate. If you want all of them to be iced with the same , adjust the recipes accordingly.
1 C Confectioner's Sugar
2 TBS fresh Lemon Juice
1 C Chocolate Chips
Sliced Almonds for garnish

In a Stand Mixer with a paddle attachment:
Eggs
Sugar
Beat for 5 minutes.
Transfer to a glass bowl over a saucepan of simmering water on low heat.
Whisk vigorously, by hand, until it begins to thicken.
Remove from heat and continue beating until completely cooled.

In a large mixing bowl:
Ground Almonds
Flour
Orange Peel
Lemon Peel
Cinnamon
Nutmeg
Cloves
Allspice
Ginger
Mix well.
Fold in the Egg Mixture.
Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Place the Oblaten, 2" apart, on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.
Spread 1 TBS of batter on each wafer, spreading it to the edges of the wafers.
Allow the pan of cookies to sit at room temperature for 1 hour before baking.
Bake for 15 - 20 minutes.

Remove the sheet pans to a rack and cool for 10 minutes.
Transfer the cookies to the rack and cool completely.

Lemon Icing directions.
In a small bowl:
Confectioners Sugar
Lemon Juice
Blend together with a fork to make a thin glaze.
Spread this over half of the cookies.

Chocolate directions.
Place Chocolate Chips in a glass bowl and heat in a microwave until melted. Stirring often.
Spread over the remaining cookies.
Garnish each cookie with Almond Slices.

Enjoy!
Peace in the Kitchen!