Elisenlebkuchen (Authentic German Gingerbread Cookies)

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1. 1Step 1: If using whole almonds or hazelnuts, grind them first in a large capacity food processor until they are finely ground, pulsing them as they get finer until they are the texture of fine bread crumbs (but don't grind so long they start getting oily and turning to nut butter). Remove the ground nuts to a bowl.
2. 2Step 2: Put the candied citrus peel into the food processor and grind it until finely chopped. Add about one cup of the ground nuts or nuts and process for a few seconds until combined and the mass is finely minced. Adding the nuts helps the candied peel to get chopped more finely without sticking together.
3. 3Step 3: Add the rest of the ground nuts or nut meal to the food processor, along with the Lebkuchen spice, the brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. Pulse to combine.
4. 4Step 4: Add the honey and eggs and process or until the mixture is a thick mass moving freely in the food processor, but don't puree it until smooth - you still want a to see the textured bits of nuts and candied peel in the dough. The mixture will be a thick, sticky dough.
5. 5Step 5: Use pre-ground almond meal and hazelnut meal. Chop the candied peel very finely by hand. Keep running the knife over the mass on the cutting board until it is very finely minced.
6. 6Step 6: Beat the eggs. sugar, and honey in a large mixing bowl by hand or in a stand mixer. Add the remaining ingredients and mix until well combined and you have a very thick, sticky dough.
7. 7Step 7: Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C). Prepare two cookie sheets by cutting a piece of parchment paper to fit. Find a round object with a circumference of 2½ inches/ 63mm (for small cookies) or 2¾-3 inches/70-75mm (for larger cookies) and trace twelve circles onto the parchment with a pencil or black marker. Flip the paper over so the circles are on the bottom and place the parchment back onto the cookie sheet.
8. 8Step 8: Scoop out spoonfuls of dough or use a cookie scoop (*see sizes below). With dampened hands, roll the dough into balls and place one on each circle, visible through the parchment paper. You will need to re-rinse your hands after every 3 to 4 cookies so the dough doesn't stick as you roll them.
9. 9Step 9: To flatten the cookies: have a small bowl of water nearby and dip your fingers in, then shake off the excess water. With damp fingers, press down the cookie dough ball so it neatly fills the circle. Shape the cookie so it's about ½ inch (1 cm) thick in the middle and tapers down at the edges, patting the surface smooth with your fingers. Re-wet your fingers for each cookie.
10. 10Step 10: *Small cookies: ~1½ tablespoons dough, make 1½ inch diameter balls flattened to 2½ inch disks.
11. 11Step 11: *Large cookies: ~2½ tablespoons dough, make 1¾ inch diameter balls flattened to 2¾ inch disks.
12. 12Step 12: Bake the cookies until the edges just start to get light brown: 18 to 20 minutes for the smaller cookies, 22 to 25 minutes for the larger cookies. Let cool five minutes in the pans, then transfer them with a spatula to a cooling rack to finish cooling. Leave the cookies to sit out at room temperature on the cooling racks or on towels in a single layer on the counters for 24 hours to fully dry the outsides before glazing them. Don't worry, the insides will still be soft and chewy - the candied peel and honey will help with that.
13. 13Step 13: You can glaze the cookies with icing, chocolate, or leave them plain.
14. 14Step 14: Set a cooling rack over a cookie sheet or piece of parchment paper to catch the drips.
15. 15Step 15: If using icing to glaze your cookies, mix it up by whisking together the icing sugar and water/rosewater until no lumps remain. Dip the top of each cookie into the glaze or brush it on with a pastry brush, allowing the excess to drip off on the rack. You may have to do a second layer of the icing sugar glaze to make it thick enough.
16. 16Step 16: If using chocolate to glaze your cookies, melt the chocolate and coconut oil in a silicone or plastic bowl (glass gets too hot) in a microwave. Heat it in 20 second increments, stirring after each one, then stopping when about ¾ of the chocolate is melted. Remove the chocolate from the microwave and stir to melt the rest. Dip the tops of the cookies into the melted chocolate, then use a pastry brush to spread it around and brush off any excess chocolate glaze so only a thin layer coats the top of each cookie. Rewarm the chocolate for 10 seconds if it gets too thick.
17. 17Step 17: If desired, decorate each cookie with 3 almond slices or a whole almond on top while the glaze is still wet. Allow the glaze to harden for several hours until completely set, then store the cookies between sheets of wax paper in an airtight container at cool room temperature for up to two months.