Basler Läckerli

Basler Läckerli is the dense, chewy, deeply spiced gingerbread that defines bakery counters in Basel and the surrounding Swiss-German northwest. The dough is a sturdy affair: wheat flour, a hefty dose of local honey, candied orange and lemon peel, sliced almonds, Kirsch, and a warm quartet of spices — cinnamon, cloves, coriander, mace and a careful pinch of cardamom. Mixed, rolled, rested overnight, baked in wide sheets and then cut into small rectangular tiles, the biscuits are typically glazed while still warm with a thin sugar-Kirsch icing that cracks faintly under the tooth. The traditional Läckerli is darker and harder than a soft Lebkuchen, chewy rather than crumbly, and keeps for weeks in a tin, which made it a long-standing winter staple for Basel merchants and a customary gift from apprentice to master at Fasnacht, the city\u0027s pre-Lenten carnival. Today Läckerli-Huus, the most famous producer, ships boxes of Läckerli across Switzerland and abroad, but small bakery counters in the old town of Basel, around Marktplatz and Gerbergasse, still bake their own recipes and guard them as family secrets. Eat it with a small glass of Kirsch, or with strong mulled wine on a cold day.