Lebkuchen-Schmidt Schwarze Elise gingerbread

Schwarze Elise (Black Elise) is a premium dark chocolate variety of the famous Nuremberg Elisen-Lebkuchen, produced by Lebkuchen-Schmidt. These cookies are characterized by their high nut content and lack of flour in the dough, a hallmark of the 'Elisen' quality tier. The 'Black' version is specifically enriched with cocoa, which legend suggests was discovered by accident when the founder, E. Otto Schmidt, accidentally spilled cocoa into a batch of traditional gingerbread dough.

Since 1996, Nürnberger Lebkuchen has been a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) within the European Union, meaning the product must be produced within the city limits of Nuremberg. Consequently, all Lebkuchen-Schmidt products are manufactured at their dedicated facility in Nuremberg, Germany.

Originally founded in 1927 by E. Otto Schmidt, the company grew into the world's leading mail-order business for gingerbread. Following the death of the long-time owner and philanthropist Henriette Schmidt-Burkhardt in 2014, ownership passed to the Rudolf and Henriette Schmidt-Burkhardt Foundation (Schmidt-Stiftung). This foundation was established to preserve the company's independence and family-oriented values while supporting regional cultural and social projects.