Moravian Spice Cookies

Moravian spice cookies are traditional cookies usually associated with Winston-Salem, North Carolina. This descendent of the German lebkuchen is made with a combination of powerful spices and molasses. The end result is a very thin and crisp cookie that has a reputation of "the World's thinnest cookie".

The cookies are usually round, but they can be cut into different shapes such as stars or flowers. They're named after Moravia, which was once part of Czechoslovakia, and the immigrants settled in Germany, and then in Pennsylvania and North Carolina.

The spices used for these cookies usually include ginger, cinnamon, and cloves. Over the years, versions made with sugar, lemon, chocolate, and black walnuts have appeared in many households in the region.