8 Hanukkah Desserts for the Festival of Lights!

Get ready to light up the Festival of Lights with eight excellent desserts for Hanukkah. From classic indulgences to twists on tradition, we’ve got eight Hanukkah delights to celebrate each night of the Festival of Lights! Grab the gelt and light the menorah, it’s time to celebrate the sweet side of Hanukkah with desserts that add a sparkle to your table!

Gelt Peanut Butter Blossoms

Peanut butter blossoms are a staple on Christmas cookie trays, but Christmas doesn’t hold the franchise on these sweet treats! Transform these beloved cookies into a Hanukkah classic with chocolate gelt coins (a traditional Hanukkah gift). This recipe from Food Network produces soft, chewy cookies that you’ll want to make again and again!

Sufganiyot (Israeli Doughnuts)

These puffy jelly doughnuts might be the best Hanukkah dessert ever! Called sufganiyot, this iconic doughnut is eaten around the world during Hanukkah. These sugar sensations are traditionally filled with jelly or jam, but you can get creative and try custard, Nutella, pudding, cream, or any other delicious concoction you can dream up. Bonus: this recipe from Once Upon a Chef includes a video of a cookbook author making these doughnuts in Jaffa, Israel so you can see how it’s done!

Chocolate Chip Mandel Bread (Mandelbrodt)

Mandel bread (Mandelbrodt in Yiddish) is a classic Hanukkah delight that’s similar to Italian biscotti. They’re twice-baked, which gives them a crunchy texture on the outside, while staying soft inside. This recipe from The Jewish Kitchen only takes about 20 minutes of prep time so it’s an easy one to whip up! You can include chocolate, dried fruit, or nuts – or all three if you’re feeling feisty!

Rugelach Cookies

These cookies may look fancy, but they’re easy to make. This recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction uses sweet brown sugar cinnamon filling rolled up in flaky, buttery croissant-like cookies. These cookies are a staple on Hanukkah tables everywhere. You can also roll them up with jam, jelly, chocolate, and other sweet fillings.

Tzimmes Cake

Tzimmes cakes have become a popular Hanukkah cake in Jewish-American households. They’ve even been featured on an episode of ‘Chopped’ on the Food Network! Tzimmes cakes are similar to carrot cakes, but tzimmes cakes usually include both carrot and sweet potatoes, along with dried fruit and cinnamon. This recipe from My Jewish Learning is delicious and easy to follow – and it uses just one bowl! This sophisticated cake can be topped with glaze or powdered sugar.

Challah Bread Pudding with Chocolate and Raisins

If it’s Hanukkah, you better have challah bread! This innovative dessert from the Food Network’s Joe Lieberman takes traditional Jewish challah bread and turns it into a brilliant bread pudding. The bread is soaked in creamy custard and layered with raisins and chocolate. You might find yourself making this one all year round.

Apple Cider Doughnut Cake

A simple bundt cake – in this case an apple cider doughnut cake – is an innovative (but easy) way to bring traditional Hanukkah flavors to the table. This recipe from Martha Stewart takes inspiration from those yummy apple cider doughnuts you often find at farmer’s markets and seasonal food stands. It’s given a generous dusting of cinnamon sugar, making it appear (and taste) like one giant doughnut!

Chocolate-Stuffed Dreidl Cookies

The younger generation will love helping you make these chocolate-stuffed dreidl cookies from Taste of Home. These cookies are as simple as layering pieces of chocolate candy bar in between two cutout cookies and baking. Cover with white icing and then pipe a Hebrew letter in blue icing on each cookie.