I may not be Jewish, but I am in love with Hanukkah and the sweet meaning behind the holiday. I love that it's centered around miracles, around lights, and that it lasts for eight lovely nights. And the food? Oh the food. Because Hanukkah is celebrates the miracle of oil, a lot of the foods traditional for the holiday are fried, including the Hanukkah desserts.
Even if you don't celebrate Hanukkah, you can appreciate some of the traditional treats served during the Festival of Lights. You may find yourself invited to a Hanukkah celebration or maybe you want to introduce your kids to some new traditions and cultures. Whatever the reason, you can't go wrong with some of these desserts. Everything from Challah bread pudding to homemade chocolate gelt is here and they are all worth trying this holiday season. These recipes are especially great for a dessert swap when you're tired of the decorated sugar cookies or Oreo truffle balls. Some of these seven Hanukkah dessert recipes are a twist on an old favorite, but all of them have traditional meaning and are a sweet touch to the season. Don't forget to pick up a menorah to really seal the deal for your little ones and tell them the story of this miraculous holiday.
1
Candied Ginger, Almond, And Cardamom Rugelach
Rugelach is a traditional Jewish pastry triangle rolled into a crescent shape around some type of filling. Also? They are ridiculously delicious. From What Jew Wanna Eat, the traditional treat gets a twist with these candied ginger, almond, and cardamom rugelach. Sweet Indian flavors meets delectable Jewish pastry? Perfect for your Hanukkah celebration.
2
Dark Chocolate And Cranberry Challah Bread Pudding
If you've never had Challah bread before, it's that gorgeous braided bread you see in bakeries. I love anything bread pudding, but add in chocolate and cranberries? Oh yum. Hummingbird High has created this amazing dark chocolate and cranberry Challah bread pudding that is the ultimate comfort dish for the season.
3
Pumpkin Challah
Another Challah bread recipe, this one is perfectly sweet and totally homemade. Bake Love Give's pumpkin Challah bread is soft, perfectly flavored, and a great addition to the dessert table. Plus, Challah bread makes for excellent French toast, so imagine what you can do with the leftovers!
4
Melt-In-Your-Mouth Hanukkah Gelt Cookies
The sweet chocolate coins are a staple of Hanukkah, so adding them to a delectable cookie dough? Too delicious. These Hanukkah gelt cookies from Overtime Cook are going to be a kid favorite and are also super fun to put together. You can also freeze the cookies, so it's the perfect recipe to prep in advance.
5
Sufganiyot
With Hanukkah centering around the miracle of the long-lasting oil, it makes sense that fried foods are on the menu. A traditional Hanukkah treat, sufganiyot is a fried jelly donut that sounds absolutely amazing and Hungry Couple has a great recipe.
6
Bubbie Ruth's Mandelbrot
Oh man, if you love biscotti, then you are going to love mandelbrot. These little cookies are made with almonds and baked twice to give you an amazing crunch and the perfect little coffee dippers. It's totally versatile, but this mandelbrot recipe from Tori Avey has chocolate chips and a cinnamon sugar outside guaranteed to make everyone happy this Hannukah.
7
Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Gelt
Want to make your own perfect chocolate coins for Hanukkah? Then you need this sweet dark chocolate sea salt gelt recipe from What Jew Wanna Eat. They are seriously the most adorable little chocolates you have ever seen and are even dusted with some edible glitter. Ugh. The cutest. I can't wait to make dozens of these.
Images: Courtesy of What Jew Wanna Eat; Hummingbird High; Bake Love Give; Overtime Cook; Hungry Couple; Tori Avey; What Jew Wanna Eat
