The brisket is cooked, the menorah is lit and the Manischewitz is flowing. But there’s one box left to check on your Hanukkah to-do list: dessert. This year, instead of leaning on chocolate gelt, why not make something that blows your relatives away? I'm talking homemade rugelach, traditional honey cake, halva brownies or even matzoh s’mores. Read on for 24 Hanukkah desserts that will become a family tradition at first bite.
24 Hanukkah Desserts to Nosh on for Eight Days Straight
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Updated Dec 12, 2024
Sally's Baking Recipes
1. Chocolate Banana Bread Babka
- Time commitment: 2 hours 50 minutes
- Why I love it: crowd pleaser, special-occasion worthy
- Serves: One 9-by-5-inch loaf (12 servings)
“Chocolate babka already tops my list of favorite breads to bake and eat,” says recipe creator Erin McDowell, “but add banana into the mix and it’s seriously killer. The dough itself is like a yeasted banana bread, and chunks of banana mixed into the streusel give it an extra boost of fruity flavor.” Tl;dr—this bread is divine.
2. Sourdough Donuts with Grape Glaze
- Time commitment: 1 hour, 40 minutes
- Why I love it: crowd-pleaser, special occasion-worthy
- Serves: 15
Sufganiyot (aka jelly donuts) are an homage to the Hanukkah miracle, since they’re fried in oil. “You can make the fruit glaze using any juice, but Concord grape has a beautiful color and a tart flavor that pairs perfectly with the soft doughnuts,” McDowell says.
- Time commitment: 30 minutes
- Why I love it: kid friendly, <10 ingredients, beginner-friendly
- Serves: 24 cookies
Order yourself a dreidel- or Star of David-shaped cookie cutter and you’re in business. Any two- or three-color combination will work. And if you’re feeling fancy, add some sprinkles for extra flair.
4. Baklava Pie
- Time commitment: 1 hour 40 minutes
- Why I love it: vegan/vegetarian, special-occasion worthy
- Serves: One 9-inch pie (10 servings)
Things I love: phyllo dough, crunchy nuts and gooey honey. Things I hate: sticky fingers. Luckily, you can skip the mess with this pie-ified take on baklava and use a fork. Make this beauty vegan by subbing out the butter for a plant-based variety.
- Time commitment: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Why I love it: crowd pleaser, vegetarian, less than 500 calories
- Serves: 60 rugelach
Take your pick between walnuts and pecans for this old-school treat. It’ll pair beautifully with apricot, fig or strawberry jam. You can also give this recipe a savory twist by opting for a cheese or sun-dried tomato filling—yum!
6. Chocolate Tahini Caramels
- Time commitment: 2 hours
- Why I love it: make ahead, kid friendly, beginner friendly
- Serves: 28
Friends, these caramels couldn’t be easier to make, and you don’t even need a candy thermometer. The addition of savory tahini adds delicious texture and a blast of sesame flavor.
- Time commitment: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Why I love it: make ahead, <10 ingredients
- Serves: 12
There’s enough sugar, butter, cinnamon and vanilla in this casserole to qualify it as a dessert. Don’t even get me started on the cinnamon-sugar cornflake topping. “This noodle kugel is a must-make comfort food classic,” says recipe creator Sara Welch. “My kids request it all the time, and I’m always happy to oblige!”
8. Peanut Butter and Jelly Donuts
- Time commitment: 30 minutes
- Why I love it: sheet pan recipe, ready in <30 minutes, kid-friendly
- Serves: 8
This nutty take on jelly donuts will be a hit with the kids’ table. Even though they’re baked, not fried, they still taste miraculously good. Trust.
- Time commitment: 55 minutes
- Why I love it: make ahead, less than 500 calories
- Serves: 12 squares
Apple cake is commonly served during Rosh Hashanah, due to apples and honey being symbolic of hope for the Jewish New Year, but it’ll taste just as good during Hanukkah. “While this apple cinnamon cake bakes up delicious and sweet, you can change the cake to suit your taste,” says Welch. She suggests adding nuts, a drizzle of caramel, or a blend of spices like cardamom and nutmeg.
10. Hamantashen Pie
- Time commitment: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Why I love it: <10 ingredients, vegan,
- Serves: 8
These triangular cookies are popular during Purim, but who says you can’t indulge in them twice a year? Use a medley of jam fillings for a more colorful final product. Oh, and before you get to baking, take note: “The cookie crust on this pie can burn really easily. You will need to cover it in foil or use a pie guard,” says Stef Pollack, recipe creator for The Cupcake Project.
11. Chocolate-covered Caramel Matzoh
- Time commitment: 35 minutes
- Why I love it: vegetarian, crowd-pleaser
- Serves: 10
The Hanukkah equivalent of peppermint bark. Finish the treat with flaky salt, chopped peanuts, sprinkles or graham cracker crumbs. Katie Workman, the creator behind The Mom 100 blog, has another twist if you’re in the mood: “[These] came to me in a dream: Chocolate-Covered Caramel Matzoh S’Mores.”
- Time commitment: 3 hours
- Why I love it: make ahead, crowd pleaser
- Serves: 24 cookies
These buttery, flaky gems are packed with fall flavor, thanks to dark brown sugar, walnuts, raisins and cinnamon. If you’re making Sally Mckenney’s recipe linked here, she has one tip: “Heavy on that cinnamon because…holidays.”
13. Sesame Caramel Corn
- Time commitment: 25 minutes
- Why I love it: low carb, vegan, crowd pleaser
- Serves: 6
Need to make a big-batch dessert for a party? This spin on caramel corn is flavorful, crunchy heaven. Plus, you can pull it together in less than 30 minutes.
11. Greek Orange-honey Cake With Pistachios
- Time commitment: 40 minutes
- Why I love it: make ahead, vegetarian, beginner friendly
- Serves: 15
It is citrus season, after all. The sticky-sweet syrup on top is nothing but fresh-squeezed orange and lemon juices, salted nuts and honey. Make the day before so the juices have time to soak into the cake.
- Time commitment: 6 hours 30 minutes
- Why I love it: make ahead, special occasion worthy
- Serves: 1 loaf
The brown sugar crumble topping is optional, but we can’t imagine why you’d nix it. Use your favorite type of tart-sweet apples, like Fujis, Honeycrisps or Granny Smiths. While this is a bit of a time commitment, once that dense cinnamon filling hits your lips you’ll be so glad you whipped this up.
16. Halva Brownies
- Time commitment: 55 minutes
- Why I love it: crowd pleaser, make ahead, kid-friendly
- Serves: ~9 brownies
Halva is a Middle Eastern candy made from sesame paste and sugar. It’s tasty enough to eat solo, but it’s even more decadent when swirled into a pan of fudgy brownies. “Think tahini brownies, but better!” says Sara Fennel, founder of Broma Bakery.
17. Yogurt And Honey Olive Oil Cake
- Time commitment: 55 minutes
- Why I love it: special-occasion worthy, make ahead, vegetarian
- Serves: 8
Using fresh figs as the crowning glory on this masterpiece will have your relatives thinking you ordered the cake from a fancy bakery. (Greek yogurt in the batter also guarantees that it will turn out super moist.) If you’ve ever needed an excuse to buy a cute cake stand, this cake is it.
15. Pumpkin Butter Rugelach Cookies
- Time commitment: 50 minutes
- Why I love it: make ahead, crowd pleaser, special-occasion worthy
- Serves: 48 cookies
Pumpkin season may be over, but it never stops being delicious. If you’re missing your daily PSL, these cookies are the perfect treat. Mix the menu up by serving these cuties with mulled apple cider.
- Time commitment: 40 minutes
- Why I love it: crowd pleaser, special-occasion worthy
- Serves: 12
The recipe calls for homemade farmer’s cheese, but feel free to substitute any mix of ricotta, cottage or cream cheeses to save time. If you’re feeding a crowd and don’t want to lose hours hand-frying each of these, Natalya Drozhzhin of Momsdish recommends batch-baking them. “Assemble the blintzes in a single layer in a baking dish, drizzle them with the toppings of your choice, and bake them in the oven until the tops turn a bit crispy,” she says.
- Time commitment: 20 minutes
- Why I love it: ready in <30 minutes, kid-friendly
- Serves: 8
Choose your fighter: chocolate toffee crunch, trail mix or peanut butter swirl. Or, make all three and watch them be devoured within minutes.
- Time commitment: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Why I love it: gluten-free, <10 ingredients, crowd pleaser
- Serves: 10
This beauty is totally flourless, so it’s safe to give to your gluten-free guests. Just be sure to use quality unsweetened chocolate since there are so few ingredients in the cake. And because it’s the holidays, don’t skimp on the whipped cream!
22. Honey Almond Cake With Raspberries, Orange And Pistachios
- Time commitment: 55 minutes
- Why I love it: gluten-free, sugar free
- Serves: 8
“Super simple, moist and delicious almond meal and honey cake with no refined sugar!” says Cookie and Kate’s Kathryne Taylor. It’s also gluten-free, Paleo, elegant and ready in just under an hour—what’s not to love? (A lemon-blueberry version of this cake would also be delicious…just sayin’.)
23. Chocolate Cookie Butter Babka
- Time commitment: 3 hours 45 minutes
- Why I love it: make ahead, special-occasion worthy, kid-friendly
- Serves: 16
“This cookie butter chocolate babka is the bread we've all been craving in life,” says Amanda Powell, the voice behind A Cookie Named Desire. If you can’t find premade chocolate cookie butter (Trader Joe’s makes a popular one), feel free to omit the chocolate entirely, add chocolate chips to the filling or stir in some cocoa powder.
24. Chocolate-covered Caramelized Matzoh S’mores
- Time commitment: 30 minutes
- Why I love it: ready in <30 minutes, crowd pleaser
- Serves: 20
I warned you these were coming, and oh boy, are they tasty. Summer s’mores in the dead of winter? Yes, chef! If your guests have religious dietary restrictions, make sure to double-check that your marshmallows are kosher.
