18 Classic and Creative Hanukkah Desserts, From Sweet Noodle Kugel to Apple Cake Sweet and warming flavors like cinnamon, apple, honey, and cardamom abound in this cornucopia of our favorite Hanukkah desserts. By Molly McArdle Molly McArdle Molly McArdle is Food & Wine's Updates Editor. She has written and edited stories about food, wine, culture, place, and technology for more than 15 years. Her work has appeared in Travel + Leisure, GQ, Esquire, Oxford American, The Believer, Bookforum, and many more. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines and Jodie Kautzmann Jodie Kautzmann Jodie Kautzmann is an editor, baker, and confectioner with more than 15 years of experience in content creation, recipe development, and pastry production. She's obsessed with the fine details and ingredients that take dishes from tasty to outright otherworldly. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Published on December 11, 2025 Add Us On SAVE ALL RECIPES NEW! Save as a collection on MyRecipes Close Credit: Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Ali Ramee / Prop Styling by Christina Daley You'll need more than eight nights to enjoy these classic and creative Hanukkah desserts — and of course, these rich, satisfying, and celebratory sweets can be enjoyed all year round. Find doughnut recipes with a variety of fillings and glazes, plus babkas, kugel, cookies, apple cakes, and more. Light the candles, and break out the desserts! Keep all of your recipes at your fingertips. With the MyRecipes app you can easily save and organize your favorites from anywhere, including Instagram and TikTok, in one convenient place. Get the free app. 01 of 18 Poppy Seed–Chocolate Rugelach Pinwheels Eva Kolenko For these showstopping rugelach, cookbook author Zoë François wraps a cream cheese-based dough around a citrusy poppy seed and shaved bittersweet chocolate filling, rolls the logs in glitzy sparkling sugar, then slices them into pinwheels for an unexpected shape that delivers the same tender, flaky texture. Get the Recipe Save 02 of 18 Orange Soufflé Coffee Cake James Ransom / Food Styling by Julian Hensarling / Prop Styling by Julia Bayless An airy bundt cake fragrant with orange and draped in silky chocolate, Ruth Reichl's elegant coffee cake can be served any time of day. Get the Recipe Save 03 of 18 Sweet Noodle Kugel with Dried Cherries Food & Wine / Photo by Morgan Hunt Glaze / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Josh Hoggle A classic for good reason, this custardy and comforting sweet noodle kugel is studded with dried cherries and topped with crunchy pecans and cornflakes. Get the Recipe Save 04 of 18 Cinnamon-Apple Babka Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Ali Ramee / Prop Styling by Christina Daley This gooey cinnamon-apple babka is baked in a skillet and can be served for breakfast, brunch, or dessert. Slice apples super thin to ensure a more workable dough while rolling. Get the Recipe Save 05 of 18 Cinnamon-Cardamom Sufganiyot Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Ali Ramee / Prop Styling by Christina Daley In chef Eitan Bernath's take on sufganiyot, this classic Hanukkah dessert is fried before it's tossed in cinnamon sugar and filled with cardamom pastry cream. Get the Recipe Save 06 of 18 Baklava Cheesecake Robby Lozano / Food Styling by Julian Hensarling / Prop Styling by Christina Daley With its crisp pistachio-graham crust, creamy filling laced with orange, cinnamon, and cardamom, and shredded phyllo and honeyed pistachio topping, this dramatic Greek-inspired dessert is worthy of a Hanukkah celebration. Get the Recipe Save 07 of 18 Black and Ruby Cookies Farrah Skeiky A new spin on the iconic New York City classic, this recipe from pastry chef Paola Velez pairs the familiar dark chocolate with a fruity ruby chocolate ganache on beautiful, celebratory cookies. Get the Recipe Save 08 of 18 Apple Fritters Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Christina Daley For these easy fritters, a doughnut-like batter is studded with sweet-tart Honeycrisp apples, then quick-fried and topped with a tangy apple cider vinegar glaze. Get the Recipe Save 09 of 18 Chocolate–Olive Oil Cake Julia Stotz This elegant, ultra-rich chocolate cake from Ana Borrajo gets fruity notes from olive oil, lightness from whipped egg whites, and an optional subtle kick from cayenne pepper. Get the Recipe Save 10 of 18 Date and Walnut Rugelach with Tahini Glaze Frederick Hardy II / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen In these spiced rugelach from food writer and cookbook author Faith Kramer, a satisfying and sweet date and walnut filling is wrapped in a cardamom- and cinnamon-scented dough with a lemony tahini glaze drizzled on top. Get the Recipe Save 11 of 18 Apple Sharlotka Food & Wine / Photo by Jason Donnelly / Food Styling by Holly Dreesman / Prop Styling by Addelyn Evans A Hanukkah dessert that hails from Russia, this recipe combines thinly sliced apples, nutmeg, and almond extract in a light and fluffy apple cake that's dressed up with a dusting of powdered sugar. Get the Recipe Save 12 of 18 Banana Challah Fritters With Sweet Tahini Sauce Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Ali Ramee / Prop Styling by Christina Daley Use overripe bananas to make these crispy-on-the-outside, tender-on-the-inside challah fritters from Faith Kramer. Served with a creamy tahini sauce, they're reminiscent of fried banana pudding. Get the Recipe Save 13 of 18 Mandelbrot Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen Meaning “almond bread” in Yiddish, mandelbrot is a cousin of Italian biscotti and a traditional cookie offered during Hanukkah. Baked into an almond, dried fruit, and coconut-studded loaf and then sliced and toasted until crisp, this cookie — from cookbook author Joan Nathan — is perfect for serving with coffee or tea. Get the Recipe Save 14 of 18 Hanukkah Doughnuts John Kernick A classic sufganiyot-style Hanukkah doughnut from Andrew Zimmern, these are coated in cinnamon sugar and filled with strawberry jam. Get the Recipe Save 15 of 18 Chocolate Babka Con Poulos This decadent chocolate babka from baker Melissa Weller goes all in on the cocoa: Bittersweet and milk chocolate as well as ground-up chocolate wafer cookies make up the filling, while a glaze incorporating both bittersweet and milk chocolate is poured on top. Get the Recipe Save 16 of 18 Bimuelos with Cranberry Curd and Cardamom Honey Dan Perez / Food Styling and Prop Styling by Nurit Kariv Cookbook author Adeena Sussman’s bimuelos feature light, orange-scented fried dough that stays crisp under a glossy drizzle of cardamom-infused honey. Each golden puff is filled with a make-ahead cranberry curd that delivers a vibrant tart contrast, while toasted pistachios add crunch and festive finish. Get the Recipe Save 17 of 18 Apple and Olive Oil Bundt Cake Christopher Testani This bundt cake — tender and flavorful from the olive oil and packed with chunks of Granny Smith apples — is a favorite of Seattle baker Rachel Coyle. Using Italian apple cakes as the blueprints, she adds cardamom and grated orange zest for even more complexity. Get the Recipe Save 18 of 18 Sfinj Christine Han Hailing from Morocco, these doughnuts have a crispy exterior and fluffy interior. New York Shuk co-founders Leetal and Ron Arazi serve them with a saffron and cardamom syrup. Get the Recipe Save Explore more: Food Holidays & Occasions Hanukkah Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit