19 Hanukkah Desserts From Jelly Doughnuts to Babka

You’ll need more than eight nights to enjoy these classic and creative Hanukkah desserts — of course, these rich, satisfying, and celebratory sweets can be enjoyed all year round. Find doughnut recipes with roots across the Mediterranean and Europe, babkas, kugels, cookies, apple and honey cakes, and more. Light the candles, and break out the desserts!

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 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.

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.

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.

Cinnamon-Cardamom Sufganiyot

Cinnamon-Cardamom Sufganiyot.

Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Ali Ramee / Prop Styling by Christina Daley

A cream-centered take on sufganiyot, this classic Hanukkah dessert is fried before it’s tossed in cinnamon sugar and filled with cardamom pastry cream.

Cinnamon-Apple Babka

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.

Coconut Macaroon Brownies

Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Paige Grandjean and Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Christine Keely

This mashup of brownies and macaroons is one we didn’t know we needed ⁠— and happens to be gluten free.

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 then dusted in confectioners’ sugar.

Honigkuchen (Gluten-Free Honey Cake)

Victor Protasio

A gluten-free honey cake inspired by a 13th-century German cookbook, this moist and malty dessert stands the test of time.

Black and Ruby Cookies

Farrah Skeiky

A new spin on the iconic New York City classic, this recipe from Paola Velez pairs the familiar dark chocolate with a fruity ruby chocolate ganache on beautiful, celebratory cookies.

Hanukkah Doughnuts

John Kernick

A classic Hanukkah doughnut, or sufganiyot, from Andrew Zimmern, these are coated in cinnamon sugar and filled with strawberry jam.

Coconut Macaroons

David Malosh

These delightfully simply coconut macaroons only have five ingredients (not counting the bittersweet-chocolate drizzle) and are as unfussy as they are delicious.

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.

Doughnuts in Cardamom Syrup

Keller & Keller

Sweet, spicy, and crunchy, these doughnuts are perfect Hanukkah desserts that deserve to be made year round. The dough, toasted almonds, and cardamom syrup can all be prepared a day in advance.

Bimuelos with Cranberry Curd and Cardamom Honey

Dan Perez / Food Styling and Prop Styling by Nurit Kariv

The doughnut varieties are many: Bimuelos are a Sephardic equivalent of the Ashkenazi sufganiyot with strong roots in Spain and Latin America. These fried dough balls are doused in cardamom-laced honey and cranberry curd.

Honey Cake with Citrus Frosting

John Kernick

This light and tender honey cake is infused with hints of coffee and orange juice and topped with candied orange slices complementing the zesty, citrus frosting.

Sfinj (Moroccan Doughnuts)

Christine Han

These doughnuts — hailing from Morocco — have a crispy exterior and fluffy interior. This recipe serves them with a saffron and cardamom syrup.

Honey Tahini Cookies

Anja Schwerin

These chewy gluten-free tahini cookies, rolled in sesame seeds, taste “like elegant, interesting versions of peanut butter cookies,” says one F&W editor.

Apple-Raisin Crumb Cake

Stephanie Meyer

Andrew Zimmern shares a crumb cake laced with caramelized apples and pecan streusel, the perfect companion for an afternoon — or after dinner — cup of coffee.