14 Hanukkah Desserts You'll Crave All 8 Nights From walnut babka to rugelach to sufganiyot, our mouthwatering recipes cap off Festival of Lights' feasts on a sweet note. Close Credit: Will Anderson No celebration of the Festival of Lights is complete without Hanukkah desserts to close out the evening. Fried pastries are a time-honored tradition for this holiday: They are symbolic of the oil that was only supposed to burn for one day but lasted eight long nights. Our recipe collection includes sufganiyot, the Israeli jelly-filled donuts that are perhaps the best-known Hanukkah sweet treat, plus several twists on the fried donut, all irresistibly delectable. But that's not all: Other favorites, from chocolate cake to apple betty, also lure guests to the dessert table. 14 Hanukkah Dinner Recipes the Whole Family Will Love 01 of 14 Zalabia Similar to a donut, this fried dough dessert is not only scrumptious, but festive enough to join the Hannukah lineup of rugelach, babka, and jelly-filled sufganiyot. View Recipe 02 of 14 Baked Cake Donuts Credit: Bryan Gardner A departure from cake donuts which are traditionally fried, these treats are baked and then sprinkled with toppings like toasted coconut. The exterior is still crisp, the interior, deliciously cloud-like. View Recipe 03 of 14 Dairy-Free Chocolate-Raspberry Cake Credit: Yuki Sugiura A four-layer showstopper that comes together from a one-bowl batter and three-ingredient frosting, this holiday cake made with coconut oil and almond milk is dairy-free and downright decadent. View Recipe 04 of 14 Mendiants (Chocolate with Dried Fruit and Nuts) Credit: David Malosh Pieces of dried fruit are dipped in melted dark chocolate and voila! A French-style confection that's pretty enough to gift to friends and easy as pie to make. View Recipe 05 of 14 Holiday Rugelach Credit: Mike Krautter This twist on the classic Jewish dessert is rolled up with prune and apricot butters. The secret to that shiny, slightly crunchy finish is a combination of cinnamon and sugar. Nothing feels more festive than that! View Recipe 06 of 14 Raisin-Challah Apple Betty Credit: Justin Walker Similar to a cobbler, apple betty is an easy fruit dessert. It's made with breadcrumbs rather than a flour-butter-sugar crumb mixture and will make for a sweet start to the holiday. Top each portion with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream. View Recipe 07 of 14 Walnut Babka Credit: Bryan Gardner Though not a traditional Hanukkah dessert per se, babka is one of many iconic Jewish staples filling holiday tables at this time of year. Renowned babka baker Uri Scheft of Breads Bakery in New York City, shared his version with Martha, and now you can give it a whirl, too. View Recipe 08 of 14 Hanukkah Sufganiyot It's not a Hanukkah celebration without fried, jelly-filled donuts. They're plump and fluffy—and every bite is just so sweet. View Recipe 09 of 14 Apple Fritters Credit: David Malosh A plate of these bite-sized treats, topped off with a generous dusting of powdered sugar, is a delicious way to celebrate Hanukkah. View Recipe 10 of 14 Pistachio and Dried-Apricot Rugelach Credit: Aaron Dyer Sweet, rich pistachios and apricot jam team up for a tempting filling in these rugelach cookies. Make the dough a day in advance, then form, fill, and finish these heavenly bites the following day. View Recipe When making rugelach, chilling the dough before rolling and filling can make it easier to handle and shape. This step can ensure more uniform and attractive cookies. 11 of 14 Shortbread Cookies These shortbread cookies are very versatile—cut them out in a six point star and create individual monograms so they can double as place settings. Or add color by frosting the cookies with blue-and-white icing, then top with silver sprinkles for a festive Hanukkah finish. View Recipe 12 of 14 Walnut and Brown-Sugar Rugelach Rich and creamy, a batch of these rugelach cookies will go fast. The dough can be made up to three months in advance and kept frozen until it's time to fill and shape them for the holiday. View Recipe 13 of 14 Jelly Donuts Credit: Will Anderson These are sure to be everyone's favorite Hanukkah dessert. The light-as-air yeasted donuts can be filled with strawberry or grape jelly. View Recipe 14 of 14 Apple-Cider Donut Cake Credit: Jonathan Lovekin Perfect for a crowd, this cinnamon-scented Bundt cake is a delightful way to finish a Hanukkah celebration. View Recipe Explore more: Holiday Planning & Ideas Hanukkah