Don't think you can finish these divine Hanukkah desserts in just eight nights. These luscious, hearty, and festive sweets span beyond the festival of lights and can certainly be enjoyed throughout the year. Dig into doughnuts rooted in Mediterranean and European recipes, babkas, kugels, cookies, apple and honey cakes, and beyond. So, light up the menorah, and let's get to the desserts!

One standout is Faith Kramer's spiced rugelach. Encased in a dough perfumed with cardamom and cinnamon is a sweet date and walnut filling, completed with a tangy tahini glaze zested up with lemon. Ruth Reichl offers an airy Bundt cake, redolent with orange and with a lavish blanket of smooth chocolate-an elegant coffee cake that suits any hour.

A timeless favorite, the sweet noodle kugel infused with custard is an irresistible delight with hints of dried cherries, and it's crowned with a crunchy layer of pecans and cornflakes. Shining the spotlight on sufganiyot, a quintessential Hanukkah doughnut, this indulgence is fried till golden, covered in comforting cinnamon sugar, and filled with an aromatic cardamom pastry cream.

First, slice the apples super thin for a gooey skillet babka, which guarantees a more manageable dough while rolling. This cinnamon-apple confection can dawn as breakfast, morph into a brunch offering, or even conclude as dessert. As for a fusion we never knew we craved, the brownie-macaroon amalgamation is a surprise keeper-and happily gluten-free.

Next of this sweet parade is a Hanukkah treat from Russia-thinning thinly sliced apples, combined with nutmeg and almond extract make a pleasantly light and fluffy apple cake. The cake is then sprinkled with a gentle dusting of confectioners’ sugar. To say it's moist and malty would be an understatement-the gluten-free honey cake, inspired by a 13th-century German cookbook, is a testament to enduring traditions.

A rebirth of the timeless New York City classic, this recipe from Paola Velez combines intense dark chocolate and a tangy ruby chocolate ganache on lavishly celebratory cookies. Then there's Andrew Zimmern's traditional Hanukkah doughnut or sufganiyot, cloaked in cinnamon sugar and heartily filled with strawberry jam.

Also on the list, delightfully uncomplicated coconut macaroons consist of just five ingredients-with a drizzle of bittersweet chocolate making a worthwhile sixth. Mellisa Weller's indulgent chocolate babka pushes the boundaries with a blend of bittersweet and milk chocolate, intensified by chocolate wafer cookies in the filling, and a glaze featuring both types of chocolate.

Certainly, the doughnut varieties are plentiful. Bimuelos-a Sephardic take on the Ashkenazi sufganiyot, with deep ties to Spain and Latin America- are tiny spheres of fried dough, bathed in a blanket of cardamom-infused honey and cranberry curd. Plus, there's a juicy honey cake tinged with notes of coffee and orange juice and decorated with candied orange complementing a zesty citrus frosting.

Originating from Morocco, these doughnuts boast a crunchy shell and a fluffy filling, served with an intriguing saffron and cardamom syrup. These elegant gluten-free tahini cookies rolled in sesame seeds are reminiscent of sophisticated, complex variants of peanut butter cookies.

Consider sharing a slice of Andrew Zimmern's crumb cake with others alongside an afternoon or post-dinner coffee-the caramelized apples and pecan streusel conjure a perfect companion. Finally, Ian Knauer proffers a twist on the classic sweet casserole-a heartwarming kugel prepared with homey ramen noodles.