Our 12 Favorite Hanukkah Recipes for a Very Festive Holiday

Inspired by tzimmes, a vegetable stew featuring dried fruit and commonly served for the Jewish New Year, we added carrots and prunes to this braised brisket for a sweet-and-savory flavor.

Making this your best Hanukkah dish starts with choosing the right ingredients, such as the potatoes (russets are tops for their high starch and low moisture content). We've also found that a small amount of baking powder makes them lighter and airier than using eggs alone. Finishing these baked latkes in the oven ensures they come out hot and crispy.

Michael Twitty, a food writer and culinary historian, celebrates Hanukkah's miracle of oil by making fried chicken and latkes. He serves up this sweet and tangy slaw alongside.

For this simple baked salmon recipe, just order the right size whole salmon from your grocery store or fish market and have them clean and scale it. You can also use two smaller fish (1 to 2 pounds each) and reduce the roasting time by about 10 minutes. If you like, you can opt for other species, such as striped bass, snapper or tilapia.

Serve these crispy cauliflower latkes for Hanukkah or anytime you want a low-carb alternative to classic potato latkes. We call for prepared cauliflower rice to make this recipe simple. Be sure to squeeze out the excess liquid so your latkes will be crisp, not soggy.

Your Instant Pot is the perfect appliance to turn to if you want tender, juicy beef brisket done quickly. Here, we cut the brisket in half so it can fit inside the pot. After it's seared, it's cooked with plenty of onions that add body once blended into the flavorful, rich sauce. If you are making this brisket for Passover, look for products (like ketchup) that are labeled "Kosher for Passover."

Use up your apple-picking haul in this easy applesauce recipe. All you need are five ingredients (and one of them is water!) and 25 minutes to make the classic, delicious fall favorite. You don't even have to peel the apples! We've seasoned the sauce with pumpkin pie spice, which works beautifully with apples, but feel free to sub in cinnamon or any other fall spice. The sauce makes a great healthy snack and it's also wonderful dolloped on pancakes.

In France these are called merveilles, which means miracles. As the dough is fried in oil, it puffs up slightly, transforming into a delicate, airy confection. Here, we have cut the dough into triangles, but you can cut it into any shape you please.

Tamari, sherry, dried mushrooms and Worcestershire sauce add intense umami flavor to this saucy brisket.

Without a smoker, you can use wood chips and your grill to infuse a brisket with loads of flavor. In this recipe, the meat spends 2 hours on the grill then finishes in the oven, which better controls the cooking environment. Serve with soft bread and pickles.

For the crispiest latkes, don't overlook the instructions in Step 5. After you drain the excess moisture from the potatoes and onion, you'll see a milky white substance at the bottom of the bowl. It's potato starch—and including it in the latke mixture not only helps them hold together, but also makes for crispier results. A topping made with brisket leftovers makes these even more special.

Here, the addition of leftover brisket transforms a kugel—the traditional Jewish pudding usually made with noodles or potatoes—into a main course. Pair with a green salad. To make this recipe kosher, omit the butter.