Holiday treats are a true highlight of this time of year! Here’s a few favorites that top my list.
I think that from Halloween on, indulgent consumption is always implied! It’s a biological instinct. Consider the squirrel, or the bear, who stock up food to eat during the cold winter months. Granted, their habits are out of necessity to survive! I wish I could just leave stacks of acorns for chipmunks. Where would I even find them? I digress! Between Halloween candy to “stuffing” ourselves at Thanksgiving to ALL the cookies for Santa, November and December is the time to eat, drink, and be merry! But what are the best treats to truly indulge in during the holiday season? I have the answer, and then some!
TOP 5 BEST HOLIDAY TREATS
- Chocolate Oranges. I didn’t know this was a Christmas tradition until 2015. When I was a kid, my parents would put a regular orange in the “toe” of my stocking each year! What a delightful thing to do in the “Sunshine State.” However, a chocolate orange is where it’s at, by a long shot! It’s essentially chocolate, shaped like an orange, down to being easily broken up into slices. However, when you bite into the chocolate, you get a hint of orange! Talk about bliss.
- Sufganiyot. Imagine you only have ten percent phone battery, but it lasts you a week. That’s basically Hanukkah, only replace “phone battery” with “oil to light ceremonial candles” and “a week” with “eight days.” To celebrate the oil that lasted eight days, jelly donuts (fried, not baked) are essential to the celebration! I made a batch myself, GLUTEN FREE might I add, a year ago, and ooh boy! The pride I felt. Sweet, satisfying, and often rolled in sugar, I highly recommend jelly donuts (or, sufganiyot) as a first endeavor into frying with oil, not air!
- Gelt. Do you like money? Yes. Do you like chocolate? Very yes. Do you like gambling? Do I have the treat for you! On Hanukkah, kids enjoy a game of “Dreidel,” in which you spin a four sided top to win a pot. In poker, the “pot” is usually poker chips or cold hard cash. This is a kids game! With that, comes gelt, which are chocolate coins! You can typically find them in small yellow nets in any grocery store. With each spin, you either contribute to or take from the pot. If you spin Gimmel, you win the whole pot, and all the chocolate coins! Honestly, if more synagogues created a casino night with a poker tournament for charity during Hanukkah, attendance would go way up, I’m certain of it. See also my idea for a Purim masquerade ball. I just want my life to be Gossip Girl, dangit!
- Mango Lassi. Okay, this one isn’t technically a holiday treat. However, it’s a new holiday tradition! On Christmas Eve every year, Aaron’s family makes vindaloo curry. That’s just part of a full on Indian-flavored feast! To match the spiciness of the curry, Aaron’s dad makes a smoothie like drink called mango lassi. It’s a blend of mango puree, yogurt, ice, and a splash of milk. You can catch me filling up two glasses worth of mango lassi each year! I’ve even attempted to make it outside the holiday season. Unfortunately, my efforts pale in comparison.
- Printed Holiday Cookies. My mom has a bit of a sweet tooth, like me! As a result, she never really kept cookies or other sweets in the house, because she knew that she’d eat them all. When I was a kid, this was the worst. As an adult: totally get it. Oreos are a no-go in my house! Anyway, when I was younger, my mom would throw caution to the wind and get these Pillsbury cookie (dough) pre-cuts. They were just basic sugar cookies, but something about these guys just changed my life. Something about the color or the pleasing nature of the red-and-green designs just made them all the more pleasant. When I’d see those cookies in the freezer, I knew the season had truly arrived.
I don’t believe that foods can be “good” or “bad.” I believe that everything, especially holiday treats, can be enjoyed in moderation. The most important thing is balance! So, basically, if you can eat all of these holiday treats while standing on your head or holding a tree pose, it doesn’t count if you eat an entire chocolate orange in one sitting. Now THAT’S balance!