Tu BiShvat Cookies

Tu BiShvat is the Jewish holiday that occurs on the 15^th of Shvat (Hebrew month) and is celebration of the New Year of the trees. Also called Rosh HaShanah La’Ilanot, the holiday marks the season in which the earliest-blooming trees in Israel emerge from their winter sleep and begin a new fruit-bearing cycle.

The most common tree to bloom in Tu Bishvat is the almond tree and it has very beautiful flowers. Because the Jewish calendar changes yearly, Tu Bishvat can either be in January or February. This year Tu Bishvat is on the 21st of January. If you didn’t know, the Jewish holiday starts at sunset so you actually celebrate on the night of the 20^th and this is also true for all Jewish holidays.

Customarily during this holiday, you are to eat fruits and vegetables that grow in Israel and to plant trees too. The fruits that are traditionally known to be consumed in Tu Bishvat as dried fruits are the fruits of the 7 species (shivat haminim) that the Holy Land is blessed by: grapes, figs, dates, wheat, barley, pomegranate, and olives. That is why you can find a lot of Tu BiShvat recipes that try to incorporate all 7 species in one dish. It is a bit of a challenge so I only included some of them.

In general, I think this holiday connects people to nature as it promotes the planting of trees and makes them think about the environment they live in. This is an important topic to discuss especially in January when everyone thinks and plans for the year ahead.

To celebrate this lovely holiday, I bring you a cookies recipe with fruits and almonds, the cookies are a great fit for any other occasion as well and can be considered nutritious since I used rolled oats.

The cookies contain butter and therefore they are dairy and aren’t fit for a meal with meat, if you need a parve dessert (kosher non-dairy) simply replace the butter with coconut oil. If you don’t like the coconut flavor then you can use purified coconut oil which is a blend and has no coconut flavor at all. But be sure to also omit the shredded coconut if you don’t want any coconut in the cookies at all.

To make the festive cookies, all you need is one bowl and a spoon- it can’t be any easier than that! Simply mix all ingredients together and bake. Sounds like music to my ears!

If you have school-going kids, you can let them make these cookies. Under supervision of course! It’s good to celebrate the holiday together.

As I mentioned already, traditionally in Tu Bishvat we consume dried fruits and they are a fit perfect to cookies of course, not like fresh fruits that can cause soggy cookies. The cookies I made are granola cookies with raisins, cranberries and dates. And for the garnish, I used almonds. If you are looking for gluten free cookies that can fit Tu BiShvat as well, check out my almond cookies recipe.

Now then, shall we get to it?! Here is the recipe for these yummy Tu Bishvat cookies:

Ingredients for the Tu Bishvat cookies

100 grams (1 stick) of melted butter
1 egg
1 cup of rolled oats
1 cup of flour
1 tablespoon of baking powder
1 cup of sugar
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup chopped dates (I like to use Medjul dates)
2 tablespoons of unsweetened finely shredded coconut
Pinch of salt

For garnish:

2 tablespoons of slivered almonds

Steps to prepare the Tu BiShvat cookies

Heat the oven to 180°C / 360°F with the fan.
In a mixing bowl, mix butter, sugar and egg. Mix well so you dissolve all the sugar.
Add the rest of ingredients and mix to a unified batter.
Line a baking pan with baking paper.
With your hands, create small balls and place in intervals on the baking pan.
Garnish each cookie with a few pieces of almonds (you can even create a flower shape with them).
Bake for 10 minutes or until the cookies are lightly golden.
Once cooled, have a cookie and happy Tu BiShvat!

About the author, Renana

I only learned how to cook when I moved out of my parent’s house and entered the real world! I learned the hard way that I had to cook in order to eat. It wasn’t easy in the beginning and I quickly learned that I prefer to cook only vegetarian and vegan dishes. My love for baking came very fast as well and I think I like making desserts better than food – well who doesn’t, am I right?

I often find inspiration for my cooking and baking dishes on social media. Doesn’t just about everyone? I love to use Instagram, Pinterest and other food blogs. I really love to find new recipes and learn about new diets that are becoming all the rage, I go to many restaurants and I also watch the Food Network in my free time. Maybe all of that sounds like something you do too?!

I love being in the kitchen but I also have a passion for food photography, all the pictures on my blog are taken by me. The blog is currently just my hobby and my day job is actually as a web developer. If you liked this recipe, you’ll find more on my blog- Renana’s Kitchen and Instagram.

When is Tu BiShvat this year?

Tu BiShvat being on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Shvat comes on different days in the Gregorian calendar year. The day starts on the evening of the dates given below, and ends on the evening of the actual day itself.
Sunday, 9th February 2020 – Monday, 10th February 2020
Wednesday, 27th January 2021 – Thursday, 28th January 2021
Sunday, 16th January 2022 – Monday, 17th January 2022
Sunday, 5th February 2023 – Monday, 6th February 2023
Wednesday, 24th January 2024 – Thursday, 25th January 2024
Wednesday, 12th February 2025 – Thursday, 13th February, 2025

What Other Cookie Recipes Can I Try?

Some popular cookie recipes are:

• Maltese kwarezimal
• Nankhatai cookies
• Boros Cookies
• Eggless Custard Powder Cookies
• Shankarpali – Sweet Diamond Cuts
• Date rolls
• Rose Cookies