CREATIVE PURIM BASKET IDEAS AND RECIPES
Purim is one of the most fun holidays celebrated by the Jewish people but is often under recognized. That’s why having some new creative Purim basket ideas could change the way you celebrate the holiday.
Purim commemorates the day Esther, Queen of Persia, saved the Jewish people from execution by Haman, the advisor to the Persian king. Esther bravely exposed her previously hidden Jewish heritage to her husband the king and asked him to save her people, which he did.
A bit of Mardi Gras, Easter, and Halloween all rolled into one, Purim’s traditions make the holiday fun for children and adults alike. Many Jewish holidays incorporate stricter rules, which could include mandatory fasting, but Purim is much more relaxed.
There is only a minor fast the day before Purim, which commemorates the three days Esther fasted before approaching the king. Then, the holiday itself is known for a party atmosphere, with big feasts where you can eat and get drunk (within reason, but it is encouraged).
A Purim tradition is to send out baskets of food and drink (“shalach manot”/”mishloach manot”) to family and to the poor. They look kind of like Easter baskets because they are filled with items like pastries, wine, candy, chips, and such.
FIRST, HOW TO FILL A PURIM BASKET – Fill them with Hamantaschen, the traditional dessert of Purim
One of my favorite treats for Purim are hamantaschen. The traditional triangle-shaped cookies are filled with either sweet or savory fillings.
The cookies are said to look like Haman’s tri-cornered hat or his ears (“oznei Haman” in Hebrew).
Sweet hamantaschen are most popular, with poppy seed, chocolate, date or apricot fillings.
But now some artisan bakeries are selling savory versions like eggplant, mushroom, or different meats and cheeses. I’m keen to try a few savory versions next year. I’ll be sure to share them with you.
In last week’s post, I featured 3 fabulous Hamantaschen recipes with you that are truly “over-the-top”! Not only are they stuffed with creative and delicious fillings, but they have decorated “rims” and are “topped” too.
- Burnt Sugar Apricot Filling w/White Sesame Seed Rims and Black Sesame Brittle Crumble Topping
- Tart Cherry-Orange Filling w/Sparkling Sugar Rims and Candied Orange Peel Topping
- Cream Cheese with Espresso and White Chocolate/Espresso Chocolate Drizzle
When you want to know how to fill a purim basket, the answer is, INCLUDE HAMANASCHEN!
You can check out the post here: 3 “Over-the-Top” Hamantaschen – As in Drizzled, Crumbled & Sprinkled!
CREATIVE PURIM BASKET IDEAS – Fill a purim basket with Babas!
Have you ever heard of a “Baba”?
It’s an addictive, “biscuit-like” cookie that’s stuffed with a date filling, popular in the Sephardi community.
When I discovered this “cookie” while traveling through Spain last year, I knew it would be a fabulous addition to my Purim basket offerings.
When I asked the shoppe owner for the recipe, she proudly sent me away with both the handwritten recipe, and a box full of her wonderful Babas!
Did I say these are addictive? What I really mean is that I’M ADDICTED to them!
The initial plan was to make a single batch of babas, as it makes a nice sized batch. THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN A DREADFUL MISTAKE!
Luckily, I added two more baskets to my mishloach manot list at the last minute and that necessitated making a double batch.
They’re not strictly a cookie, though. The dough is biscuit-like and contains very little sweetner, really allowing the date filling to shine through. A liberal sprinkling of bi-colored sesame seeds lends a nice crunch and nuanced flavoring to the babas.
As it turned out, we needed that double batch of babas! H.H. and I were tousling over them, they were so good! Yes, my share is long gone!
You’ll find the recipe card for these wonderful Babas at the end of this post.
A ONE-HOUR PURIM BASKET IDEA? MAKE KOSHER GRAPE GUMMIES!
MAKING YOUR OWN KOSHER GRAPE GUMMIES IS EASY AND QUICK! I’ve got 3 yummy recipes that are all SUPER SIMPLE TO MAKE – AND EAT!
A QUICK DISCLAIMER: I’m including one recipe that is indeed “purple”, but the color and flavor comes from BLUEBERRIES.
I felt it was important to give you an option that contained some nutritional value, as opposed to being solely a “candy”.
START BY PICKING YOUR SILICONE MOLD(S).
For Purim, I didn’t really want to make the traditional bear gummies, so off to Amazon I went. I found lots of different shapes and sizes of molds available.
Wanting to make “Purim relevant” shapes if possible, I decided to go with a “Springy” themed mold containing:
- ladybugs
- flowers
- butterflies
- bees
Kosher grape gummies make such cute gifts when packaged up with a little flower or bow!
What’s really cool is that many of the silicone molds come with their own “droppers”. They really make filling the molds much easier, especially the smaller shaped compartments like these.
KOSHER GRAPE GUMMIES – One hour and done!
Learning how to fill a Purim basket means “going Kosher” – at least with your baskets’ contents. And that means we’ll need to make our gummies kosher, if possible.
Luckily, several national brands provide year-round kosher products, like Jello Brand gelatine and Welch’s grape juice.
That makes it much easier for folks like me, that don’t live in a major metropolitan area.
NAN’S TIP: For larger gummy shapes, it helps to wipe the mold compartments with a lightly-oiled paper towel to aid in unmolding your gummies.
AND LET’S NOT FORGET THE ADULTS! We’re making Kosher Grape Wine Gummies for the “big kids” on your Purim list!
While we’re at it, let’s make some “adult” gummies too!
As you can imagine, the process remains the same, just a quick substitution of wine for the recipe’s liquid, and you’ve got it. Since I 
purchased a “champagne bottle” silicone mold for my “Over-the-Top” New Year’s Eve Party Ideas & Recipes post, I thought, why not wine gummies?
Obviously, any kosher grape wine will do, but I made mine with Manischewitz concord grape wine. It’s inexpensive, and quite frankly, after the addition of sugar I don’t really think it makes a huge difference. I think a blackberry wine would make yummy gummies too!
You’ll find the recipe cards for all the gummy recipes are at the end of this post.
WANT SOME MORE CREATIVE PURIM BASKET IDEAS?
You don’t have to use the same old baskets for your mishloach manot gifts. I put together some creative options to give you some inspiration for your own baskets.
NAN’S TIP: Purchase a set of a dozen pastel plaid napkins to line all your baskets and gift containers. $12.99 on Amazon.
To that end, I went hunting for some fun and unique container choices for my goodies. Keeping my mind open to “out-of-the-box” options, I found a fabulous 
triangle-shaped basket that looks just like a hamantaschen. Couldn’t pass that one up, so I bought a few of those. You can find them on Amazon under decorative baskets.
PURIM BASKET GIFT TAG PRINTABLE PDF
In all my excitement to show you the creative purim basket ideas I created this year, I forgot to tell you. I’m including some matching Purim gift tags too! Figuring out how to fill a purim basket includes the gift tag, right?
You’ll be busy enough making your “goodies” and putting together your baskets. Instead of using generic gift tags, I wanted to make sure you had some custom Purim tags for your gift baskets.
My color theme this year was “Celebrate a Pastel Purim”, so in that spirit, this quartet will match all your gifts perfectly.
Just download the FREE PDF, print, cut out and you’re in business. (I RECOMMEND USING GLOSSY CARD STOCK OR PHOTO PAPER FOR BEST RESULTS)
IFAFL subscribers have exclusive access to the Email Subscribers Resource Library which contains all the FREE DOWNLOADABLE PDF’S featured in our posts. My email subscribers receive the current library password in each email I send.
Not a member yet? Join the IFAFL Email Subscriber List to get instant access to the IFAFL Resource Library and receive our twice-weekly emails. Just fill out the form on the right of this page to start receiving our newsletters and start printing out our FREE DIGITAL DOWNLOADS.
HOW ABOUT A “STACK OF SUITCASES” OR “PICNIC BASKET” WITH TRI-COLOR FILLER?
It’s so fun to get a little creative with your homemade gifts. These creative Purim basket ideas are simple and easy to put together. Sometimes it’s a unique container, other times it can be three different colors of “filler”.
This gift started with a lovely whitewashed picnic basket lined with a pastel plaid napkin.
Then I added pastel blue, pink and green paper filler in a striped pattern to add a little “oomph” to the presentation. It’s a simple, inexpensive, yet fun design idea for your Purim baskets.
Unique packaging can be found everywhere you look. If you ask Mr. Google something, you never know what kind of answers you’ll get from the search.
I wish I could tell you what search phrase I used to find these cute little suitcases. Since it was well after midnight, I really didn’t keep track. But when I saw them, I fell in love.
Not only did I find these cuties in solid pastels, but I also bought a set that has gold polka-dots and gold handles! Talk about a little bling for your buck!
They’re called “JewelKeepers”, so I guessing they’re supposed to be used for jewelry. Do they seem like a practical container for that purpose? I’m thinking NO.
But, they make the cutest gifts for Purim, don’t they? I was really pleased with how well the suitcases and napkins matched.
You never know when buying something over the internet, but my Pastel Purim turned out fabulously, if I do say so myself!
DID I GIVE YOU SOME CREATIVE PURIM BASKET IDEAS YOU CAN USE? That’s my goal!
I hope you’ve enjoyed my creative Purim basket ideas for a Pastel Purim! The recipe cards can be found below.
Did you learn something new about how to fill a Purim basket? I hope so! The recipes are all delicious and are definitely “gift worthy”!
You really should try one of the Kosher grape gummies recipes too, they are so quick to make and everyone loves them! Especially when they’re made with grape wine!
Date Filled Babas
Sweetened by their date filling with a hint of orange, these "biscuit-like" cookies are addictively delicious! A Sephardic treat you'll want to try for Purim this year!
Ingredients
- 2 cups self-rising flour
- 1 cups all-purpose four
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 2 tsp. orange zest
- 6 Tbs. butter, room temperature
- 2/3 cup room temperature water
- 2 1/2 Tbs. vegetable oil
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 egg, beaten (egg wash)
- Black and white sesame seeds
- DATE FILLING
- 1 1/2 cups pitted dates, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 3 tsp. vegetable oil
Instructions
- DATE FILLING: Combine the dates, orange juice and oil in a small saucepan over medium-low heat and cover. Cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring half way through. Continue to cook until mixture is thick and the dates have broken down. Remove from heat and cool.
- Filling can be made up to 24 hours before using.
1. In a large mixing bowl or a KitchenAid Mixer, add the flours, sugar, salt, butter and orange zest. Using the slowest speed, mix just until it turns crumbly.
2. Add the water, oil and vanilla to a small bowl, and use a whisk to combine.
3. With the mixing running on low, slowly add the liquids and mix until it just forms a dough.
4. Remove from bowl, knead a few times and form into a ball. Separate into 2 pieces, wrap in plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator 3 to 24 hours.
5. TO ASSEMBLE BABAS: Take dough from refrigerator and let sit for 5 minutes in its wrapper. Divide dough into walnut sized balls. Take one in the palm of your hand and flatten into a bowl shape with your thumb. Place 1 tsp. date filling inside dough and then pull closed to cover the filling. Roll a few times between your palm to shape into a ball again.
6. Place filled Babas on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Push each Baba down with your thumb, brush with beaten egg and sprinkle with black and white sesame seeds.
7. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 14-17 minutes, or until slightly browned.
8. Cool on a wire rack and store at room temperature in a tightly covered container for up to 4 days.
Notes
BOTH THE DOUGH AND FILLING CAN BE MADE UP TO 24 HOURS BEFORE ASSEMBLING AND BAKING COOKIES.
Nutrition Information
Yield 36 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 90Total Fat 4gSaturated Fat 1gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 2gCholesterol 10mgSodium 117mgCarbohydrates 13gFiber 1gSugar 7gProtein 1g
Kosher Grape Gummies - 3 Ways
What a great idea for your Purim baskets this year! Everyone enjoys Kosher Grape Gummies! Using Spring shapes like butterflies, flowers and ladybugs makes them extra "springy"! (get it?)
Ingredients
- GRAPE JELLO RECIPE
- 2 - 3 oz. pkg. JELLO brand grape gelatin (kosher brand)
- 2 envelopes unflavored gelatin
- 2/3 cup cold water
- GRAPE JUICE RECIPE
- 1 cup Welch's grape juice (kosher brand)
- 4 Tbs. unflavored gelatin
- 1/3 cup sugar
- FRUIT RECIPE
- 1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries, pureed
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
- 3 Tbs. honey
- 3 Tbs. unflavored gelatin
- 2 Tbs. cold water
Instructions
- GRAPE JELLO RECIPE - Combine ingredients in a 2-cup measure cup or small glass bowl and let sit for 10 minutes to absorb liquid. Microwave for 45 seconds, remove, whisk well. Continue to heat in 30 second intervals, whisking after each heating until liquid is clear and all ingredients are dissolved. Pour into mold compartments or use dropper supplied with your mold. (PLACE MOLD ON BAKING SHEET FOR EASE OF MOVING)
2. GRAPE JUICE RECIPE - Place ingredients in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally until clear and ingredients are completely dissolved. Pour mixture into a spouted container and pour into molds, or use the dropper supplied with your mold.
3. FRUIT RECIPE - Combine unflavored gelatin and water in a small bowl and let sit for 10 minutes. In a small saucepan, cook the remaining ingredients over medium-low heat for 5 minutes. Break up the gelatin and add it to the fruit mixture. Stir well and continue cooking and stirring until glassy and smooth, about 5-7 more minutes. Pour mixture into a spouted container and pour into molds, or use the dropper supplied with your mold.
REFRIGERATE FILLED MOLDS FOR AT LEAST ONE HOUR BEFORE UNMOLDING. Store in an airtight storage container in refrigerator to keep fresh.
Notes
If you're using a mold that has larger pieces, you might want to lightly wipe the mold compartments with an oiled paper towel before using.
Super easy Kosher Grape Wine Gummies are a fabulous addition to your Purim Baskets! Adults only please!
Kosher Grape Wine Gummies
Ingredients
Instructions
There’s always something fabulous happening here at Ingredients For A Fabulous Life, you don’t want to miss out, do you?
Join the IFAFL Email Subscriber List to get instant access to the IFAFL Resource Library and receive our twice-weekly emails. Just fill out the form on the HOME PAGE to start receiving our newsletters and start printing out all the FREE DIGITAL DOWNLOADS.
Come join the gang in our Facebook group and get in on the gabfest at, The Fab Life! That’s where we show off our triumphs and share our pursuit of “the good life” with each other all week long. 
