Lohri Special Sweets Guide: What to Serve, Gift and Share
Written by jheelum basu | January 9, 2026
Lohri is a North Indian harvest festival that blends the agrarian rituals with the end of the winter solstice. It bids adieu to winter and welcomes the longer days while expressing gratitude for the annual harvest. And, such an auspicious occasion is never complete without special sweets. Like any other Indian festival, Lohri is about coming together with friends and family to enjoy a wonderful time while expressing love and gratitude.
While the list of popular Lohri special sweets includes rewri, chikki, pinni, laddoo, and kheer, people are also exploring fusion sweets while keeping the traditional ones in place. The traditional recipes symbolize warmth, prosperity, and abundance, while the contemporary ones add a touch of modernity. Be it the regular Lohri special sweets or the fusion ones, the options are endless when it comes to serving or gifting sweets during Lohri.
Gifting Sweets During Lohri: A Sweet Gesture
In India, festivals are all about sharing love and laughter. And sweets always make the occasion even more special with their signature touch of familiarity and warmth. During Lohri, sweets are gifted and exchanged to symbolize the sweetness of relationships and prosperity. Gifting sweets also comes with a wish for a bountiful harvest and financial growth. Also, the sweets are shared while sitting around a bonfire as the festival is celebrated during the coldest time of the year. Here’s a list of the most popular Lohri sweets to serve and gift this year.
Lohri Sweets: What All To Serve?
1. Rewri
While celebrating Lohri, serving rewri is essential. This Lohri, indulge in the perfect festive sweet that mixes the goodness of sesame and jaggery. A perfect, crunchy, sweet experience while sitting around the bonfire and sharing a good time with friends and family. The bite-sized rounds or flattened pieces are primarily made from roasted sesame seeds and hardened jaggery. For an added winter flavor, cardamom and a touch of ghee are often added to it.
One may also explore the chocolate version of the rewaris as well to give the celebrations a modern touch. This combines the classic crunchy texture of sesame seeds and the sweetness of jaggery with rich chocolate flavor. This pairing offers a nutritious, energy-boosting treat that works as both a festive treat and a chocolatey snack.
2. Til Chikki
Lohri celebrations are all about making sweets made from natural, earthy ingredients. And this Til chikki (sesame jaggery brittle) indeed is one of them. The quintessential Lohri sweet symbolizes warmth and good fortune. Besides rewri, this is another crispy candy made from sesame seeds and liquid jaggery. The flat, brittle bar is often snapped into pieces before taking a bite. This crispy, energy-boosting festive staple is often enjoyed around the bonfire with peanuts, gajak, and other festive treats.
3. Pinni
The North Indian harvest celebration is always incomplete without pinni, which has deep roots in rural Punjab. This Lohri special sweet winter treat is traditionally prepared with whole wheat flour, ghee, sugar, and cardamom. This sweet is all about health and vitality, shaped into little balls. The abundance of whole wheat flour, ghee, dry fruits, jaggery, and edible gum, these laddoos provide the body with essential energy and warmth to endure the cold weather. These days, pinnis are prepared with a contemporary chocolatey twist as well. Adding some chocolate always elevates the flavor profile of the rich, energizing sweet made primarily from whole wheat flour, ghee, and jaggery.
Lohri Sweets: Ideal Sweet Gifts
4. Fusion Chikkis
Fusion sweets indeed are gaining popularity as the most suitable festive gifts. And, the same goes for Lohri as well. Chikkis share an age-old connection with Lohri celebrations. While the traditional one eaten during Lohri is the til chikki, the contemporary versions explore several other options. The modern fusion chikkis include classics like dry fruit, chocolate, peanut, roasted nut varieties, and so on. While jaggery remains the constant, the list of add-ins includes options as interesting as rose, almonds, pistachios, and cashews. Besides elevating the flavor profile of the Lohri sweets, they also make the traditional recipes attractive to the modern generation.
5. Fusion Laddoos
While traditional Lohri-special laddoos continue to win hearts, the contemporary fusion laddoos are also making their own space in the Lohri dessert buffet. While the base ingredients are still the same (til, gond, wheat flour, jaggery), the fusion laddoos infuse modern twists like oats, cocoa powder, or different dry fruits and seeds (chia seeds, flax seeds). In addition to variations in taste, modern recipes introduce a healthy twist to traditional dishes.
Conclusion:
This year, make sure the Lohri celebrations become memorable. While the auspicious day is all about expressing gratitude and sharing love, make the Lohri special sweets for all the loved ones. Serve them or send them across as sweet gifts. Cause, in the end, it is all about the sense of togetherness that sweetly symbolize the best.