Deliciously Cute! Celebrating Japanese Girls’ Day with Handcrafted Sweet Treats
To celebrate Hinamatsuri, we made traditional nerikiri sweets shaped like dolls and plum blossoms. Cute, tasty, and full of spring joy!
Today is Hinamatsuri in Japan!
Also known as Girls’ Day or the Peach Festival, it’s a traditional Japanese celebration to wish for the healthy growth and happiness of girls. People celebrate by displaying Hina dolls and eating Hina-arare, colorful rice crackers specially made for this occasion.
Today, I made my own Hina dolls with my friends — using Nerikiri, a traditional Japanese confectionery! We made the dough by mixing shiro-an (lima bean paste) with food coloring, then wrapped anko (sweet red bean paste) inside and shaped it into little dolls by making small cuts to form their features. We also made plum blossoms and temari balls to go with them!
It was so much fun — kneading, shaping, and blending the colors felt just like playing with clay when I was a kid.
Not only are they super cute, but they’re delicious too — the perfect combination!