“Head of a fish” shortbread cookies for Rosh Hashanah!

 Even the kids will love having the ‘head of a fish’ on the Rosh Hashanah table, when they’re made of cookies! Crunchy sweet shortbread for a sweet new year.

One of the more ‘out there’ symbolic foods for Rosh Hashanah has to be the head of a fish. Placed on the festive table (although rarely eaten!) it symbolises our desire to be “the head and not the tail” – leaders rather than followers, or maybe thoughtful and considered rather than blindly thrashing about.

It’s also a pun, as “Rosh Hashanah” literally means the HEAD of the year.

Another theory is that fishes are often found in shoals or other large groups. They remind us either a) to “be fruitful and multiply” or b) that our blessings should be likewise abundant.

Sweet fishy treats

When my daughter Kipper was little, we bought (kosher) Haribo clown fish and then snipped the tails off with scissors. It was a fun treat for everyone, and the one time a year that Kipper had the chance to eat Haribo!

Head-of-a-fish sweet treats

However a few years ago, I decided to up our game. Our fish heads are still a sweet treat, but it’s a homemade one. And it’s a treat that not only lends itself to teatime snacking, but would also make a fun Rosh Hashanah gift to a friend with a suitable sense of humour.

Enter, the “head of a fish” shortbread cookie!

How to make the ‘head of a fish’ shape

The shape is simply a heart, turned sideways – neat, eh?

Cut out your hearts using a regular heart-shaped cookie cutter, then rotate through 90° and add some fishy details.

How to decorate your head of a fish cookies

I used a fluted round cutter and the wide end of a piping tip to impress patterns on the cookies before baking. You can use whatever you like to press scale patterns, lines etc, plus a little dot for the eye and a smiling mouth. The pattern will lose a little bit of definition when the cookies bake, so you need to press hard enough to make a lasting mark, but not so hard that you cut right through the cookie!

Once the cookies were baked and cooled, I then dusted them with edible metallic lustre to highlight their scales. A teeny dab of chocolate for the eyes and the fishes were ready to go!

Shortbread alternatives

I’ve provided a recipe here for making shortbread head-of-a-fish cookies, but you can use whichever ‘cut out’ cookie recipe you prefer. If you’re not such a shortbread fan, why not try this delicious gingerbread recipe, or these super-easy 3 ingredient Nutella cookies? Obviously you fishes will be a slightly different colour as well as a different flavour, but they should still look (and taste) great!

You can also alter the flavour of your shortbread by leaving out the vanilla and adding grated orange or lemon zest, a few drops of almond essence, or ¼-½ teaspoon cinnamon or mixed spice instead.

Looking forward to fish…

I’m sure Kipper and her friends are going to love these head-of-a-fish cookies on Rosh Hashanah! I can’t wait!

Makes 12-14 cookies.

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📖 Recipe

Head of a fish cookies FAQ

This post was originally published in September 2017. It was updated and republished in September 2022 and further updated in September 2024.