vintage dessert recipes

3 from-scratch traditional pound cake recipes (1920)

The traditional pound cake recipe got its name from the measurements of some ingredients used in the recipe — a pound of butter, a pound of sugar and a pound of flour. More than a century ago, the recipe changed to something a little lighter, but no less delicious!

Vintage almond macaroon brownies recipe from the 80s at ClickAmericana com
Try this almond macaroon brownies recipe from the 80s

Picture this: a fusion of velvety cream cheese, the tropical essence of coconut, earthy almonds, and rich swaths of semi-sweet chocolate converging. This retro almond macaroon brownies recipe will help you make a sweet and nostalgic treat!

Cherry butter jewels cookies recipe
Cherry thumbprint Christmas cookies

These rich and tender cherry thumbprint Christmas cookies have bright and colorful button centers, made by placing pretty halved red or green candied cherries into the middle of each one.

Homemade applesauce cake with whipped cream
Easy one-bowl applesauce cake recipe (1973)

Grandma’s one-bowl applesauce cake recipe. It’s especially versatile. It’s the perfect snack almost any time. Bake it as squares, a ring, a loaf or cupcakes. Glaze it or not. Offer it for special flavor at brunch, lunch, or nightcap breaks.

1999 Rice Krispie house Christmas holidays
How to make a Rice Krispies gingerbread house

A Rice Krispies gingerbread house – or Christmas cottage – made from crispy rice cereal is easier and faster to put together than most conventional gingerbread houses! Here’s how to do it.

Recipe for pecan pie cookie bars
Classic pecan pie cookie bars

These nutty retro pecan pie cookie bars offer all the sweet devastation of the traditional pecan pie filling, but the crust is a cookie-type base that any novice can produce.

Chocolate crinkle cookies with powdered sugar
Chocolate crinkle cookies with powdered sugar

These big chocolate crinkle cookies are covered in powdered sugar before they’re baked, and come out of the oven with little cracks in the snowy sugar. This classic recipe comes from the 1980s, and uses unsweetened cocoa.

Our 12 best vintage brownie recipes
Our 14 best vintage brownie recipes

Ready for some good old-fashioned chocolate treats? Here are more than a dozen of our best vintage brownie recipes — lots of fudgy deliciousness with a retro twist!

Homemade chocolate truffles recipe
Homemade chocolate truffles recipe

Skip buying expensive candy and make your own! These homemade chocolate truffles can be whipped at home in no time at all with this simple recipe from the 80s. 

Chocolate-orange dream cookies
Chocolate-orange dream cookies (1994)

Try this classic chocolate-orange dream cookies recipe from 1994 – an orange-flavored chocolate chip treat that’s similar to the popular white chocolate-orange dream cookies!

White chocolate-orange dream cookies
White chocolate-orange dream cookies recipe

These white chocolate-orange dream cookies taste almost like orange creamsicles! It’s s a nice variation on the popular white-chocolate macadamia nut cookie – and part of what makes these white chocolate dreams so unique.

Old-fashioned baked apples with walnuts, sugar, cinnamon, and raisins
Old-fashioned baked apples

Raisins and walnuts, delicately flavored with the flavors of cinnamon and orange, are wonderful surprises awaiting you with your first spoonful of these delicious old-fashioned baked apples!

mms jumble cookie recipe (1994)
Easy m&ms jumbles cookie recipe

This delicious classic jumbles cookie recipe comes from m&ms, who published it in the 1990s. Candy jumbles are chock-full of chocolate, raisins and nuts – with just enough dough to hold them all together!

Vintage 90s Caramel apple oat squares dessert recipe
Caramel apple oat squares dessert recipe

These wonderfully rich and indulgent caramel apple oat squares don’t take long to make, and these dessert bars are doubly delicious when served with ice cream on top.

Retro recipe - No-cook peppermint patties in red green and white
No-cook peppermint patties

These colorful homemade no-cook peppermint patties are tasty and super easy to make. Best of all, you can color them for any occasion!

Grandma's peanut butter molasses cookies recipe (1947)
Peanut butter molasses cookies

Here’s a classic recipe from the late 1940s for Grandma’s peanut butter molasses cookies, which are sweetened with sugar and dark molasses, and topped with peanut halves.

Classic spiced crackle cookie recipe (1982)
Spiced crackle cookies

These classic spiced crackle cookies from the 80s – rolled in powdered sugar before baking – deliver a sweet dessert with rich flavor and a little warm and spicy tang.

Almond Legend cake (1976)
Almond Legend cake recipe (1976)

This almond legend cake has one whole almond baked inside, and the lucky person who receives the slice with the hidden almond is said to enjoy good fortune all year! Here’s the classic recipe from the 1970s!

Easy classic pudding lemonade cake recipe from the 70s
Easy classic pudding lemonade cake recipe from the 70s

For one of the most lemony lemon cakes you can make, try baking a pudding lemonade cake! This dessert delivers deliciously tart and sweet flavors by combining lemon cake mix, lemon pudding mix, and even lemonade drink mix or concentrate.

Light o' lemon no-bake pie recipe (1980)
Light o’ lemon no-bake pie recipe (1980)

This retro pie recipe is a quickie – no oven needed! Just some easy-to-find ingredients combined in a saucepan and mixed in bowls, and you can have a fluffy and light lemon no-bake pie tonight.

Vintage Jell-O Pudding Tortoni recipe from the 60s
Jell-O Pudding Tortoni recipe from the 60s

This easy pudding tortoni recipe uses coconut cream cook & serve pudding mix, toasted coconut and a few other ingredients to make a simple but delicious version of the classic Italian dessert.

Easy chewy chocolate cookies
Easy chewy chocolate cookies

Find out how to make the Hershey’s classic – easy chewy chocolate cookies made with powdered cocoa – in this retro recipe from the 80s!