But familiarity isn’t all we love about these 25beloved but all-but-forgottendesserts.
They were great when we were growing up, and they’re just as delicious now.
And for more, don’t miss these15 Old-Fashioned Cooking Tips You Should Never Use, Say Experts.
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By the mid-20th century, mile-high cream pies had become one of the defining features of classic diner culture.
And that just seems wrong.
So, let’s bring them back, starting with our surprisingly healthy recipe for Coconut Cream Pie.
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Get our recipe forCoconut Cream Pie.
Let’s start putting this back on dessert plates today, starting with our recipe.
Get our recipe forFruit and Cream Tarts.
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Southern-Style Banana Pudding
In the South, banana pudding is neither banana nor pudding.
It’s vanilla custard layered with banana slices and vanilla wafers.
Get our recipe forBanana Pudding.
Mitch Mandel and Thomas MacDonald
Don’t miss these50 Best Vintage Recipes from the South.
Its popularity as a vehicle for vanilla ice cream was later eclipsed by bread pudding and all its iterations.
Get our recipe for anApple Cranberry Crisp.
Jason Donnelly
Get our recipe forBlueberry Peach Cobbler.
How many of these33 nostalgic childhood snacksdo you remember?
What makes us wish it were more readily available these days is that it’s inherently portion-controllable.
Mitch Mandel and Thomas MacDonald
Luckily, we’ve got a greatApple Turnover Recipe.
Get our recipe forApple Turnovers.
Unfortunately, it seems to have lost quite a bit of “steam” since then.
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This treat is best enjoyed it with a nice cup of joe.6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e
Get our recipe forSticky Toffee Date Cake.
And why is it that no one makes these15 retro summer foodsanymore?
It was first introduced to Americans in the 1980s at top-tier French restaurants in New York City.
Jason Donnelly
Most of those restaurants are long gone, and you don’t see lava cake around much anymore either.
But we miss it.
That’s why we learned to make it ourselves.
Mitch Mandel and Thomas MacDonald
Get our recipe forMolten Chocolate Cake.
Although you might still find Bananas Foster at Brennan’s, it’s rarely seen on menus elsewhere.
Get our recipe forBanana Walnut Bourbon French Toast.
Mitch Mandel and Thomas MacDonald
Get our recipe forTraditional Coca-Cola Cake.
Rather, they were golden and tasted of molasses.
Those first “brownies” were what we think of today as “blondies.”
Kiersten Hickman/Eat This, Not That!
Get our recipe forChocolate Chip Blondies.
Snickerdoodles
Snickerdoodles are sugar cookies coated in sugar and cinnamon.
Invented in 1891, they were an immediate sensation.
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Like blondies, snickerdoodles now suffer from the popularity-undermining affliction known as “not being made of chocolate.”
And, like blondies, snickerdoodles deserve better.
Get our recipe forSnickerdoodle Cookies.
Kiersten Hickman/Eat This, Not That!
Oatmeal Cookies
Oatmeal cookies have been around far longer than chocolate chip cookies.
And fans of television’s early ’70s hitThe Brady Bunchknow that it’salways"Marcia, Marcia, Marcia."
Let’s give them a little love, even if it means adding some chocolate chips to the batter.
Mitch Mandel and Thomas MacDonald
Get our recipe forOatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies.
Of course, we all know what happened.
But we believe gingerbread cookies deserve better, especially when they’re homemadeandiced.
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Get our recipe forGingerbread Cookies.
Get our recipe forInstant Pot Lemon Cake.
Get our recipe for aGrilled Banana Split.
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These days, milkshakes tend to be churned out like soft-serve from pre-made mixes at fast food joints.
But who’s to say you could’t make them the good old-fashioned way yourself?
Get our recipe forOld-Fashioned Milkshakes.
Mitch Mandel and Thomas MacDonald
Get Sally’s Baking Addiction’s recipe for a brownie-basedBaked Alaska.
Crepes Suzette
Crepes Suzette is another fun, fancy, flambe dessert from days gone by.
Get our recipe forCinnamon Orange Lava Cakes.
Kiersten Hickman/Eat This, Not That!
Get Averie Cooks' recipe forPineapple Upside Down Cake.
Get our recipe forDark Chocolate Dipped Bananas.
Get Sally’s Baking Addiction’s recipe forBlack Forrest Cake.
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Nevertheless, German Chocolate Cake was an American favorite during the mid-20th century.
It’s rarely seen these days, haven taken a backseat to far more chocolatey chocolate desserts.
Get Sally’s Baking Addiction’s recipe forGerman Chocolate Cake.
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Got questions about chocolate?We’ve got answers, lots and lots of answers.
Some even say that tiramisu derived from zabaione.
Although it’s hard to find today, it’s possible for you to make it yourself.
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Get Tania’s Kitchen’s recipe forMoscato d’Asti Zabaglione with Strawberries.
Fruitcake
We can’t say fruitcake has ever been “forgotten,” exactly.
Fruitcake has always been around, and folks are very conscious of that around Christmastime.
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The problem is that many regard the prospect of eating fruitcake with a least some measure of trepidation.
And that’s putting it mildly.
But it doesn’t have to be that way.
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Fruitcake, when it’s homemade with fresh ingredients, can be quite the revelation.
Don’t believe us?
You could try making it yourself…
Get A Beautiful Plate’s recipe forFruitcake.
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Whip up one of these desserts for your next gathering and see why they are considered old-fashioned classics.
A previous version of this article was originally published on September 15, 2020.
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