Making a comeback this holiday season, classic Christmas desserts are once again becoming the centerpiece of family gatherings and festive celebrations.
Gone are the days when these traditional treats were considered old-fashioned or boring. No, today they’re being revamped with creative twists and modern flavors that bring new life to grandma’s recipes.
Sweet Potato Pie with Spiced Sweet Glaze
Highlighting the understated charm of Southern Living’s sweet potato pie, this dessert is surprisingly scrumptious despite its unassuming appearance. The towering stack of sweet potato slices is cloaked in a luscious glaze that perfectly balances sweetness and spice. It’s an ideal treat for autumn, potentially even surpassing pumpkin pie in terms of flavor.
Southern Pecan Treats Worth Preserving
Often overlooked in modern baking traditions, divinity has experienced a significant decline in popularity over the past few decades. Despite its rich history, this classic Christmas dessert has been largely forgotten by many families. However, its enduring appeal lies in its unique combination of flavors and ease of preparation. With only a handful of ingredients required, divinity can be made quickly without sacrificing taste or quality.
As an heirloom recipe worth preserving for future generations, it’s time to rediscover the joys of this beloved dessert.
Mid-Century Gelatin Desserts Get a Green Revival
Delving into the world of 1950s homemaking, one discovers a fascinating trend: the rise of Jello-based recipes. These gelatinous creations were not only popular but also held significant importance due to their exclusivity. Prior to this era, gelatin molds were largely reserved for the wealthy, as producing gelatin was a labor-intensive and costly process, making it inaccessible to many households.
Easy No-Bake Christmas Treats for Kids
Among the many festive activities for kids during Christmas, making delicious no-bake wreath cookies stands out as an excellent option. Not only are these treats perfect for any holiday table, but they also require only a few simple ingredients that are likely already stocked in your kitchen. The best part is that children can prepare them with minimal supervision, making it a great activity to keep little ones engaged and creative.
Pistachio Delight Coffee Cake Recipe
Highlighting our love for classic cookbooks, we often find ourselves drawn to recipes that transport us back in time. One such beloved treat in our family is the light and fluffy Pistachio Coffee Cake! Not only does it satisfy our sweet tooth, but its vibrant green center adds a pop of color that’s almost too beautiful to resist eating. This quick and easy recipe has become a staple in our household, perfect for special occasions or simply brightening up an ordinary day.
Southern Pecan Delights with a Twist
Looking at these Pecan Pralines, it’s clear that they’re a true Southern classic with an old-fashioned charm. With their unique blend of textures – crunchy pecans, rich butterscotch, gooey caramel, and a hint of sugar – all perfectly balanced in a decadent fudgy package, it’s no wonder they’ve become a beloved treat.
Buttery French Cookies with Holiday Flair
When it comes to traditional desserts, few are as delightful as French Buttercream cookies. These sweet treats are renowned for their light and buttery texture, making them the perfect accompaniment to add some festive flair to your holiday celebrations.
The versatility of this cookie is also noteworthy, allowing bakers to experiment with various creative touches such as adding food coloring to the dough or sprinkling colored sugar on top, resulting in a visually stunning dessert that’s ideal for sharing with loved ones.
Cinnamon Delight Dessert Revival
Uncovering nostalgic recipes from the past, Red Hot Fluff is a vintage dessert that showcases an unconventional combination of classic ingredients such as crushed pineapple, Cool Whip, and mini marshmallows. The sweet base of this dish is created by melting Cinnamon Imperials into the crushed pineapple, resulting in a strong cinnamon flavor before adding the fluffy marshmallows and whipped topping.
Grandma’s Easy Chocolate Pecan Cookie Recipe
Bring warmth and joy to your holiday celebrations with the irresistible charm of Chocolate Pecan Slice and Bake Cookies, courtesy of a cherished family recipe passed down from grandma. This classic treat is sure to make your holidays sweeter.
Vintage Red & Green Christmas Delight
Looking back through the archives of Southern Living’s past issues, we stumbled upon this delightful red-and-green congealed salad recipe from 1982 that has stood the test of time. Its unique blend of sweet and soft textures, combined with its festive colors, makes it a perfect fit for a vintage Christmas dessert that never goes out of style.
Sweet & Savory Nut Delights
Many people may be skeptical about Luci’s unique sugared nuts recipe at first glance, but rest assured, they’re absolutely divine when prepared in the traditional method.
Sugar Cookie Delights for Christmas
Last but not least, the holidays offer an ideal opportunity to create a delicious batch of Old Fashioned Tea Cakes. These classic treats are reminiscent of traditional sugar cookies, with a delicate balance of sweetness that is sure to please even the most discerning palate. With their simple yet elegant design, they can be easily decorated for Christmas and make for a wonderful holiday treat.
Classic Date Cake with Caramel Glaze
Meticulously pouring over old family recipes is a delightful way to revisit the past, and for some of us, it’s a window into our heritage. Old Fashioned Date Pudding is a timeless dessert that consists of a date cake paired with a rich, velvety caramel sauce. The sweet aroma that fills the kitchen as the pudding cooks is unmistakable, just like Grandma used to make it.
Once cooked, the sticky sauce settles at the bottom, creating an irresistible contrast of textures when served warm with whipped cream oozing on top.
Easy Crunchy Cornflake Treats
Zest for life, it seems, is not the only thing you’ll get from this delightful treat, as this no-bake Cornflake Candy is an incredibly easy and tasty sweet indulgence that can be made in one pan with just a few simple ingredients. The combination of peanut butter and cornflakes yields a deliciously crunchy snack that will satisfy your sweet cravings without taking up all of your precious time.
Easy Cranberry Delight for Holiday Nights
Rounding out your holiday menu with a delicious and stress-free dessert option is always a good idea, especially during the busy Christmas season. One such perfect choice is a cranberry cake, which not only tastes amazing but also happens to be incredibly easy to prepare.
And here’s the best part: it looks like you put in so much more effort than you actually did, making it an ideal option for Christmas gatherings and events, including those held on Christmas eve when everyone is looking forward to a festive evening with family and friends.
Easy Potato Candy Treats Without Baking
Taking advantage of its simplicity, this 4-ingredient potato candy offers an effortless approach to indulge in the timeless flavor of classic potato treats.
Sweet Southern Gingerbread Traditions
Around this time of year, there’s nothing quite like getting into the festive spirit by whipping up a classic gingerbread house. The unmistakable aroma of warm spices and sweet treats wafting from your oven will instantly transform your home into a winter wonderland, filling you with the magic of Christmas in no time! If you’re looking for some inspiration to get started on this holiday tradition, be sure to check out our collection of the best Christmas gingerbread recipes.
Rich & Spicy British Christmas Treat
Crafting the perfect Christmas pudding is an art that many Britons have mastered over the years, and for good reason – it’s a rich, sticky delight with just the right balance of spices and a hint of indulgent chocolate that adds an extra layer of depth to this beloved holiday treat.
Retro Holiday Dessert Layers
Most people know and love the classic Christmas dessert, but what makes the vintage Christmas trifle so special? It’s a combination of cake, custard, fruit, and jelly that not only looks stunning when assembled, but also packs a flavorful punch. With layers of all these ingredients and the opportunity to get creative in decorating it, the vintage Christmas trifle is perfect for those who want to showcase their baking skills and impress their loved ones during the holiday season.
Peanut Butter Holiday Treats
Here’s an irresistible treat to indulge in during the festive season – Princess Pinky Girl’s delicious Peanut Butter Christmas Truffles. These bite-sized confections require just 4 simple ingredients, making them a perfect option for those who crave a quick and easy holiday dessert.
Retro Ceramic Christmas Tree Dessert
Kicking off the holiday season with a classic dessert that’s sure to bring back nostalgic memories, Katrina’s Vintage Christmas Tree Cake is an exact replica of the retro ceramic Christmas trees we all loved in our childhood – but this time, it’s a delicious edible treat!
Chocolate Chip Shortbread Logs Recipe
Versatility is a hallmark of many old cookbooks, which often include recipes that have stood the test of time. Such is the case with Dainty Log Butter Cookies with Chocolate Chips, a treat that balances ease of preparation with rich flavor. Adding melted chocolate chips and your favorite nuts to the top of these buttery shortbread logs is sure to make them a hit at any holiday gathering, including Christmas.
Sweet Crunch Pretzel Pineapple Salad Delight
Keeping in mind the nostalgia of old cookbooks, many recipes still hold up today as popular choices for family gatherings. This Pretzel Pineapple Salad is a prime example, with its sweet, buttery pretzel crumbles being a key contributor to its enduring popularity. The simplicity of its ingredients – Cool Whip, crushed pineapple, and cream cheese – makes it an easy and accessible choice for anyone looking to bring a classic side dish to the table.
Homemade Eggnog Recipe: Simple & Creamy
Fresh from the kitchen, our simple eggnog recipe lets you create a delicious holiday drink without the added extras found in store-bought versions. Made with just cream, sugar, eggs, and spices, this recipe is perfect for those who prefer a more natural approach to their festive drinks. You can add your favorite spirit to give it an adult twist or keep it family-friendly by leaving out the liquor.
Grandma’s Vintage Sugar Cookie Delight
Discovering sweet treats is always a delight, especially when they come with a rich family history. This sugar cookie recipe has been passed down through generations, originating from the author’s grandmother who first found it in a newspaper clipping from the 1940s. The original clipping still exists, albeit with noticeable stains, as her grandmother rewrote the recipe on a piece of paper that she treasured for years to come.
Easy Slow Cooker Pumpkin Pie Delight
For those who are fans of traditional desserts but struggle with finding the time to make them from scratch, this Slow Cooker Pumpkin Pie Pudding recipe offers a convenient solution. With just a handful of basic ingredients and minimal preparation time required, it’s an ideal choice for busy holiday gatherings. By eliminating the need for a crust, the cooking process is simplified even further, allowing you to mix everything together and let your slow cooker do the work.
Vintage Cherry Treats from Classic Cereal
Highlighting the beauty of vintage cookbooks, they can transport us to a bygone era, providing recipes that have been tried and tested over time. A great example is the Cherry Winks recipe found in some old cookbooks, which uses Kellogg’s cornflake cereal to create a sweet and crunchy treat.
Coconut Delight by Martha Washington
Just like any other home cook, I have my favorite treats that bring me joy when entertaining guests during the holiday season. Martha Washington Candy is one such indulgence that never fails to impress – and it’s easy to see why. The creamy sweetened coconut-pecan centers coated in rich chocolate make for a delightful treat, and its classic flavor profile is sure to please even the most discerning palates.
You can stick with tradition or mix things up by adding chopped maraschino cherries to give it an extra twist, either way you’ll be rewarded with a delicious holiday treat.
Sour Cream Delight Coffee Cake Classic
Unlike many modern recipes, Grandma’s Sour Cream Coffee Cake relies heavily on traditional techniques and ingredients to create its signature flavor and texture. This classic pound cake is made in a Bundt pan, giving it a beautiful presentation that’s perfect for special occasions. The addition of granulated sugar on top adds an extra layer of sweetness and crunch, making it a delightful treat for breakfast or dessert.
Whether you’re serving it with a hot cup of coffee or enjoying it on its own, this recipe is sure to become a family favorite.
Peppermint Holiday Sugar Cookie Delights
Brimming with festive spirit and infused with the refreshing flavor of peppermint, these Christmas sugar cookies are sure to be a hit at your next holiday gathering. Made with peppermint bits for a delightful two-bite treat, this vintage Christmas dessert recipe is a must-have at any festive occasion.
LIGHT FRUITCAKE
Flavors of tradition come alive in this revamped family recipe, courtesy of Cassandra King’s mother, which even the most discerning skeptic will find irresistible, thanks to its bourbon-infused fruitcake with a subtle nod to its heritage.
