Food and Recipes Recipes 32 Vintage Church Desserts Worth Praising By Kaitlyn Yarborough Kaitlyn Yarborough Part of the Southern Living team since 2017, Kaitlyn Yarborough is a Georgia native living in Austin, Texas, who covers a wide variety of topics for both the magazine and website, focusing on culture and lifestyle content, as well as travel in the South.She earned a B.A. in Journalism at the University of Georgia. She hopes to inspire your travel bucket list with her features on road trips through Texas Hill Country, bourbon tours in Kentucky, and the best beach getaways on the Gulf Coast. Southern Living's editorial guidelines Updated on September 21, 2022 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Alison Miksch; Prop styling: Mary Clayton Carl; Food styling: Mary-Claire Britton If we had to pick a favorite cookbook from the kitchen shelf, it wouldn't be the shiny new one that looks as good on the counter as its new-age recipes taste. It wouldn't even be the special one that holds the holiday essentials, things like glazed ham and fruitcake. No, those wouldn't be saved in this fictional house fire. It'd be the tattered, faded, stain-covered spiral notebook hidden away at the end of the stack. It'd be the church cookbook. Through the generations, Southerners have published their most trusted recipes in these collections, whether it dubbed a church cookbook or community cookbook, and we've gathered lots of our favorites here on Southern Living. These are the vintage Southern Living dessert recipes we swear by. From classic cold salads to warm, creamy casseroles, these recipes simply don't go out of style. We'll never pass up a bowl of banana pudding, a square of Texas sheet cake, or a slice of buttermilk pie. There's really nothing like the old-fashioned desserts you can find in your mama's old church cookbook. We rounded up the most classic desserts that have been coming out of Southern kitchens for generations. We're warning you, these'll have you singing some praises. 01 of 32 Classic Southern Pound Cake Skyler Burt; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine; Food Styling: Karen Rankin Recipe: Classic Southern Pound Cake She's the ultimate classic, and there's no world in which this recipe doesn't belong on the list. 02 of 32 Classic Southern Buttermilk Pie Iain Bagwell Recipe: Classic Southern Buttermilk Pie This pie was created to be budget-friendly by Southern women who were "making-do" with what they had on hand, going way back to the depression era and World War II. 03 of 32 Easy Peach Cobbler Iain Bagwell; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Easy Peach Cobbler Though any Southern cook knows this recipe by heart, we still include it in just about any cookbook, just in case. 04 of 32 Texas Sheet Cake with Fudge Icing Photo: Iain Bagwell Recipe: Texas Sheet Cake with Fudge Icing Texas claims this chocolate sheet cake as its own, dating back to the mid-20th century. And judging by its ooey, gooey, nutty, fudgy self, we understand why. "Everything is bigger in Texas!" 05 of 32 Classic Banana Pudding Jennifer Davick Recipe: Banana Pudding We'd recognize this classic banana pudding any day, any cookbook. It takes a page straight from grandmother's recipe box. (But sometimes you might use that vanilla pudding packet in the pantry, and that's okay.) 06 of 32 Luscious Lemon Bars Southern Living Recipe: Luscious Lemon Bars A plate of lemon squares disappears mighty quick at any Southern gathering. You'll see this classic recipe in many a church or community cookbook. 07 of 32 Vintage Fresh Apple Cake Photo: Becky Luigart-Stayner; Styling: Amy Burke Recipe: Fresh Apple Cake How else would we use our fall harvest? This apple sheet cake, filled with fresh Granny Smith apples and topped with to-die-for cream cheese frosting, was destined to feed a crowd. 08 of 32 Strawberry-Pretzel Jello Salad Southern Living Recipe: Strawberry-Pretzel Jello Salad Nostalgic churchgoers know this dish from a mile away. It's a salad...in a casserole dish...with strawberry gelatin. 09 of 32 Peanut Butter-Banana Icebox Pie Photo: Jennifer Davick Recipe: Peanut Butter-Banana Icebox Pie In the South, icebox pie is a staple during the hot summer—when all we want to do is just cool down. This pie recipe is an ode to Mr. Elvis Presley, making it a Tennessee church cookbook favorite. 10 of 32 Lemon-Lime Meringue Pie Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Christine Keely; Food Styling; Tina Bell Stamos Recipe: Lemon-Lime Meringue Pie They had us at "meringue." You really can't beat these fluffy white peaks of sugary goodness. 11 of 32 Marbled Pecan Pound Cake Hector Manuel Sanchez Recipe: Marbled Pecan Pound Cake You won't find a more crowd-pleasing pound cake. This marbled pound cake recipe can be served as-is or sweetened a bit with homemade whipped cream. 12 of 32 Over the Moon Chocolate Pie Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Over the Moon Chocolate Pie Inspired by a sweet confection born in 1917 in Chattanooga, the MoonPie, this pie recipe is church potluck-approved. The dessert is made with a graham cracker crust, has a rich chocolate filling with a touch of Tennessee whiskey (another nod to its birthplace), and is finished off with light clouds of marshmallowy meringue. 13 of 32 Lemon-Orange Chiffon Cake Jennifer Davick Recipe: Lemon-Orange Chiffon Cake The chiffon cake was introduced in the mid-20th century and dubbed the first "new" type of cake in over 100 years. The creator held onto its secret ingredient—using oil instead of butter—until he sold the recipe in the late 1940s, but we're thinking the church ladies had already figured it out. 14 of 32 Strawberry-Rhubarb Pretzel Pie Iain Bagwell; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine; Food Styling: Hadas Smirnoff Recipe: Strawberry-Rhubarb Pretzel Pie Strawberry-pretzel salad is one of the most nostalgic Southern dishes, and rhubarbs are a real delicacy down here. So we combined them into a salty-and-sweet pie. 15 of 32 Mamie Eisenhower's Chocolate Fudge Southern Living Recipe: Mamie Eisenhower's Chocolate Fudge This creamy fudge recipe was supposedly the go-to of President and Mrs. Eisenhower. The ingredient list is incredibly simple, which is enough to convince us of its merit. 16 of 32 Hummingbird Cake Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Hummingbird Cake It's the most popular recipe in Southern Living history. Simple spiced cakes with canned pineapple and bananas popped up in community cookbooks throughout the early 20th century, and this three-layer dream is the ultimate example. 17 of 32 Strawberry Kuchen Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer; Prop Styling: Mary Clayton Carl Jones Recipe: Strawberry Kuchen Kuchen, the German word for cake, is often more bread-like and made with a yeasted dough. Our variation has a tender, fluffy crumb topping and is then topped with fresh strawberries and sliced almonds. 18 of 32 Hello Dolly Bars Jennifer Davick; Styling: Lydia DeGaris Pursell Recipe: Hello Dolly Bars This beloved bar recipe packs the perfect mixture of salty and sweet, making it a crowd-pleaser for any hostess. 19 of 32 Classic Chess Pie Jessica Colyer Recipe: Classic Chess Pie For a couple hundred years, the chess pie has been a staple on Southern dessert tables. It's hard to pass up a legend. 20 of 32 Utterly Deadly Southern Pecan Pie Jennifer Davick Recipe: Utterly Deadly Southern Pecan Pie Utterly deadly, indeed.Although there are plenty of pecan pie recipes out there, we can vouch for this one as your best one yet. 21 of 32 Chocolate Peanut Butter-Fudge Bars Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Christine Keely; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer Recipe: Chocolate Peanut Butter-Fudge Bars While the church potluck might be weary of nut allergies, there's nothing that says the cookbook needs to be. 22 of 32 Cherry-Nectarine Pandowdy Photo: Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer; Prop Styling: Mary Clayton Carl Jones Recipe: Cherry-Nectarine Pandowdy Popular in the 1800s and early 1900s, a pandowdy is essentially cooked fruit under a pastry crust. But unlike a cobbler, the cook uses a fork to break, or "dowdy" the crust. What's it all for: The broken crust absorbs the sweet juices from the cooked fruit! 23 of 32 Coconut Cream Pie Photo: Lee Harrelson Recipe: Coconut Cream Pie Don't even get the church ladies started on cream pie. Coconut cream pie? Forget about it. 24 of 32 Little Layer Chocolate Cake Recipe: Little Layer Chocolate Cake Known best below the Gnat Line, this towering chocolate cake's height can be based on which birthday you're celebrating—or how much you're trying to show off at the church homecoming. The 10 to 18 layers are a feat. 25 of 32 Ultimate Apple Pie Photo: Greg Dupree; Prop Styling: Christine Keely; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Ultimate Apple Pie from Buxton Hall Fall means apples, which obviously means apple pie. Every Southern cook needs a classic, but insanely tasty apple pie recipe. 26 of 32 Cherry Pie Bars Greg Dupree Recipe: Cherry Pie Bars We're tapping into good 'ole Americana—in bar form. This grabbable, cherry-speckled bar is super portable and makes a huge batch. 27 of 32 Cassandra's "Light" Fruitcake Caitlin Bensel; Prop Styling: Mary Clayton Carl; Food Styling: Anna Hampton Recipe: Cassandra's "Light" Fruitcake Cassandra, we'd like to formally thank you. This recipe has turned even the most fruitcake-hating people in the region. 28 of 32 Ambrosia Pudding Pie Alison Miksch Recipe: Ambrosia Pudding Pie Following British tradition, the earliest custard pies were recorded as puddings in antebellum cookbooks. And—as any Southerner knows—ambrosia is a church cookbook staple. This is the best of both worlds. 29 of 32 Hummingbird Bundt Cake Jennifer Davick Recipe: Hummingbird Bundt Cake This spin on classic hummingbird cake is a no-brainer for any gathering because of its relative ease and fuss-free hands-on time compared to the layered version. You still get all of amazing flavor of the crushed pineapple, bananas, cinnamon, and pecans. 30 of 32 Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake Alison Miksch; Prop styling: Mary Clayton Carl; Food styling: Mary-Claire Britton Recipe: Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake This chocolate cake is next-level moist because of its secret ingredient: Duke's mayo. And we don't even care. We're too far gone. 31 of 32 Chocolate Delight Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer; Prop Styling: Christine Keely Recipe: Chocolate Delight This old-school dessert goes by many names, but whatever you call it, it's a delicious combination of chocolate pudding and cream. 32 of 32 Pineapple Upside-Down Cake Photographer: Jennifer Causey Food Stylist: Ana Kelly Prop Stylist: Kay Clarke Recipe: Pineapple Upside-Down Cake You can't skip the iconic maraschino cherries in this classic upside-down cake. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit