35 Vintage Desserts from Classic Church Cookbooks

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. From classic cold salads to warm, creamy casseroles, these recipes simply don’t go out of style. Take the vintage desserts—we’ll never pass up a bowlful 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.

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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.

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Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake

Photo: 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.

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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.

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Classic Southern Pound Cake

Skyler Burt

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.

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Easy Peach Cobbler

Photo: 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.

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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!"

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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.)

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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.

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Strawberry Pretzel Salad

Southern Living

Recipe: Strawberry-Pretzel Salad

Nostalgic churchgoers know this dish from a mile away. It's a salad...in a casserole dish...with strawberry gelatin.

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Mississippi Mud Cake

Photo: Beth Dreiling Hontzas

Recipe: Mississippi Mud Cake

We can get on board with Mississippi's decision to create the richest, darkest, most decadent chocolate dessert you’ve ever nibbled on. Yes, those are marshmallows.

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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.

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Lemon-Lime Meringue Pie

Photo: 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.

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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.

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Over the Moon Chocolate Pie

Photo: 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.

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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.

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Strawberry-Rhubarb Pretzel Pie

Photo: 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.

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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.

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Hummingbird Cake

Photo: 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.

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Strawberry Kuchen

Photo: 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.

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Hello Dolly Bars

Photo: 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.

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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.

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Utterly Deadly Southern Pecan Pie

Southern Living

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.

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Chocolate Peanut Butter-Fudge Bars

Photo: 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.

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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!

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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.

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Little Layer Chocolate Cake

Southern Living

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.

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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.

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Death by Caramel Bars

Oxmoor House

Recipe: Death by Caramel Bars

That doesn't sound like the worst way to go, if we're being honest. Pockets of gooey caramel are the stars of these bar cookies.

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Creamy Grape Salad

therecipecritic.com

Recipe: Creamy Grape Salad

Deliciously creamy, slightly crunchy, and perfectly sweet, this classic "salad" is a church cookbook regular.

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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.

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Cassandra’s “Light” Fruitcake

Photo: 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.

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Ambrosia Pudding Pie

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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.

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Molded Cranberry Salad

Hector M Sanchez

Recipe: Molded Cranberry Salad

Was it really church without congealed salads on the menu? In the South, these are a decades-past phenomenon.

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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.

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35 Vintage Church Desserts Worth Praising

1 of 35

Luscious Lemon Bars

2 of 35

Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake

3 of 35

Classic Southern Buttermilk Pie

4 of 35

Classic Southern Pound Cake

5 of 35

Easy Peach Cobbler

6 of 35

Texas Sheet Cake with Fudge Icing

7 of 35

Classic Banana Pudding

8 of 35

Vintage Fresh Apple Cake

9 of 35

Strawberry Pretzel Salad

10 of 35

Mississippi Mud Cake

11 of 35

Peanut Butter-Banana Icebox Pie

12 of 35

Lemon-Lime Meringue Pie

13 of 35

Marbled Pecan Pound Cake

14 of 35

Over the Moon Chocolate Pie

15 of 35

Lemon-Orange Chiffon Cake

16 of 35

Strawberry-Rhubarb Pretzel Pie

17 of 35

Mamie Eisenhower’s Chocolate Fudge

18 of 35

Hummingbird Cake

19 of 35

Strawberry Kuchen

20 of 35

Hello Dolly Bars

21 of 35

Classic Chess Pie

22 of 35

Utterly Deadly Southern Pecan Pie

23 of 35

Chocolate Peanut Butter-Fudge Bars

24 of 35

Cherry-Nectarine Pandowdy

25 of 35

Coconut Cream Pie

26 of 35

Little Layer Chocolate Cake

27 of 35

Ultimate Apple Pie

28 of 35

Death by Caramel Bars

29 of 35

Creamy Grape Salad

30 of 35

Cherry Pie Bars

31 of 35

Cassandra’s “Light” Fruitcake

32 of 35

Ambrosia Pudding Pie

33 of 35

Molded Cranberry Salad

34 of 35

Hummingbird Bundt Cake

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