It’s the sweetest season, and we’ve collected a mix of vintage homemade candy bar ideas for Halloween — going back as far as 1956!
retro recipes
Homemade with love! These deliciously luscious pumpkin cheesecake bars don’t take long to make when you start with this classic recipe from the ’80s!
Here’s Mrs America’s 1950s way to be neighborly: Whip up these beautiful and delicious caramel pecan cinnamon twists for your next get-together!
Enjoy a slice of the past with this vintage Crazy Berry Blue Pie recipe from 1969. Simple, no-fuss ingredients create a visually stunning and deliciously unique lavender blue no-bake pie.
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!
This special recipe for double pineapple upside-down cake has crushed pineapple in both the topping and in the cake.
Wholesome, full-flavored dinners like this Chicken macaroni casserole come easy with Campbell’s cream of mushroom soup, chunk chicken, and pasta.
This delicious raisin cake recipe includes mayonnaise, which may sound strange, but actually works!
What is scrapple, exactly – and how do you make it? Get a good old-fashioned Pennsylvania Dutch homemade scrapple recipe here, and find out about the history of this meaty mixture.
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.
Here’s a tasty retro chocolate fudge recipe from 1984 for Fudge Krispies — essentially chocolate-covered Rice Krispies Treats! Get the easy how-to here.
Here’s a tasty holiday menu you probably haven’t seen before: Truman Capote’s favorite Thanksgiving recipes! Find a collection of delicious vintage dishes here.
This 1960s version of the French dish chicken à l’orange is made easy enough for a weeknight dinner, thanks to handy ingredients like cornflake crumbs and orange juice.
Here’s a hearty 90-minute beer bread that’s ready to enjoy in just an hour and a half. It combines the rich, full flavor of beer with the taste of rye.
Not only is pineapple amazing on its own, it also can be a delicious ingredient in lots of recipes — like this sunburst chicken stir fry recipe from the 80s.
The secret to these precious brownie oatmeal gems lies in the cookie’s perfect combination of rich, smooth Baker’s chocolate, quick oats, walnuts and brown sugar.
From meat glazes to unique salads and totally vintage-style jello molds, the most iconic tropical fruit can make itself useful in so many ways. Here are some weird – and some good – retro ways to serve pineapple.
Here’s a wonderful cake to make for a special occasion. This almond-raspberry cream roll has a whipped cream filling flavored with raspberry.
Here’s a fun way to make Teddy Bear bread – two loaves of yeast bread shaped like everyone’s favorite toy bear.
Without a doubt, the humble dump cake has one of the worst names ever, but this sweet treat has still managed to stay popular since its introduction in the mid-sixties. See step-by-step photos for an apple pie dump cake recipe here!
There are so many recipes for appetizers to serve at game day football parties — but what about the main course? You can score with this old-fashioned football-shaped meatloaf, inspired by two vintage recipes!
Make these melt-in-your-mouth classic chocolate rum balls with powdered sugar – candies with a little rum kick – with this retro recipe from 1982.
Chilly, creamy and crunchy, but with a flavor profile that might put you in mind of a deconstructed homemade Butterfinger, you can whip up these butterscotch bars in a jiffy!
This retro chocolate caramel nut bars recipe is the best of both of the candy bar classics! And it’s a very easy sweet snack to make at home. Get the vintage 80s recipe here!
If you love the tangy taste of pineapple, and have been hoping to find some delicious old-fashioned pineapple upside-down cake recipes, you just need to look back a few decades!
This raspberry-cream cheese coffee cake is a delicious jam-filled breakfast treat that won fancy fruit bread honors back in 1970.
Ranch salad dressing and your favorite brand of tuna — they bring out the best in each other, like in this 6-layer tuna salad vintage recipe.
Bring spring to your table with this lovely, luscious homemade daffodil pecan cake, based on an old-fashioned recipe from the early 1940s!
These ‘Good morning, pumpkin’ pancakes combine warm spice flavors with real pumpkin for a breakfast treat that will get a warm welcome. Get the classic recipe here!
Make a double batch of these chicken meatballs with cranberry glaze – serve what you need, and freeze the rest for a spur-of-the-moment party.
Cottage cheese — like that used in this creamy cottage cheese dip recipe — is a little lower in fat and calories than sour cream, and just as delicious.
Here’s a Minnesota State Fair champion’s vintage recipe for Golden apricot coffee cake. It’s topped with sunny apricot jam and crispy slivered almonds.
You can top this easy brownie pizza with any (or all!) of your favorite toppings – and don’t forget whipped cream or ice cream!
If you’re in the mood for a savory old-fashioned dinner, here’s a delicious way to make onion meatloaf with soup mix, vintage ’60s-style.
This gorgeous glazed fruit cheesecake is topped with shiny sweet fruit, arranged in a pretty pattern. Get the vintage recipe from the ’60s here!
Here’s a vintage ’80s recipe for a marvelous no-bake frozen mocha cheesecake you can make in a breeze!
Save this vintage Honeyscotch ice cream topping recipe to whip up again and again! It’s honey-smooth and honey-sweet – but not too sweet.
Does the idea of pudding in chocolate shells sound like a win? Try these easy no-bake pudding “cupcakes” – made with creamy pudding inside little chocolate candy crusts.
What a treat for someone with a sweet tooth – an elegant apricot rum baba! Moist and rich and redolent of apricot nectar.
Nothing draws a full house like the great taste of Oatmeal Scotchie bar cookies! All you need is a pan and these ingredients for the perfect treat.
Need some dinner ideas? Help is here! Inside this cookbook, find hundreds of delicious vintage pressure cooker recipes for chicken, beef, pork, lamb, as well as soups, side dishes and desserts.
These breaded pork chops are marinated before bring lightly coated in breadcrumbs, then pan fried for an easy dinner dish.
Need an easy dinner that’s a little bit different? Try Tangy chicken with tomatoes & herbs — a deliciously kicky pasta sauce on top of your favorite pasta.
A wonderful play of taste and texture, this Holy guacamole recipe combines avocados, savory herbs and spices, and just a dash of imagination.
This recipe for chicken Brunswick stew, made with stew seasoning mix, won a French’s recipe award for turning ordinary chicken into a really special dish.
Try the Bisquick dish with an elegant air: Tuna ring! It’s a baked biscuit-like ring that’s served with a cheesy tuna sauce in the center.
This Burger Bundles casserole features big meatballs stuffed with herb-seasoned stuffing mix, then baked in a mushroom soup sauce.
Here is a delicious vintage recipe for a basic beef pot roast — and you know it will be good, because it’s how James Beard would have prepared it back in the ’60s!
These little tamale pies are single-serving meals that have sliced tamales baked into a spiced corn batter. Get the recipe from the ’50s here!
Old-fashioned spice cake – a deliciously flavorful cake – was especially popular in the ’50s. Try making this homemade version and find out why!
Fudge ribbon pie combines peppermint ice cream and a creamy fudge sauce, frozen and then topped with a peppermint meringue.
A glamorous-looking dessert like this chocolate-cherry torte can be the ultimate in party food. And isn’t it great when it tastes every bit as good?
This quick taco bake recipe from the ’90s is easy to prepare, using Bisquick as its base. It needs to be in the oven just 35 minutes before it’s ready to serve.
These delicious raspberry-walnut brownies have a layer of raspberry jam topped with a velvet chocolate glaze, then sprinkled with chocolate-covered walnuts.
Full of veggies, Gilbert’s garden pasta sauce recipe came from a fireman named Gilbert, by way of Hunt’s tomato sauce, back in the ’80s.
Coconut tops this tropical pineapple rum torte filled with layers of cake in between delicious rum filling made with pudding and whipped topping.
This vintage cinnamon twists recipe takes just seconds to knead, needs only one rising, and the breakfast twists can be served plain or frosted.
This is macaroni and cheese pizza! It’s a scrumptious new version of pizza with a crust made from Kraft macaroni and cheese. Easy to make. Economical, too.
This delicious orange pork tenderloin dinner is easy to make, and gets a wonderful brightness from citrus and a touch of cayenne.
For great snackin’, here’s something lip-smackin’ good. It’s a snap to make these simply scrumptious butterscotch cheesecake bars.
Try this easy pistachio marble pudding cake recipe. It has extraordinary moistness to go with its extraordinary flavor, thanks to the addition of pudding.
In this superb macaroni loaf, the flavor of cheese, piquant snips of pimiento, green pepper and onion all add vigor and zest to a simple everyday dish.
Fresh lettuce and tomatoes top this savory cheesy bacon, lettuce & tomato Impossible Pie, based on a classic recipe from the ’80s.
Cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg make a crisp coating for lamb, beef or pork in this apple & spice roast recipe from the ’70s.
When chocolate combines its unmistakably rich, luscious flavor with ordinary ingredients, the result is always extraordinary… such as in rocky road cake.
This tasty no-bake frozen pecan pie recipe comes from the ’80s, and delivers a chilly cheesecake-flavored filling studded with delicious nuts.
English muffins in a loaf! The greatest thing since sliced bread. Just wait until you bake up a recipe and toast a slice. Nooks and crannies inside – crusty outside.
Here’s a moist delicious lemon nut bread that is really unusual! It has a delightful fresh lemon flavor — and what an eye-catcher it is, too!
In this ’50s recipe for springtime fancy cake, a homemade yellow cake is spread with green buttercream frosting, then adorned with marshmallow flowers.
This beautiful pink royal rose chiffon cake is a light-textured and elegant old-fashioned dessert. Get the recipe from the ’50s here!
You can make this fudgy homemade chocolate ice cream right at home – and you don’t even need an ice cream maker! Rich and delicious, it’s ready in 6 hours.
These golden, three-cornered potato corn triangle biscuits will make any meal sparkle. The flavor (from instant mashed potatoes!) will bring back memories.
Try these stuffed tomatoes, filled with a flavorful Florentine blend of spinach, onion, Parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs.
Cup-a-Soup has made cooking for two a lot easier — the soup does the seasoning in this retro ’80s recipe for garden chicken for two.
These big, hearty potato-filled burgers are stuffed with tender cubes of potato, then you simmer them in Hunt’s tomato sauce. Quick and easy to make.
Why should hamburgers be limited only to the common, everyday variety? Why not dress them up? Here are 14 retro hamburger recipes you might want to try.
What’s for dinner? How about some old-fashioned macaroni and cheese? Get 10 delicious classic mac & cheese recipes to try, many of which might be new to you!
This easy and quick Spanish tomato beef-rice recipe from the ’60s is made in one pan, and makes a great dinner for four people.
Why not give your family a Sunday kind of meal right in the middle of the week? Like, on Wednesday, for instance. Here are four fab retro dinner recipes from the ’60s to try!
The secret of these retro Christmas appetizer recipes – piping hot and bubbly cheese canapes, cucumber bites, deviled eggs, ham cornucopias and crab dip? Find out!
Here’s how tho make 3 holiday-themed appetizer recipes from the ’60s made with the help of tomato soup: Saucy cocktail meatballs, Cheese trees & Wreath rollups.
This recipe Libby’s for a pumpkin cream velvet mousse has an airy, rum-flavored pumpkin-cream cheese mixture with orange juice and spices, topped with a lattice of whipped cream and crystallized ginger.
Give gifts from the heart this holiday… made with delicious Chiquita bananas. You can’t find a better gift anywhere for those special people you want
Make this pink heart-shaped cake for Valentine’s Day – or a bridal party or for a birthday, for a wedding anniversary, or just to please someone you love.
