Forget mac and cheese, chicken soup or pizza — the best comfort food is your favourite childhood dessert. And, even if you've lost your family recipe, you can still enjoy your fave treats from your youth. Read on for nine ultra-nostalgic dessert recipes, from prize-worthy pies to chewy cookies and more.
Classic Apple Pie
There’s nothing cozier than the combination of apple and cinnamon, and this pie will make your place smell amazing. This classic recipe tastes even sweeter thanks to a cinnamon-sugar topping, which also adds a pleasant crunch to each bite. Serve this at Thanksgiving, during the holidays and all autumn long.
Key Lime Pie
If you’re looking for a lighter, more refreshing pie, give key lime a try. This recipe has it all: a warm and crumbly Biscoff cookie crust, a tangy lime filling and rich vanilla whipped topping. It’s also seriously easy to assemble. While the pie looks fancy, it requires just 10 minutes of active prep, making it ideal for low-stress entertaining.
Easy Peach Cobbler
Nothing says “summer” like fresh peaches — and this simple cobbler will be a staple during the warmer months. It’s sweet, comforting and loaded with cozy flavour, with Ground Cinnamon for richness and Ground Ginger for a bit of zing. Top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for the perfect dessert.
Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
Banana bread is our favourite way to use up overripe bananas. And this chocolate-studded recipe is sure to become your new favourite. Semi-sweet chocolate chips satisfy your cocoa craving without making this bread too rich, while a touch of cinnamon brings out the warm, cozy flavour in the bananas. Serve it as a not-to-sweet dessert or as a pick-me-up with coffee or tea.
Vanilla Rich Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ah, chocolate chip cookies. With crispy edges and a chewy center, this recipe will bring you right back to your childhood. However, this recipe gets an extra boost from premium Pure Vanilla Extract, which amps up the creamy flavour. Add extra crunch with chopped walnuts or pecans, or add a handful of toffee bits for added sweetness.
Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Chocolate chip cookies tend to steal the spotlight, but humble oatmeal raisin cookies reign supreme for nostalgia. Our oatmeal raisin cookies taste just like the ones your grandma used to make, using tender oats for texture, juicy raisins for sweetness, and a hint of cinnamon for warming flavour. If you’re not a fan of raisins, try adding walnuts, dried cranberries or chocolate chips instead. No matter what, you’ll end up with a delicious cookie!
Double Citrus Lemon Bars
These citrus bars look like they won first prize at the fall fair, and they’ll look adorable on your dessert platter. Using a blend of orange juice and Pure Lemon Extract gives these bars an intense lemon flavour along with natural sweetness — plus, a sunny vibrant hue you’ll love. These bars work well any time of year, but they’re ideal for garden parties and Easter celebrations.
Easy Red Velvet Cake with Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting
Reminiscing about the birthday cakes from your past? Try whipping up a delicious cake for yourself with this easy red velvet cake recipe. It offers a convenient take on homemade cake, using German chocolate cake mix as a base, but adding red coloring and DIY cream cheese frosting for a handmade touch. As a result, you can get this cake on the cooling rack in just 45 minutes.
Old Fashioned Fresh Coconut Cake
If you’re ready to bake a cake from scratch, though, this coconut cake recipe is the perfect place to start. It uses simple pantry staples to create a yellow cake with a tender crumb, and provides the perfect canvas for a light vanilla frosting loaded with shredded coconut. Serve this anytime you need a simple-but-delicious dessert: Birthdays, Sunday dinners or anytime you need an afternoon treat.
