Old Fashioned Recipes – Baking Techniques
Updated on March 13, 2023
Not so long ago, we were gifted a book of old family recipes that our grandmother had kept. It was a beautifully scrapbook filled with handwritten notes and old fashioned approaches to making things we’ve never tried making or baking. The moment it was in our hands, we felt an increased appreciation for the idea of keeping heirloom recipes alive and learning how the people who came before us prepared delicious foods for their families. The difference between those recipes and the ones we’ve followed before might not be huge, but we liked the sense of having something handed down to use. Once we’d cooked and baked our way through everything in the book, we started wondering about old fashioned recipes that have been passed down through other people’s families too. We took to the Internet and were more than pleasantly surprised to find that many people have shared the oldest recipes or cooking and baking techniques they know of from similar experiences to ours, or having been taught their way around the kitchen by older family members! Now we’re trying out some of their favourite recipes as well.
If you’re feeling just as interested as we were, if not more, in the idea of learning how to make some more old fashioned recipes than what you might be used to, check out this list 15 delicious ideas, flavour combinations, and tutorials that we’ve come across so far in our search!
1. Homemade English muffin bread
If you love homemade bread and you love English muffins like the kind you’re probably used to buying at the store, then we have a strong feeling you’re also going to adore this very first recipe featured on Graceful Little Honey Bee! They guide you step by step through the process of making a delicious and lightly fragrant homemade breakfast option that’s served in a loaf like bread but has a slightly denser and more crumbly texture more akin to an English muffin. It’s the perfect down-home combination recipe.
2. Grandma’s old fashioned peanut butter cookies
If you ask us, no one makes cookies quite as deliciously as a grandma! That’s especially true when it comes to classically flavoured cookie doughs, like peanut butter. So long as no one in your house has any kind of nut allergy, this fantastic and old fashioned peanut butter cookie recipe from Living on A Dime is simple to do but prepared in an old fashioned way that’s completely and thoroughly homemade, just like grandma used to do.
3. Old fashioned homemade chicken pot pie
Of course, baked goods and sweet treats aren’t the only things that you can make in old fashioned, homemade ways akin to how you might remember your grandparents doing. There are plenty of entrees and and savoury main courses that make their way into heirloom recipe books too! This delicious and light tasting old fashioned homemade chicken pot pie from Family Fresh Meals is the perfect example of what we mean.
4. Grandma’s old fashioned fudge
Are you actually still scrolling through our list thinking about how you’re definitely in the mood for something sweet but you’ve never really been a cookie person? Well, if you’re one for very rich flavours like we are then we have no doubt you’ll really appreciate this recipe from Just A Pinch that guides you through the very simple process of making their grandma’s old fashioned fudge. It’s the perfect option for chocolate lovers!
5. Grandma’s best meatloaf recipe
Are you still thinking about how much you’d like to make an old fashioned, homemade dinner but you’re also looking for something with a slightly unique twist, or maybe a bit of kick? Then we’re pretty sure this recipe from The Spruce Eats will be right up your alley! Not only do they show you how to make a delicious homemade meatloaf using old fashioned techniques, but they also show you how they added bits of chopped hot pepper for extra flavour.
6. Traditional Sheperd’s pie
Just in case you’re still in the mood for total classics that are hearty, meat-based, and will fill you up from the inside out, here’s an alternative for those who prefer beef over chicken! This old family recipe outlined in great detail on Finesse Corner teaches you nice and easily how to make traditional Sheperd’s pie in a way that’s even accessible for people who are beginners in the kitchen.
7. Classic Salisbury steak
Are you definitely more of a “meat and potatoes” kind of person but you’re also looking to collect about as many old fashioned recipes along those lines as you can, so you’re going to need more than just Sheperd’s pie? Well, if you’ve ever enjoyed all different kinds of steak then we think you might appreciate this next meal idea from iHeart Recipes. They show you step by step how to perfectly prepare a classic Salisbury steak made in its own gravy. Serve it up with potatoes and your favourite veggies!
8. Grandma’s old fashioned cabbage rolls
Whether you’re actually Ukrainian and you’re looking to reconnect with your roots and try some traditional recipes from your family’s culture, or whether you simply adore the food from that region and would like to learn how to make some of those dishes properly yourself, we have a strong feeling that Recipe Lion has just the kind of thing you’re looking for! Take a better look at their page to see how these old fashioned cabbage rolls were made just the way the writer’s grandmother would have done.
9. Great grandma’s famous stuffing
If you’re going to put in the time and effort it takes to make something delicious and old fashioned from scratch, would you actually prefer to go back at least one more additional generation and specifically make something from before your own grandmother would have even learned to cook? Then we think you’ll adore the way The Baker Chick recorded a recipe that their great grandmother used to use. This stuffing tutorial is referred to as “famous” for a reason; we’ve already tried it once and absolutely plan to make it again!
10. Grandma’s old fashioned baked beans
Just in case you’re still in the market for deliciously hearty things that you know have been served for centuries and are guaranteed to keep you warmed through, here’s another side dish idea that will complement all kinds of different meals! The Best of This Life is here to show you how their grandma used to make big, delicious batches of old fashioned baked beans in a way that still holds all the best flavour today.
11. Old fashioned pot roast
Have the ideas that have caught your attention the best so far definitely been the meat-based ones because you find that the rushed, more modern techniques just don’t get the same level of scrumptious juiciness? Then here’s another one for your bookmarking list! This recipe featured in detail on Mr. Food teaches you step by step how to make an old fashioned pot roast that’s perfect for Sunday dinner with the family.
12. Old fashioned Johnny cake
Are you still feeling the most intent on learning how to make old fashioned dessert recipes specifically but you’re also a person who has never liked things that are too sweet, which you find a lot of more the contemporarily over-sugared baked sweets to be? In that case, we’d be willing to bet that you’ll get along a little better with something a little lighter and less rich tasting, like this old fashioned Johnny cake recipe featured nice and clearly on cdKitchen.
13. Classic ham and bean soup
If we’re being honest, we’d never tried ham soup until very recently. It’s a dish that simply trended out of popularity where we live after a certain time period and we never had the opportunity to check it out. Within our searches of old fashioned homemade recipes, however, it came up as something many people used to enjoy, so we decided to give it a try and we cannot even begin to tell you how glad we are that we did! The risk we took was worth every bite. See what we mean by trying this classic ham and bean soup recipe outlined by Simply Sated.
14. Grandma’s old fashioned oatmeal raisin cookies
Have we actually had you thinking about cookies this entire time but you’ve just never really been a huge fan of peanut butter cookies, so you’ve been holding out for another old fashioned type that you might like better? In that case, we think you simply must take a look at the way The Spruce Eats made these old fashioned oatmeal raisin cookies that they remember their grandmother making for them as kids.
15. Dutch apple pie
Where we live, there might actually be nothing more classic, traditional, and comfortingly old fashioned as a large, warm slice of homemade apple pie. Having never made a whole apple pie from scratch in the fully old fashioned way that generations before us did, during a time when pie crust wasn’t readily available and pre-made in stores, we decided recently that it was time to tackle that goal. That’s where this absolutely wonderful and fully traditional Dutch apple pie recipe from Graceful Little Honey Bee came in handy! We truly couldn’t recommend it enough.
Do you have another old fashioned family or heirloom recipe that has been passed down through the generations, that you make all the time, and that you fully intend to pass on to your own kids as well? Tell us all about it or share it in the comments section so we can give it a try!