4 Forgotten Desserts Your Grandmother Wants You to Remember

"Buttercrust flake-aparts" are similar to the 1950s version of today's popular pull-apart (or monkey) bread, with pieces of yeasted dough layered into a muffin tin and baked. While those sound perfectly tasty, baker Jessie Sheehan couldn't help but tweak the recipe she found in a Pillsbury Bake-Off cookbook from the '50s, taking them in a brilliant, bigger-is-better direction. Instead of using a muffin pan, she stacks the dough strips in a loaf pan, as if they were dominoes. And, inspired by a Sun-Maid raisins book from the '20s, Sheehan fills the spaces between the strips of dough with cinnamon-sugar, raisins and butter. The baked bread is a delicious and decadent morning treat warm out of the oven, or toasted the next day.

Get the recipe: Cinnamon-Raisin Flake-Apart Bread

These wonderful, fig jam-stuffed cookies were inspired by two 1950s baking books and are a lovely reminder of figs' awesomeness. Sheehan makes a super-easy jam with dried figs, spreads it onto a buttery cookie dough, pinches the dough closed and bakes the cookies until they're golden and puffed, like a pincushion. Once cooled, they're way better than the store-bought variety, with a fluffy exterior and sweet, melting inside.

Get the recipe: Fig Pincushions

There are few words more appealing to a busy baker than "one-bowl"—and this devil's food sheet cake delivers on both the easy and tasty fronts. Sheehan takes it a step further with a throwback frosting named for its likeness to ocean waves; she says versions of the topping are frequent in her collection of vintage baking booklets. Blue and green sanding sugar do the job nicely; sprinkle them atop the foamy and airy white frosting for a beachy look.

Get the recipe: Devil's Food Sheet Cake with Sea Foam Frosting

It's about time for malted milk powder to make a resurgence—and we can't think of a better recipe to do so than this version of a chocolate malted pudding recipe that Sheehan came across in a book from 1928. When you combine the throwback ingredient with chocolate, its milky, almost nutty flavor comes through beautifully. The pudding is a cinch to make, has a soft and smooth texture, can be eaten hot or cold and calls for milk chocolate (not bittersweet) so the malt's subtle flavor isn't lost.

Get the recipe: Milk Chocolate Malted Pudding