20 Classic Recipes Handed Down from Our Families to Yours
Every summer I make blueberry pie, but not just any blueberry pie. I make an ode to my maternal Nana’s classic double crust blueberry pie. Every summer she would make it once, maybe twice (but never enough). She would make it during the day, and it would cool just enough for the filling to set, and then we would have it for dessert that evening. I don’t remember there ever being any leftovers, and I absolutely do remember the anticipation. That began with watching her make it, the aroma from the oven wafting throughout the small house and eyeing it as it was cooling. She would take extra bits of crust, roll them out, and sprinkle them with cinnamon-sugar and we would get to nibble on them before dinner.
Write Them Down Now!
We know of several instances where recipes have been lost, due to younger generations not writing the recipes down, when their older relatives still have the clarity of thought. Don’t let this happen!
One friend explained, “Every time I visit, I write down a recipe the way my grandma makes it. It’s all traditional Russian food. Things like borscht, shchi (Russian cabbage soup), zucchini latke, okroshka (a cold summer soup), etc.” Great advice.
Another friend, Elizabeth, said “Mine is a Dutch butter cake from my Boston Nana, who learned from her aunt…it is incredibly rich”, and they make it for holidays and special occasions. By the way, “my Nana was of Dutch Jewish origin by way of Newfoundland.” Thankfully, Elizabeth has preserved tradition.
Here is a collection of recipes from around the world, handed down through the generations, from our food blogging family.
Nana Inspired Blueberry Pie
I say inspired because my Nana use 100% Crisco in her pie crust (and orange juice for the liquid); I prefer a classic all-butter crust. Plus, I eat gluten-free. But the essence is there. Two layers of flaky pie crust, top and bottom, and a juicy blueberry filling. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream! Get the recipe!
Date Pinwheel Cookies
There’s something magical about foods familiar from your childhood, especially those that were made during the holiday season. For my family, these Date Pinwheel Cookies are one of those recipes!
Easy Tomato Pasta Sauce For Baby (Great Grandma’s Recipe)
This recipe has been in my family for generations. It was given to me by my kid’s great-grandma. It has a mild and sweet flavor that appeals to both kids and adults. It requires very few ingredients and can be made in less than 30 minutes.
It was passed down to me by my kid’s Italian great-grandma (yes, she’s still alive, and we call her G-ma). She likes making her sauce with a little bit of sugar to balance out the acidity of the tomatoes. She was taught how to do so by her mother and now I’m using her recipe to make tomato sauce for my kids. Here’s the recipe!
Haluski: Egg Noodles With Caramelized Onions, Bacon, & Cabbage
Haluski is a delicious American-Slavic immigrant meal that is quick, easy, budget-friendly, and family-friendly. Caramelized bacon and onions are sauteed with fresh cabbage and then tossed with egg noodles, which are also allowed to get just a little crispy on the edges. This is so simple but incredibly tasty and comforting.
This recipe is for American haluski — but that doesn’t make it any less delicious or “authentic” as this evolution of halušky has been eaten in America for generations and was brought to these shores by immigrant women from countries like Ukraine, Slovakia, Czechia, and Poland.
These Slavic women made do with what they had in their new homeland, where traditional ingredients and tools were not necessarily available or easy to obtain. We hope you try the recipe!
Grandma Denny’s Homemade Ranch Dip
My Grandma Denny’s Homemade Ranch Dip was a Denny family favorite long before anyone heard of Ranch Dressing! And this family favorite Ranch Dip is a delicious low-carb and keto dip recipe and in my family this makes an appearance at every holiday gathering! Get the recipe.
Southern Potato Salad
This Southern Potato Salad is the best creamy version made with simple ingredients. Tender potatoes, hard-boiled eggs, mayonnaise, sweet relish and a dash of mustard come together perfectly in must-have recipe for any celebration or barbecue.
You know those recipes you call your mom for. This potato salad recipe is one of those recipes. I grew up (in Eastern NC) on my grandmother’s old-fashioned Potato Salad and she never had an “exact recipe”. She just tossed in the ingredients and did the taste test.
It’s one of those family favorite easy side dishes that everyone looks forward to at so many holidays and family gatherings throughout the year. I mean is there anything better to have with burgers or hot dogs at a cookout than this great recipe!
Southern-Style Hamburger Steaks with Onion Mushroom Gravy
This was my second most requested dish at Granny’s house. Fried Okra was the first. It’s simple and rustic and just perfect in my mind. I like to think of these as a countrified, Southern version of Salisbury Steaks.
They are a hybrid pan meatloaf except they are simpler to make than meatloaf. They contain both ground beef and bulk sausage. The sausage gives a nice flavor to the ground beef and only needs some seasoned salt. I make a pan gravy with onions and mushrooms to cover them but you could simplify even further by using a jar gravy or gravy mix. Granny called them Hamburger and Sausage Patties. I’ve updated the recipe slightly and I’m calling them Southern-Style Hamburger Steaks with Onion Mushroom Gravy.
Fried Potatoes & Onions
This southern fried potatoes and onions recipe is a family favorite! You can make these pan fried potatoes and onions for breakfast, brunch, or a dinner side dish. Plus, they’re so easy, they’re vegan, and they’re gluten free! Who doesn’t love an easy breakfast or brunch recipe? Well, I’ve got a great one for you today! My favorite side dish at brunch is definitely potatoes, but so often they’re dry, bland, and boring. Too many times I’ve ordered home fries, hash browns, or some other type of potato at brunch and been disappointed. Nothing compares to my mom’s southern fried potatoes and onions!
Apfelkuchen – German Apple Cake
Our traditional German Apple Cake (Apfelkuchen) with streusel topping is a dessert classic you’ll find all over Germany. And you don’t even have to travel further than your kitchen because you can make this delicious dessert at home. With its heartwarming apple filling, enticing streusel topping, and a hint of vanilla, this dessert is sure to become a family favorite. Before we go any further, I’ve long struggled to share a traditional German Apple Cake recipe. Because, to be honest, there’s no such thing as one standard German Apple Cake. Even in my family, I can think of several versions. But we come back to this one again and again. Here’s the recipe.
Pierogi – Polish Dumplings
Pierogi (polish dumplings) are the first things I remember making as a kid. Every Christmas Eve, my whole family packs into the garage at a long table and toils away for half a day on these delicious little parcels. Seriously we make between 500-600 in a sitting. And, as the designated “quality control” person for 10 years running, I feel like I’m qualified to share my family recipe. So, here it is.
You’ll get not only the dough recipe but three different filling recipes: farmer’s cheese and potato; sauerkraut; and American cheese and potato. Get the recipe.
How to Make Nonna’s Pasta al Forno
Nonna’s Pasta al Forno recipe is the ultimate Italian comfort food. Nonna baked her pasta with ground meat, zucchini, mushrooms, and lots of cheese! It might sound like an odd combination, but it is one of the best pasta recipes you will ever eat! Our family always had lunch together on Sunday afternoons, and Nonna often made pasta al forno for us. With plenty of melty cheese and a meaty sauce infused with flavors from fresh zucchini and earthy mushrooms, it was a dish we could not wait to dig into. I was such a picky eater growing up, but Nonna’s baked pasta was a dish I never refused. Here’s the recipe!
Zupę Grzybową – Polish Cream of Mushroom Soup
This Polish Cream of mushroom Soup has been a Christmas Eve event for my family for as long as I can remember. Like most of my family recipes, it’s never been written down, is never made exactly the same way, but always turns out delicious.
Our soup uses both mushroom stock — the star being “Borowik Szlachetny” dried Polish Wood Mushrooms — and beef stock for its base. It also has more mushrooms than you thought possible, orzo pasta, and a bit of sour cream to finish. Yes, we are naughty and use beef stock when Christmas Eve dinner is supposed to be vegetarian, but you could easily use a vegetable stock to stay traditional or take this into vegetarian territory. Get the recipe.
Traditional South African Pancakes Recipe (Pannekoek)
Here’s a delicious, foolproof ‘Pannekoek’ recipe straight from the kitchen of my late and great granny Julia! This precious heirloom must have churned out gazillions of cinnamon sugar pancakes by now. And it’s still going strong!
It’s your quintessential ‘church bazaar’ pancake batter, designed for the quick and effortless production of soft (never tough!) pancakes that gracefully flip without tearing or sticking. Here’s the recipe!
The Best Banana Pudding Recipe
Something about banana pudding just brings back warm, comforting memories of my childhood. So naturally, I needed the absolute BEST banana pudding recipe to satisfy my nostalgic cravings. I dug through my mom’s old recipes and found this one from my grandma. It was well worth the wait!
It’s made with simple, easy ingredients that won’t break the bank. Best of all, this recipe is no bake! Just a bit of mixing and then layering everything together. Such a great dessert and yet such little prep! Here’s the recipe!
Soft Christmas Cut-Out Cookies That Hold Their Shape
This Christmas cut out cookies recipe makes soft sugar cookies that hold their shape well, and are perfect for frosting and decorating! These soft Christmas sugar cookies are the stuff my childhood holiday memories are made of. I adapted this recipe slightly from my Nana’s recipe for homemade Christmas cookie cutouts, and my mom made them every year as well. Make them part of your family traditions! Here’s the recipe.
Koulourakia – Easy Greek Easter Orange Cookies
These traditional Greek Easter cookies are a traditional treat at every Greek event I’ve ever been to. My husband’s grandmother ALWAYS had some of these when we’d visit to go with a cup of coffee or tea in the morning. They were also present at Easter Sunday (of course!), weddings, Christmas, and Greek festivals. In fact, the adaptation I had to make to this family recipe was to scale it down, because the untouched Greek recipe I have won’t fit in a standard Kitchenaid mixer. One disclaimer though: while they’re easy, they’re not super-fast. The batch makes a lot of cookies, and we’re shaping these traditional Greek cookies by hand. These koulourakia cookies are fun to make on the weekend or with a friend, not on a busy weeknight. Get the recipe!
Nana’s Pineapple Delight Recipe (Pineapple Bars)
Nana’s Pineapple Delight is a vintage recipe from my grandmother featuring sweet, fruity pineapple bars with creamy vanilla frosting and flaky butter crust. It’s a staple summer dessert that makes enough to feed a crowd! It was the type of thing my grandmother would bring to every summertime family function. And of course it was always one of the first things to disappear from the dessert table. Which was good in the sense that it was less to pack up and cleanup! Here’s the recipe!
Chocolate Oatmeal Cake
If you are a chocolate lover, you will LOVE this chocolate cake! In fact, this recipe is one that has been passed down in my family for many generations and we often refer to it as No Frost Oatmeal Cake! Why the name? Well, it is so yummy on its own, no frosting is needed! Of course, if you love an extra sweet addition, feel free to smother it in a layer of frosting, I won’t judge! Here’s the recipe.
Grapefruit Marmalade
This recipe is a very special family recipe – handed down to me by my great great grandmother! So, it’s a few years old… but oh so delicious! If you enjoy making your own condiments from seasonal produce, this soft set Grapefruit Marmalade is for you. Marmalade is a favoured preserve on many breakfast tables. It is easy to appreciate that this zesty, tangy preserve is a great way to start the day.
There are few things more satisfying than taking fresh, locally grown produce and transforming it into something delicious which can be used in the months ahead. Making marmalade is one way to preserve some of winter’s bounty. Get the recipe!
My Grandma’s Best Thrifty Old Fashioned Pound Cake
My husband likes to call my grandmother’s old fashioned pound cake the nexus of my baking. He’s probably right. Literally all of my cake recipes revolve around pound cake. And if a pound cake doesn’t work as the starting point, I’m basically forced back to the drawing board entirely. It is my go to bake for birthday’s, celebrations, random Wednesday tea breaks… I learned to bake from my mom, using recipes from both of my grandmothers, so this has been part of my repertoire for decades. Get the recipe!
The 15 Canned Products Even Chefs Use At Home
Having been a professional recipe developer for over 30 years, I know my way in and out of commercial kitchens as well as the home kitchens. While some ingredients and pieces of equipment are more common in the professional environment, there is certainly overlap. These are the canned foods that professional chefs love and use any time they are cooking. These canned goods should be in your pantry. READ: The 15 Canned Products Even Chefs Use At Home
Unlocking The Power Of Fermented Foods For Gut Health
More people are increasingly mindful of their health, with a growing interest in understanding the role of the gut microbiome in promoting overall well-being. The consumption of fermented foods has garnered considerable attention as a way to support a healthy gut ecosystem. The idea of “fermented” foods might seem odd at first, but most of us are familiar with traditional pickles, and yogurt, to name possibly the two most common fermented items in the supermarket, and perhaps your own refrigerator. There is a diverse array of fermented foods that have the potential to transform and enhance your gut health – and to bring flavor to your meals. We have what you need to know!
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