Whenever I go thrifting, I have to check out the book section. I’m always scanning for older books I can use in styling, a good coffee table book, or sometimes something my daughter can use in her 5th grade classroom. But honestly? My absolute favorite thing to hunt for is vintage cookbooks.
On my last trip, I came across a treasure—I found a copy of the “First Lady Cookbook: Summer White House and Independence Kitchen Favorites.” Since I live in the Kansas City metro, Harry Truman is kind of a hometown favorite, so I immediately knew this one was a nod to Bess Truman. I don’t think it’s an original—probably a reprint—but the handwritten-style pages inside completely won me over. The second I flipped through it, I knew it was coming home with me.
So I was flipping through and the first recipe that really grabbed me was for Ozark Pudding. There was this quirky little Southern Missouri illustration alongside it that made me stop and smile, and I couldn’t help but read through. The more I looked at it, the more I thought, “Yep, I’ve got to try this one.” It’s made with the kind of ingredients most of us already have sitting in the pantry, and then you toss in apples and nuts for good measure. It just felt like the kind of cozy dessert you’d want to whip up on a random weekday.
If you’ve never heard of Ozark Pudding before, it’s an old fashioned dessert with roots in Southern Missouri. Think of it as part pudding, part cake, and part apple crisp. My husband compared it to the flavors of pecan pie mixed with apple crisp and I think that describes it perfectly! Fun fact: it was a favorite of Harry Truman’s (which makes me love it even more as a Missouri classic). When people wrote into the White House asking for the recipe, this is exactly what was sent out.
One of the things I love about vintage cookbooks is flipping through all the quirky recipes and handwritten notes tucked inside. They’re full of regional favorites, old-fashioned ingredients, and so many made-from-scratch dishes—it really feels like stepping back in time. But let’s be honest, some of those recipes can be tricky to actually use today. Half the time the ingredients don’t even exist at the grocery store anymore, the measurements are vague, and the oven directions assume we’re baking in something far less accurate than what we have now.
So, for this recipe, I gave it a little update—tweaked the measurements, adjusted the bake time, and made sure the temperature works for a modern oven. Same cozy vintage feel, just a little easier to pull off in today’s kitchen.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- 1 egg
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup peeled, chopped or grated apple
- 1/2 cup chopped nuts (I used pecans. But walnuts would be good too!)
- 1/2 t vanilla
How to Make Ozark Pudding
- Beat egg and sugar for considerable time until it is very smooth. * I used a whisk and beat for about 2 minutes.
- Mix flour, baking powder and salt and then stir into egg/sugar mixture. Add apples, nuts and vanilla.
- Bake in buttered, 10” pie plate at 325 degrees for 30-35 minutes. * Sometimes falls but this does not hurt the pudding (mine did if you look at the photos)
- Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
Finding this recipe felt like uncovering a little piece of Missouri history, and I’m so glad I tried it. It’s simple, cozy, and just the right mix of sweet and nutty. If you’ve got apples in your kitchen right now, this might be the perfect excuse to bake something a little nostalgic.
