9 Copycat Desserts That'll Excite Millennials and Millennials Alone

Each one of these recipes is sure to make you feel like a kid again.

By
Rabi Abonour
Rabi Abonour is a contributing writer at Serious Eats.
Rabi Abonour
Rabi Abonour is a planner specializing in transportation, but has also been a photojournalist, writer, and editor for several online and print publications.
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Updated September 10, 2024
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Vicky Wasik

My parents cooked often when I was growing up, but my sweets were more likely to come from the freezer section or the baked-goods aisle (what parent has the time to put a lovingly homemade dessert on the table night after night?). I still have a nostalgic soft spot for the flavors of the packaged cookies, snack cakes, and ice cream novelties of my youth: your Klondike Bars, your Keebler Fudge Stripes, and the like. While the adult me would sometimes prefer versions that are made with better-quality ingredients, and perhaps a tad more balance, the child in me refuses anything that resembles an attempt to tart up those dearly remembered favorites with fancy grown-up substitutions. Luckily, these recipes for DIY Oreos, Jell-O pudding, and more offer just the right compromise: Lovingly homemade, indeed, but retaining all the simple sweetness you crave, each one is sure to make you feel like a kid again.

August 2018

  • DIY Donettes (Mini Sugar-Coated Doughnuts)

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    Vicky Wasik

    The secret to these cakey little doughnuts is frying them in coconut oil, which gives them an almost buttery richness. Greek yogurt and egg yolks in the batter give the doughnuts just a hint of tang and the fluffiness of yellow cake. A slightly squished, irregular shape is part of the charm of Donettes, so we prefer to form ours by hand.

  • Strawberry Fruit Roll-Ups

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    Sarah Jane Sanders

    Many recipes for homemade Fruit Roll-Ups try to elevate the snack into something natural and healthy. Our top priority here is authenticity, not nutrition. That means a recipe that copies the original more faithfully, with dried pears or apples for bulk, lots of sugar, corn syrup (it's necessary for that iconic plasticky texture), and just a small amount of freeze-dried strawberries.

  • Homemade Jell-O Style Chocolate Pudding

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    Sarah Jane Sanders

    What sets Jell-O pudding—the stuff in single-serving cups that you remember from your lunchbox days—apart from other puddings is an unusually slick texture, achieved in the original version through a bunch of hard-to-pronounce ingredients that you most likely don't have in your kitchen. Our recipe simplifies things by sticking with powdered gelatin alone, plus milk, sugar, cocoa powder, salt, and vanilla—that's it. Use a fancier cocoa, like Valrhona, if you want a richer, more complex flavor, or Hershey's to recapture that simple school-lunch taste.

  • DIY Pudding Pops

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    Vicky Wasik

    Pudding Pops are milder and creamier than Fudgsicles, making them the ideal comfort snack on a hot afternoon. Despite their association with Jell-O, ours require no gelatin—just a four-egg custard made with tapioca starch, which helps keep the mixture silky and thick. The pops are wonderful plain, but even better with a dip in Magic Shell and colorful sprinkles (or your sundae flair of choice).

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  • Homemade Klondike Bars

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    Vicky Wasik

    Turns out, you don't have to do all those wacky things from the commercials just to get a Klondike Bar: Another classic freezer-section treat, it's easy to re-create at home with our DIY Magic Shell recipe. You can make them with homemade ice cream that's been hardened in a long, flat pan, but cutting store-bought ice cream into squares works fine, too. Just let the squares firm up in the freezer, then spear them with a fork to dip them in the chocolate.

  • Homemade King Cones

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    Vicky Wasik

    Whether you know it as a King Cone or a Drumstick, there's a good chance your childhood featured these chocolate-dipped ice cream cones, with the sprinkling of chopped nuts on top and that crucial nub of chocolate hidden in the cone's tip. Coating the inside of the cone with homemade Magic Shell allows you to pack it full of ice cream without worrying about it getting soggy. Use any ice cream you like, but homemade Scotch vanilla bean is our favorite.

  • Homemade Oreo Cookies

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    Our version of the greatest sandwich cookie of all uses crisp, thin cookies made with cocoa powder, instant coffee, and all-purpose flour—though you can easily substitute rice flour to make them gluten-free, with no discernible impact on flavor or texture. Using shortening in the filling will provide the most authentic flavor, but butter will work, too. Just be sure to make extra filling—if you're going to take the time for homemade Oreos, you gotta make 'em Double Stuf.

  • Homemade Devil Dogs

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    Vicky Wasik

    Depending on what part of the country you're from, you may never have encountered these distinct hot dog–shaped whoopie pies. No matter: With our recipe, you can make a version of Devil Dogs that's even better than the real thing. All it takes is a chocolate batter, piped out into oblongs that bake up into soft cakes, and a creamy filling to sandwich in the middle. We recommend Homemade Cool Whip if you want to make it an all-copycat endeavor.

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  • Homemade Milk Duds

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    Vicky Wasik

    You may not consider eating Milk Duds except around Halloween, but take it from us—these homemade ones are delicious enough to eat all year round. Start by making a batch of caramel, heavy on the cream to ensure that it's soft and chewy. Once you've tempered the chocolate, it's time for the fun (and messy) part—dipping the caramels, then fishing them out a handful at a time and lining them up on a parchment-lined baking sheet to dry.

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