You’d be hard pressed to find a kid who doesn’t go crazy for macaroni and cheese or a plate of chicken tenders. But, as those kids grow up, so do their taste buds, and these simple foods are often phased out of diets and replaced by more refined fare.

But just because we grow up doesn’t mean we have to abandon the culinary treats we enjoyed as kids. The chefs behind kiddie-inspired, crowd-pleasing dishes at these Lawrence establishments sure didn’t.

Mac and Cheesemonger at Merchants Pub & Plate, 746 Massachusetts St.

When T.K. Peterson was a kid, he and his friends would spend sleepovers in the kitchen trying to devise new ways to jazz up a favorite food: macaroni and cheese.

His parents would wake up in the morning to find the kitchen a mess, left over from the boys’ culinary exploits the night before.

“Now, I cook them dinner all the time, and they’re happy,” says Peterson, chef/owner of Merchants Pub & Plate. “That’s my small form of payback.”

Mac and cheese is a dish that grew up with him. Peterson serves up his version, the Mac and Cheesemonger — baked cavatelli pasta tossed in a rich sauce of cheddar, Gouda, Parmesan and Gruyere — at Merchants, where it has remained a bestseller since the restaurant opened in fall 2013.

It costs $15, and customers can add bacon for free.

Alcoholic milkshakes at The Burger Stand, 803 Massachusetts St.

You probably didn’t have one of these as a kid. The Burger Stand’s alcoholic milkshakes have spiked in sales (get it?) since officially joining the menu about six months ago.

“They usually don’t slow down, not even in the winter,” says Zach Dillon, assistant bar manager at The Burger Stand. “We’ve literally had people order 20 shakes at a time.”

Thrilla in Vanilla (made with vanilla vodka and Bailey’s vanilla cinnamon), Triple Chocolate Thunder (chocolate vodka and Godiva dark chocolate liqueur) and Why You Rushin’? (a play on a White Russian, made with on-tap Alchemy Coffee cold brew and coffee liqueur made with Roasterie coffee beans) are the top sellers.

The Burger Stand offers 12 varieties, with seasonal creations being rotated about every month or so. Right now, it’s “pie” milkshakes flavored with apple, pecan or cherry pie liqueurs.

Adult milkshakes are $7, while their nonalcoholic (and kid-friendly) counterparts are $5.

Triple Cheese Melt at Milton’s Cafe, 901 New Hampshire St.

The Triple Cheese Melt ($9.50) is a staple on the Milton’s Café menu, both at its old and new location.

And, while diners aren’t likely to run out of options for toasty cheese sandwiches around town, Milton’s offers something different.

“It’s not your standard American cheese slapped together with bread,” says Milton’s server Taylor Medlin.

The combination of Gruyere, provolone and Gouda served up on sourdough create thick globules of cheese that burst in your mouth, unlike the thin squares of processed cheese many of us grew up with.

Order this grown-up grilled cheese with a cup of tomato bisque. That’s one pairing that we’ll never grow out of.

Lemon Vodka Chicken Tenders at Basil Leaf Cafe, 616 W. Ninth St.

The Basil Leaf Café’s sophisticated take on chicken tenders (that kiddie-menu mainstay) first appeared on its seasonal menu before finding a permanent place at the restaurant.

“Everyone has chicken tenders. I just wanted to do a different spin on it,” says Basil Leaf owner Brad Walters on the origins of his popular dish ($17). “It’s one of those things that will please anyone.”

What sets his apart from the pack? The tenders are marinated for 48 hours in buttermilk, lemon, spices and vodka, then pan-fried and served up with a vinegar-based cream sauce over creamed risotto and veggies.

Seven-Dollar Donuts at 715, 715 Massachusetts St.

These little guys might look like your average doughnut holes at first glance.

But 715’s Seven-Dollar Donuts, a brunch-menu best-seller that’s sold outside of those hours as “ricotta frittelle,” aren’t exactly like the ones your dad might pick up Sunday afternoon at the grocery store clearance aisle.

“The ricotta makes them a lot lighter,” Zach Thompson, executive chef at 715, says of the fritters, which are fried to order and rolled in spiced sugar. “Not as dense as a doughnut hole, but it still has that nostalgic feeling to it.”

The doughnuts come with a crème anglaise dip (made with calvados apple brandy and served on the side) for some sweet, vanilla-y goodness.

Cheesy Crab Tots at Mariscos, 4821 W. Sixth St.

This fancy take on the school-cafeteria classic (who didn’t have tater tots on their lunch tray as a kid?) originally started out as a french-fry appetizer before evolving into a breakfast sandwich and then morphing into its current incarnation as the widely popular Cheesy Crab Tots.

The dish is grounded by Mariscos’ house-made tater tots layered with crab, a spicy vinegar drizzle and a roasted-garlic Mornay sauce. A small portion costs $10, and a large portion costs $13.

“It’s decadent, homey, feels like childhood, and draws ‘Napoleon Dynamite’ quotes,” says Mariscos executive chef Jesse Bonebrake, who originally wanted to create something “trendy” and reminiscent of poutine.

Not his intention, but “fine just the same,” he says.

Beer float at Ted’s Taphouse, 1004 Massachusetts St.

Most stout beers have a chocolate or coffee note, developed in the roasting of the malt, that make them a perfect companion to ice cream, says Ted’s Taphouse owner Ted Nguyen.

His bar serves up a combination of the two in its adult version of the root beer float.

“You get the creamy fattiness, but you don’t lose that flavor of the beer itself,” Nguyen says. “The cream kind of mellows out the stout taste.”

He calls the result — made with Sylas and Maddy’s ice cream and your choice of whatever’s on-tap at the moment — “the goodness of both worlds in a glass.”

Beer floats run from $6 to $10, depending on the stout.