Top 10 Recipes of 2012

I’ve been looking forward to this post of the top 10 recipes of 2012. It’s always such a surprise to me to see what was popular here throughout the past year. I like to give a behind-the-scenes look into the posts and remember the recipe development/photoshoot/etc. But what makes blogging fun is the community so I’m also sharing some of my other favorite bloggers with you along the way. Let’s jump right in!

10. Oreo Ice Cream Cakes My ode to America’s Favorite Cookie. It’s not every day you turn 100. Also, I’m pretty sure there as some kind of rule about having a dessert blog and making something with these birthday cake Oreos.

9. Easter Egg Hunt Cupcakes In which I describe my fear of the Easter Bunny and why I dislike Easter egg hunts. I’m not really a hater but let’s just all admit that they are much more of a pain than they are fun. Anybody with me? So I piped some chocolate grass and hid chocolate eggs in it.

8. Patchwork Winter Mitten Cookies I had this recipe/technique tucked away in my little idea binder for years before I finally did something about making these cookies happen. I’m so pleased with the way they turned out that I vowed to make more versions…but I haven’t. Next year? A cool little (BIG!) bonus was that a publication named Parents Magazine.

7. Super Bowl Sundaes I pretty much lay out why I am the coolest mom on the block in this post. Our poor children think we are so funny and hilarious right now. In 10 years, I will whip out these sundaes for my son’s friends, and they will be totally unimpressed.

6. Cotton Candy Mousse What can I say? I like pink things. And I like sleep. Sleeping in—that’s what Mom wants for Mother’s Day. Is anybody listening?

5. Salted Caramel Cheesecake Shooters This one makes me laugh. I totally named this dessert the wrong thing because I got lots of emails from very disappointed people saying that they were under the impression that these contained alcohol. So, all you mixologists out there- this idea’s on me.

4. Biscoff Mousse Late in 2011, we found out that our son had a peanut allergy so 2012 brought us lots of changes in our house. My inaugural experience with this deliciousness was in my first post of 2012 so I guess you could say this is the Year of Biscoff. Biscoff Bark

3. Rainbow Swirl Cake Controversial or not, this was a fun cake to make and eat.

2. Layered Drinks Again, looking back is always fun because there are surprises along the way. I had NO IDEA that these were my second most popular recipe of 2012. I distinctly remember talking about this post the day before I published it. I was kind of on the fence about it. It was one of those recipes that isn’t really a recipe, and you are sure that everyone already knows how to do it anyway, so why even bother posting it? I certainly didn’t invent it but I hope the post cleared up some of the reasoning behind why it works. I was so happy when pictures started pouring in from readers who made it at home with their children!

1. Cadbury Cream Cookie Cups Born out of sheer laziness the popularity of these cookie cups took me by surprise. I set out to make homemade Cadbury eggs and things got way too messy and involved for my patience. So I stuffed the creamy filling into a chocolate chip cookie cup. Sugar overload? Yes. Bliss? Yes. I admit that I kind of get a giggle when people pin my recipes with a swear word as explanation.

These little guys were so popular that they even made a television appearance without me. As in, my words and exact instructions were copied and pasted onto a website and made live on morning TV. That was…umm…interesting. It would have been cooler if I were invited to speak the words myself, but that is neither here nor there. I’m glad you all liked them—or hated them. But thanks for looking anyway.

So, if you are new here, this is what you can expect more of in 2013: lots and lots of calories. It’s time to go for a run.