HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!! It`s the last day of 2013!!! :D Are you all excited to eat and be merry? I, sure am.
To wrap up another great year, I wanted to end with a list of my absolute favorite recipes this year. This list includes only the foods I made this year. Trust me when I say I did a lot of baking and test tasting this year. I enjoy eating everything I post, or else I wouldn`t post them on the blog.
However, these 13 recipes stood out to me the most. These recipes include the cookies I couldn`t stop eating, the ice cream I ate for all 3 meals of the day, and the cake that made me close my eyes to savor its deliciousness. These are the treats I constantly raved about to my family and friends. These are just the BEST of 2013.
Despite the fact that these recipes may not have been the most viewed on the blog, they were amazing, nonetheless. I wish I had each and every single of these treats right now, so I could stuff myself silly to celebrate the end of another year. ;)
Oh! Before, I forget, my cookie recipe from last year`s Food Blogger Cookie Swap was featured in Heidi's Foodie Crush magazine this month!! I was beyond THRILLED when Heidi emailed me about the feature. I was so happy, I baked up a whole batch just to retake the pictures for these cookies. See, the thing is, I love and adore Heidi's blog. I`ve read every single magazine issue and I have both of Maria's E-Cookbooks (from Two Peas and Their Pod), where Heidi collaborated with.
Please ignore my ridiculously embarrassing headshot...and focus on those cookies! They`re definitely one of my favorite cookies, ever. I may be biased since I created the recipe myself...but the people who has tried them, loved them!
Lastly, I`m so incredibly happy you all have decided to join me on my baking adventures. I know my blog isn`t much, but I`m thankful there are people who are interested in the recipes I`ve posted. I just want to thank YOU for reading and giving my constant motivation to keep baking and learning!!
Okay, onto the FOOD!! They`re not listed in any particular order, because that would be far too hard for me to do. Haha!
1. Pumpkin Nutella Bread Pudding - This year, I was fell in love with all sorts of bread pudding. And this one was my favorite of the bunch, for good reasons too! It`s super simple to make and it`s hard to resist that pumpkin, nutella, caramel, and mini chocolate chip combo.
2. Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie - I always say this (mainly because it`s a shock to me), but I used to think I wasn`t into cheesecake. Well, I am. Only, of the delicious variety though. Haha! And, boy, let me tell you...this pumpkin cheesecake doesn`t need pumpkin season season to roll around, because it`s too good to only be eaten once a year.
3. Lemon Pound Cake - If you love cake, you`ll definitely love this one. Even if you don`t like like, I`m sure you`ll love this one! It`s beautiful lemon pound cake layered in between strawberry AND lemon buttercreams.
4. Salted Caramel Ice Cream - Even since I got an ice cream maker, I`ve been on a roll. No matter what time of year it is, ice cream is my favorite food in the world. And, THIS...this has got to be one of my favorite ice cream recipe, EVER.
5. Sour Cream Chocolate Bundt Cake - This recipe was another little surprise for me. I thought I didn`t like chocolate cake, since they`re usually just "meh". But, this cake is FAR from being "meh"! It turned a non-chocolate cake lover into a chocolate cake lover. This very fact alone should already convince you to make this.
6. Strawberry Donuts - I didn`t expect much from these donuts...however, they blew me away. I gave some to my friends to try and they STILL talk about these donuts!! They`re always like, "Lynna, remember those strawberry donuts? OMG, they were so good." No joke!!
7. Cheesecake Pops - For someone who says they don`t like cheesecake, I sure have lots of cheesecake recipes that made it to the top of this list, huh? I can`t help myself, these are superrr cute and simply addicting!!
8. White Chocolate Butterscotch Oatmeal Cookies - I bake a LOT of cookies. They`re my favorite type of baked goods!! This is one of my favorite cookie recipes, which is evident by the number of times I`ve baked a batch of these babies. It`s one of my go-to recipes and I always get rave reviews from them.
9. Puff Pastry Apple Pie with Frosting Flakes Crumble - Apple pie is my favorite type of pie. This recipe, is like the ULTIMATE apple pie. Not only is it easier, since you can use frozen puff pastry, it has this wonderful texture from the frosted flakes topping. It`s a gorgeous pie and magnificent pie, indeed.
10. Lemon Berry Cheesecake - Ughhh. I still dream about this cheesecake!! It`s definitely my favorite cheesecake recipe. These pictures do not do it any justice at all. It`s also one of those recipes, you just NEED to make for yourself to see how delicious it is.
11. Creme Filled Pumpkin Donuts with Maple Glaze - These little cuties were really popular. And, for good reasons too. I was surprised by how much I loved them. They were the result of lots of brainstorming, but definitely worth all the effort.
12. Peppermint Hot Chocolate Cookies - This is the holidays summed up into a cookie. A magical cook that stays soft for days and reminds you of those Girl Scouts Thin Mints!
13. BBQ Chicken Tortilla Pizzas - The only savory recipe on the list! Since, I`m not much of a cook...Haha. However, this recipe is SO easy and satisfying, I`ve made this for lunch countless of times already.
Remember, make food for those special people in your lives, to show them you care. ♥
