Best of 2017

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Some people reflect on their goals and accomplishments throughout the year, but what about a list about the things that most excited your taste buds?

I posted 133 times this year and it’s time to see which 10 were your favorites! About half of the ones you were all enthralled by would have also made my list. It’s interesting to see the trends over the years, leaning towards indulgent sweets and healthy meals, which is how I like to live my life so I approve of your choices. I did include a second list of any of my favorites that didn’t make the reader’s favorites list just in case you missed them the first time around.

Check out my Instagram profile to see my #2017bestnine as well by clicking HERE.

BEST OF 2017 – READER FAVORITES

10. Lemon Gooey Butter Cookies – This recipe was only posted earlier this month and it already made it into the top 10 recipes of the entire year. If that isn’t a good enough reason to add these to your to-make list then I don’t know what is. They definitely made my list!

9. Patacon Burgers – At the end of 2016 I posted a recipe for patacones and fell in love so much that I couldn’t resist making a fusian recipe with a burger! Thrilled to see that you all feel the same as I do about these burgers. It’s as if you follow my blog because you like the food I make or something.

8. Slow Cooker Greek Meatballs – Pretty much anything in a slow cooker is a winner and love finding new meals and ways to utilize this amazing tool. I made these back in January and I think they may need to be revisited!

7. Homemade Sugar-Free Bacon – Any of you about to embark on Whole30 will need to keep this recipe handy. Finding sugar-free, Whole30 approved bacon is either difficult or expensive. It’s more fun to make your own anyway!

6. Cowboy Cookies – Big fat, buttery chocolate chip cookies. Not hard to figure out why these made the list. Especially since they were one of my favorites as well. These were made for one of our movie marathon parties, specifically Back to the Future!

5. No-Bake Coconut Strawberry Shortcake Dessert Lasagna – Yet another dessert lasagna and yet another hit. Heck even coconut haters couldn’t stop eating it. Goes without saying that I certainly loved it.

4. Sausage & Kale Quiche with Sweet Potato Crust – Yet another recipe from January when I did Whole30 and a recipe that has stick around since. I mean, how could you not love a quiche with a sweet potato crust?

3. Buckeye Bundt Cake – Out of all the peanut butter and chocolate recipes that I post throughout the year this chocolate bundt cake with a peanut butter core was your favorite! Obviously by the name it was also part of my fall #PBChocSat series.

2. Cake Batter Rice Krispie Treats – Rice Krispie treats never fail to be a hit and with cake batter mixed in it’s double trouble. Plus all the sprinkles! Just looking at them makes me happy.

1. Mini Chocolate Chip Oreo Cheesecakes – I can’t help but laugh at this, mostly because I have this obsession with buying every fun flavor of Oreo that they ever make and then I tend to always end up using them as the crust of mini cheesecakes. They’re just so darn good! But clearly you agree so I will just keep on doing it.

BEST OF 2017 – MY FAVORITES

(that didn’t already make your list)

10. Grilled Garlic & Peppercorn Pork Tenderloin with Corn Salsa – I feel like this recipe is cheating because I used a pre-marinated pork loin but dang it I still have dreams about when grilled season and being able to make this again. The salsa was home made so that counts!

9. Bacon Wrapped Burnt Ends – Again, a slight cheat recipe as the burnt ends were purchased, but it’s hard to not love anything that gets wrapped in bacon.

8. Slow Cooker Corned Beef Tacos – In contrast to #10 and #9, this recipe requires a bit more work but thankfully the slow cooker does most of it. Reviewing this recipe has me excited to start dreaming up new recipes for St. Patrick’s Day! Any ideas?

7. Kentucky Derby Chocolate Walnut Pie – Pecan pie meets chocolate chip cookie. Do I really need to explain any further? If so put a scoop of ice cream on top and thank me later.

6. Red Velvet White Chocolate Chip Cookie Cheesecake Bars – I didn’t think anything could compete with the real red velvet cake until I successfully made these cookie bars. Cream cheese frosting just barely lost to this cheesecake filling.

5. Goat Cheese and Sage Pizza with Pumpkin Crust – How it took me nearly 7 years to put pumpkin into pizza crust after all the other creations I’ve made is beyond me but I’m glad it finally dawned on me how good of an idea it is. And obviously goat cheese and sage seal the deal.

4. Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate Blondie Bricks – My favorite decadent brownie got turned into a decadent blondie!

3. Pumpkin White Chocolate Chip Macadamia Nut Cookies – What provoked me to sprinkle sea salt on top of pumpkin cookies? I don’t know but I’m sure glad I did! Every year I tend to make at least one cookie that turns skeptics into lovers and these are certainly it.

2. Bacon, Cheddar, Caramelized Onion, and Potato Pierogi – Watch out, because I may be obsessed with making homemade pierogi from now on. Oh no not that… A bit of effort but totally worth it.

1. Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Buckeyes – Another annual tradition of mine is making new kinds of buckeyes and I’m not sure if anything can beat this version made with a peanut butter cookie dough center. So simple yet so stinking amazing.