It's always fun to look back over the last year to see which recipes resonated with you. I posted 152 recipes in 2017 (phew!), and, in order of popularity, these were your favorites.
Thyme and Apple Cider Pisco Sour
This apple cider Pisco sour is a wonderful winter cocktail. If you like whiskey sours or side car cocktails, you'll enjoy this one with thyme simple syrup, Pisco, fresh lemon juice, and boiled apple cider.
Shallot and Gruyère Cheese Muffins
These muffins are loaded with sautéed shallots and lots of melty gruyère cheese. With a thick, cheesy batter, these are almost biscuit-like in texture.
Eggnog Waffles
You can make a pile of these eggnog waffles and keep them warm in the oven to serve a crowd. You can also make them and freeze them, and then have homemade waffles ready for the toaster in the morning. And to spread out the anticipation even more, you can also make the batter up to a day in advance and keep it in the refrigerator.
Noche Buena (Christmas Eve) Chocolate Sandwich Cookies with dulce de leche are rich, spicy, and deeply flavored with Dutch processed cocoa. The addition of a small amount of cayenne pepper adds a subtle warmth to the cookies.
Champagne Babas
Babas are made with a dough enriched with butter and eggs, and then soaked in a boozy syrup (usually rum) and then topped with an apricot jam glaze.
Making homemade turkey soup after Thanksgiving or Christmas is probably the biggest food tradition that Mr. Kitchen and I share. He is a big fan of soup of any kind, so, years ago, when someone told him that you could make homemade turkey soup from the leftover carcass, he decided to take on making turkey soup from scratch.
This pan fried halibut with lemongrass is an adaptation of a fish dish common in Vietnamese cooking, called Cá Chiên Xã. You can use any firm fish, such as mackerel, sea bass, cod, rockfish, or catfish. I just happened to have a gorgeous Alaskan halibut filet that worked beautifully with this recipe.
Whole Wheat Santa Lucia Buns
This time last year, I posted a wonderful traditional Santa Lucia buns recipe, which included saffron, currants, and Swedish pearl sugar. Be sure to visit the post to find out more about the holiday.
Chocolate Mint Torte
Making this chocolate mint torte was definitely an exercise in flexing new baking muscles for me.
When Laura asked if I would be willing to review her new book, I jumped at the chance.
Almond-Spice Christmas Wreath Cookies
These almond-spice Christmas wreath cookies would be great to make with kids who are interested in baking. You'd just need to have double the amount of maraschino cherries on hand so they could sneak a few during the decorating phase.
Eggnog Cheesecake
This Eggnog Cheesecake is the smoothest and creamiest cheesecake I've ever eaten. It's dense, moist, rich, and delicious.
This eggnog cheesecake recipe is a tasty way to use up leftover eggnog, although, after trying this cheesecake, you may just find yourself buying or making eggnog just to bake this cheesecake.
Foolproof Holiday Cookies
I love that these Foolproof Holiday Cookies are so easy to cut and bake, yet they taste delicious. They can be decorated with just a glaze and some sprinkles, or you can go all fancy with royal icing.
Peppermint Candy Cane Cookies
These peppermint candy cane cookies are flavored with both peppermint and vanilla extracts, which give them a wonderful flavor and aroma.