Top 20 Recipes of 2012 (2024)

How was everybody’s Christmas? We have been having an awesome time with family. Having 12 kids 8-years-old and under (including four 2-year-olds) makes things a little more exciting of course. On Friday I went with my mom and sisters on a girls night out. Halfway through we got a call from the guys that all the 2-year olds (including Charlotte) had stripped naked, piled into a pack n play, covered themselves in lotion, and then smeared it all over our laptop. The next morning a couple of them got into the toothpaste. Then later that day they smeared diaper rash cream all over their faces and pretended to shave…except that they were using a real razor. (Don’t worry no blood was spilled.) In spite of the chaos, we are having a blast. Happy holidays everyone!

I thought I would share the 20 recipes that got the most traffic on my site this year. If you are new to The Food Charlatan, this is a great place to start. Here we go!

20. Mini Cinnamon Rolls with Maple Icing

Cinnamon rolls in 10 minutes!! Plus they are so tiny and cute. Try to eat just one.

19. Roasted ChickpeaFajitas

These are the best vegetarian fajitas ever. And plus I discovered roasted chickpeas, which are incredible.

18. Big Fat Crescent Rolls

Big Fat Crescent Rolls!! Yeah dude. These are the softest, butteriest, fluffiest, most heavenly rolls ever. They are worth every ounce of effort.

17. S’moresBars

I will make an admission here, I like these better than regular S’mores. No marshmallow squishing out! Plus there’s more butter in this. Maybe I should bring butter to the campfire? Okay maybe that’s gross.

16. Basil Chicken in Coconut CurrySauce

This is a personal favorite of mine. The recipe as written is not very spicy but you can adjust it to your taste. It is full of flavor even without the spice.

15. Homemade Oreo Oreo Cookies

We all know that homemade Oreo cookies taste nothing like Oreos. So I chopped up some real Oreos and threw them into the mix. Perfect!

14. Chicken Tikka Masala with Coconut JasmineRice

This is one of my favorite meals and has been for years. Indian food is just so great, and you can never go wrong with Chicken Tikka Masala.

13. Brazilian Cheese Bread {GlutenFree!}

You know those tiny appetizers they give you while waiting for your meal at a Brazilian restaurant? Yeah, this is it. They are so easy!

12. Fast Focaccia Bread

Bread smothered in cheese that is done in under an hour. What’s not to like? I like to use this bread for my Bacon Lettuce Tomato Avocado Sandwiches with Aioli Sauce. Yum.

11. ChickenShawarma

This is one of my personal favorites from this year. Delicious Greek flavors that I don’t eat every day + done in 30 minutes = now on my rotation.

10. Cinnamon Caramel SwirlBars

So caramel and cinnamon is the best combination ever, and I didn’t even know until I made these bars. Just typing this out I’m realizing that I have not made this enough times. Caramel-y cinnamon-y amazingness.

9. Raspberry Chipotle GlazedHam

If you are looking for a ham recipe that has more kick than your average brown sugar glaze, this is the stuff for you! Chipotle makes everything better. Period.

8. Jello PretzelSalad

This jello may not look like much but it is seriously so good. I don’t even like pretzels and I love it.

7. Butterscotch Peanut Butter WheatiesTreats

My brother is making these as I type this. My sister walked by a minute ago and said, “Mmm, smells like Wheaties cookies.” Her husband said no, it smells like butterscotch. My sister and I both shouted that that’s exactly what butterscotch means. These are a family classic and they take less than 10 minutes to make.

6. PostpartumZiti

This recipe makes a ton of ziti. I call it “Postpartum” because I got it from a friend who brings it to news moms. It freezes really well.

5. Oat Flour Chocolate ChipCookies

These cookies are a great twist on the classic. The oat flour gives it a really great flavor without changing the texture too much.

4. Deep Dark Chocolate Cookies {GlutenFree!}

This cookies are gluten free. They will change your life whether or not you eat wheat. They are gooey chocolatey goodness.

3. Balsamic-Browned ButterAsparagus

I didn’t even like asparagus before this recipe. It is incredible. My sister Nikki pinned it and said, “I made one pound of this and ate the entire dish without ever leaving the stool I sat on to fry the butter. Every asparagus. Bare-handed. This is complimentary? This is disturbing? At least I’m six months pregnant.” Someone commented, “Gotta love the asparagus!” and she responded with, “Well, I was thinking ‘gotta love the butter,’ but…um, yeah. The asparagus!”

2. Lemon Crinkle Cookies with LemonFrosting

These lemon crinkle cookies were all over Pinterest this year for a good reason. I added lemon frosting, because why not make a good thing even better?

And my number one recipe for 2012…drumroll please….

1. MapleBars!

I published this recipe back in April and have over 10,000 hits to date. I think one of the main reasons is because there is a severe lack of maple bars on the east coast, so I get a lot of west coast transplants looking for some maple lovin’ that they can make at home. These doughnuts are so freaking good!!

Happy 2013 everybody!