Readers’ Top 14 Recipes of 2014

New Year’s Eve is a bittersweet day for me. On one end, I’m hopeful and inspired for the year ahead, with its fresh chances to break old habits (being chronically late) and begin new ones (boot camp class). On the other, I’m nostalgic, reflective, and a bit incredulous that yet another 365 days have passed.

For today’s post—which I’m sneaking into The Fives series—I’d like to focus on the reflective part of New Year’s Eve with a special feature of your favorite recipes, along with a few of your thoughts and comments about them too.

In 2014, I posted 145 recipes, none of which would have been possible without every single one of you. Thank you for taking time to visit my site, for trying my recipes, and for sharing them with your family and friends. Whether you’ve been reading this blog since its early days or just jumped in today, I’m tremendously grateful that you are here.

Drumroll please. Ranked from least to greatest, Your Top 14 Favorite Recipes of 2014:

14. Slow Cooker Spiced Wine: “I made this for a girls cookie exchange, and our whole party loved it!” – Liz

13. Vegan Caramel Sauce: “Erin, this made a gorgeous silky caramel sauce!! The color is stunning, it really continued to thicken up as it cooled. I did skim 1/8″ of foam off after it cooled (right onto my tongue  ). And it’s so easy!! Thank you, missy! This one’s a keeper!” – Joanie

12. Healthy Peanut Butter Cookies: “The healthy peanut butter cookies are a hit at my house.  Thanks much!” – Susan

11. Slow Cooker Balsamic Chicken: “Hi! First time commenter here.  I made this recipe last week and LOVED it! I am definitely keeping it. Thanks so much for creating a “no-pre-cook” required slow cooker recipe!!!! The flavor/sauce is amazing!!!” – Stefanie

10. Skillet Tomato Casserole with Parmesan Croutons: “Love this recipe. It is the best thing I’ve made in months. Using fresh basil makes a huge difference. Thank you Erin.” – Gerard

9. Mini French Silk Cookie Pies: “These are so adorable! I love that they are made with cookie dough (so easy) and that creamy chocolate filling is magical!” – Kelli

8. Mexican Chicken Quinoa Casserole: “Made this last night, followed it to the ‘T’ and it was a huge hit! Thank you and this will definitely be one I will keep in my recipe book. My husband doesn’t typically eat healthy food but loved it and our neighbors came over for dinner and loved it as well. Thanks!” – Cynthia

7. Cheesy Mushroom Puff Pastry Bites: “Made these for a small group of people coming over. They are delicious, and your recipe is really easy to follow.  LOVE IT.” – Charles

6. Ben’s Healthy Banana Nut Muffins: “Thank you so much for sharing what is absolutely the best banana muffin recipe I’ve ever had (I may add some flax seeds next time knowing they won’t alter the delicious flavor). I’ve been looking for a healthy recipe and found yours through google. I’m going to share it with family and friends now and I know even those who don’t look for healthy foods will love them.” – Janet

5. One Skillet Spicy Ranch Chicken: “Made this for dinner tonight and YUMM!!! I couldn’t find the spicy ranch packet so I improvised and added cayenne pepper and a little bit of cajun spice to the recipe with a regular ranch packet. Worked like a charm and was delish!!! Thanks for the recipe!!!” – Erika

4. Slow Cooker Thai Chicken: “Thanks for sharing this awesome recipe! My husband basically licked the bowl.” – Amy

3. Cranberry Baked Brie Puff Pastry Bites: “WOW! I brought these to thanksgiving dinner and wow – gone in seconds. Everyone loved them, including me! Great recipe! Thank you for sharing!” – Jen

2. Healthy Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole: “My family loves this casserole! My boys (2 and 4) gobble it up. My 4 year old had four helpings! Thanks for the delicious recipe.” – Brittany

And the most popular recipe of 2014:

1. Oatmeal Breakfast Bars: “We have made these THREE TIMES now. The first time I followed the recipe as directed, and they were delicious. The next time I added chocolate chips, and the third time I added walnuts instead of peanut butter. Every time there were so yummy and so easy to make. My family and kids love these bars. Thanks for a great recipe!” – Sandy

What a wonderful year it has been. Thanks again for your support, and Happy New Year. Looking forward to sharing another 365 of good eats with you in 2015!

For the stats-curious, this ranking is based upon Google Analytics pageview data.