Your Top 14 of 2014 {the Most-Viewed Recipes of the Year!}

December 31, 2014
Top 14 of 2014 on The Kitchen is My Playground blog


I think I say this every single year at the start of my 'most-viewed recipes of the year' post, but I'll say it again ... this is my favorite post to write each year!  I so enjoy going back through the posts of the year to see which ones were your favorites.  I have a general idea throughout the year which recipes you're really liking, but I don't keep tabs on the numbers closely enough to truly know the top ones ... until I write this 'best of' post at the end of the year.

So here it is ... the countdown of your top 14 of 2014!  And as I think I also say every  year, you all have great taste!
3

Cherry Fluff Salad with Cherry Pie Filling {& a Peek at My Christmas Tree}

December 24, 2014
Quick and easy Cherry Fluff Salad with Cherry Pie Filling is a beautifully delicious creamy side or dessert salad, fabulous to enjoy on your holiday table or all year-round.
CLICK HERE TO PIN THIS FOR LATER

Cherry Fluff Salad Image


Merry Christmas Eve and Merry Christmas, everyone!  I wish you all a wonderful Christmas filled with peace, joy, and happy times with your loved ones.

I decided to share this quick-easy-and-delicious Cherry Fluff Salad with Cherry Pie Filling today ... Christmas Eve day ... because it's color reminds me of the colors on my Christmas tree.

Hey, it's as good a reason as any, right?

While I may be sharing this Cherry Fluff Salad recipe at Christmas time, rest assured it's a great dish year-round! 

But while I may be sharing this Cherry Fluff Salad recipe at Christmas time, rest assured Cherry Fluff Salad with Cherry Pie Filling is a great dish year-round!

Since the salad color reminds me of my tree colors, I thought it would be fun to share with you a look at my Christmas tree and some of my favorite ornaments that adorn it.
19

Chocolate Kahlua Fudge {aka: Coffee, Coffee, Buzz, Buzz, Buzz Fudge!}

December 21, 2014
Chocolate Kahlua Fudge ~ studded with chopped chocolate covered espresso beans and laced with coffee and Kahlua in the fudge, it's truly a chocolate-coffee-Kahlua lover's dream.
CLICK HERE TO PIN THIS FOR LATER

Kahlua Fudge


Are you familiar with the fabulous Ben & Jerry's Coffee, Coffee BuzzBuzzBuzz!® ice cream flavor?  It's extra-coffee flavored ice cream with espresso fudge chunks.  Uh, yeh.  Can you see how it gets it's name?

Well, I didn't really mean to, ... but I think I kinda created a similar type caffeine-wired-up sweet treat with this Chocolate Kahlua Fudge ~ chocolate fudge loaded with Kahlua, laced with instant coffee granules, and topped with chopped dark chocolate covered espresso beans.  Oh my!  And it's so good.

 Adding the espresso beans was Mom's idea.  I wonder if she was channeling thoughts of Coffee, Coffee BuzzBuzzBuzz!® ice cream when that idea came to her.  Because I have a kinda funny story about her and Coffee, Coffee BuzzBuzzBuzz!® ...

9

Dark & White Chocolate Cranberry Pistachio Cookies

December 19, 2014
Thank you to REAL® Seal for sponsoring creation of these cookies and this post.  What fun to rise to the latest REAL® Seal Dairy Diva challenge ~ to create and share a Christmas cookie using Real Seal® dairy products.  Made with real butter and loaded with scrumptious mix-ins, these Dark & White Chocolate Cranberry Pistachio Cookies are certainly worthy of a featured spot on your Christmas cookie tray.

Dark and White Chocolate Cranberry Pistachio Cookies

 
The foundation of great baking is great ingredients.  And when it comes to dairy products,  REAL® Seal helps ensure our baking gets the great ingredients it deserves.  How, you ask?
6

Salted Dark Chocolate Bourbon Fudge

December 14, 2014
Salted.  Dark Chocolate.  Bourbon.  Fudge.  ~ there's not a single one of those words I don't like.  And when you put them all together in one sweet bite? ~ It's a little bite of chocolate-bourbon heaven.



This Salted Dark Chocolate Bourbon Fudge is one of those creations where I could just let the name and photos speak for themselves and not write a single word.  Because, truly, there are no words for how absolutely delicious this fudge is!

If you're a bourbon fan ... which I am ... Salted Dark Chocolate Bourbon fudge is a little bite of bourbon heaven.

I made three 'spirited' fudges this week and brought some of each to my Mom to taste test ...

23

Avocado, Pomegranate, & Cucumber Salad with Maple Vinaigrette

December 13, 2014
Tracking Pixel
Thank you to Pompeian for sponsoring creation of this delicious salad and this post.  With Pompeian Extra Virgin Olive Oil, it's easy to whip up beautiful, healthful salads for the holidays ~ like this festively gorgeous Avocado, Pomegranate, & Cucumber Salad with my family's treasured Maple Vinaigrette.  And with Pompeian's easy online label maker, I can put my Maple Vinaigrette recipe right on the olive oil bottle!

Avocado, Pomegranate, & Cucumber Salad with Maple Vinaigrette


5

Overnight Cinnamon Roll Casserole

December 11, 2014
Thank you to Sister Schubert's for sponsoring this post.
This past Thanksgiving, we created a new holiday tradition at our house ~ easy Overnight Cinnamon Roll Casserole for breakfast on Thanksgiving weekend.  With the ease and deliciousness of Sister Schubert's Cinnamon Rolls, it will most likely become a new Christmas breakfast tradition, too!
CLICK HERE TO PIN THIS FOR LATER

Overnight Cinnamon Roll Casserole image ~ Enjoy easy Overnight Cinnamon Roll Casserole, made with the convenience and deliciousness of Sister Schubert's Cinnamon Rolls.


Our family's holiday dinners always include Sister Schubert's Parker House Style Rolls.  So having Sister Schubert at our Thanksgiving dinner table was a given.  
But this year ... thanks to the convenience and deliciousness of Sister's Cinnamon Rolls ... Sister Schubert's joined us at our holiday breakfast  table, too.
46

Skinnier {Eggless} Eggnog Recipe

December 9, 2014
Whip up this Skinnier Eggless Eggnog recipe at home ~ it's easy!  It's great to serve for sipping at your next holiday get-together, but you may just want to keep it all for yourself.
CLICK HERE TO PIN THIS FOR LATER

Skinnier {Eggless} Eggnog image ~ make your own easy eggless eggnog at home!   www.thekitchenismyplayground.com


My Dad has always absolutely loved eggnog.

I remember ... probably starting back in my middle school'ish times ... making him batches of homemade eggnog at Christmas time.  Complete with loads and loads of raw eggs.  My thoughts about it? ~  Ewwwwww.  Despite Dad's love for it, I wasn't a fan of the raw egg stuff then.  And I'm not a fan of it now, either.

Whipped up with almond milk and sugar free instant pudding, and spiced just right with ground nutmeg, it packs all the flavor of 'regular' eggnog, in a much 'skinnier' version.

But this eggless version?  This  skinnier eggless eggnog recipe is one eggnog recipe I can get behind.

8

Peppermint Hot Chocolate {Made with Peppermint Patties}

December 4, 2014
Peppermint Hot Chocolate made with Peppermint Patties is the perfect warm sippin' treat for cold winter days and nights. Enjoy a minty mugful made with milk, or with Silk Cashewmilk for an irresistibly creamy non-dairy version. Thank you to Silk Cashewmilk for sponsoring this post.



So, what do you get when you melt the cool minty center and delicious dark chocolate coating of peppermint patties into warmed milk? One very tasty Peppermint Hot Chocolate, my friends.

One very tasty Peppermint Hot Chocolate, indeed.

Lemon-Glazed Butter Cookies

December 2, 2014
Lemon-Glazed Butter Cookies pack a huge lemon punch!  Rich, tender butter cookies topped with a fresh lemon glaze, these little beauties are amazingly-delicious.
CLICK HERE TO PIN THIS FOR LATER

Lemon-Glazed Butter Cookies on Cooling Rack Image
11
Blog Design: Tracimichele.com. Powered by Blogger.