See and enjoy the top 16 best recipesof 2016, as voted by readers' views. These 16 dishes are the reader favorites of the year from The Kitchen is My Playground's posts ~ And my-oh-my, what a delicious year it's been!
This year-end "best of" post is always my favorite post of the year to write. It's so fun to look back through the year's posts and see which ones have taken the top spots as your favorites. There are always a few I didn't realize you liked so well!
Thank you so much for reading The Kitchen is My Playground. I am humbled and blessed to have you all as readers. I'm looking forward to keeping the tried-and-true family-taste-tested recipes coming ... from our family to yours ... in the new year.
Three simple ingredients. Incredibly easy. And a family favorite comfort food. Need we say more? Whip up this creamy Fruit Cocktail Fluff Salad in no time. And then watch it disappear ... in no time, too.
CLICK HERE TO PIN THIS FOR LATER
Why is it that incredibly easy dishes are quite often the best? It seems as though the simplest of things tend to be our favorites.
Like with this Fruit Cocktail Fluff, as we call it in our family.
Seriously, this stuff is so simple I hesitate to even call it a recipe. But man alive, do I love it. Recipe or not.
Inspired by the flavors of classic chocolate covered cherries, these Cherry Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies are perfect for the holiday season. Or for Valentine's Day. Or ... for ANY day. While they may not have the oozy, gooey center of chocolate covered cherries, they sure do have that fabulous flavor combination of cherry and chocolate together! CLICK HERE TO PIN THIS FOR LATER
I just love the combination of cherry and chocolate. Chocolate covered cherries are one of my favorite totally-indulgent candies to treat myself with at Christmas time. There's simply something about tasty chocolate, the oozy goodness of the creamy center, and sweetness of the maraschino cherry hiding inside that I just can't resist.
So I decided to take inspiration from my favorite Cherry Almond Cookies and create a chocolate cookie version reminiscent of that ever-favorite classic chocolate covered cherry Christmas candy.
Know someone on the naughty list? Make them a batch of these No-BakeLumps of Coal. Oreo Cocoa Krispie Treats coal is such a deliciously fun way to tell folks they'd better shape up! CLICK HERE TO PIN THIS FOR LATER
I sure know a few people who should be on the naughty list! ... at least in jest, anyway. I'm sure we all have a few friends or family members who deserve to receive a little coal this Christmas, too.
And what more fun way is there to pass along a little Christmas coal-cheer than with a delicious little sweet treat like these no-bake Oreo Cocoa Krispie Treats lumps of coal? Because these little lumps not only do a pretty good job impersonating the real thing, they're quite tasty, too.
'Tis the season to be jolly! And the season to host all those festive
holiday get-togethers. Whether it's an afternoon sledding party, a
holiday brunch, girls' night in, a fun cookie or gift exchange, or a casual
Christmas get-together with family, this
Slow Cooker Caramel Hot Chocolate is the just the thing to serve up.
Thank you to REAL® Seal for sponsoring this recipe's creation and this post. CLICK HERE TO PIN THIS FOR LATER
When it comes to a fun holiday get-together, nothing beats a delicious
warm-your-heart-and-soul hot drink to enjoy. Especially when that hot
drink involves chocolate.
And when that delicious warm-your-heart-and-soul treat combines chocolate with
caramel like with this Caramel Hot Chocolate? Well, that's even better!
Spread some holiday cheer with these adorable little Christmas Chocolate Kiss Cookies. They're a great cookie project for grown-ups and kids alike because they're just plain fun to make ... and to eat! CLICK HERE TO PIN THIS FOR LATER
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Especially with a batch of these adorable Christmas Chocolate Kiss Cookies in the cookie jar.
Our 6-year-old daughter Little Miss H. and I did our first round of Christmas baking this past weekend, kicking off the season with these little beauties.
I don't know who had more fun making them ~ me, or Little Miss. I think it was probably a tie. Because you know what? No matter what your age, making something with sprinkles is just plain fun.
Yes, these fun & festive cookies are a great project for grown-ups and kids alike.
I keep a pretty good assortment of sprinkles on hand, typically picking up holiday-specific ones after each holiday when they're on sale. It's a great practice to get in the habit of doing if you like to bake a lot like we do ... then when you want to make something extra-fun like these cookies, all you have to do is reach into the cabinet and pull out a great selection of sprinkles perfect for the job!
For these cookies, Little Miss H. and I poured a little bit of several sprinkle selections into small individual bowls. Then we just randomly adorned each cookie as we went along so we ended up with a good assortment of different sprinkles on the finished cookies.
I'm hard-pressed to pick a favorite ... but I think it's a tie between the white snowflakes and the green & red holly berry ones. Little Miss had no trouble choosing her favorite ... she likes the red/green/white non-pareils the best. But regardless, a cookie jar sure looks pretty stacked full with a batch of these.
To make these is pretty simple, as they're simply a sprinkle-adorned chocolate-take on the classic Peanut Butter Blossom thumbprint cookie.
I use our favorite chocolate thumbprint cookie dough from our favorite Insanely Delicious Turtle Cookies ... it's a rich, dark chocolate cookie dough that doesn't use any levener. That means the cookies won't spread or change shape really at all when baking ... which is good for a thumbprint-type cookie. You want the indentation you create with your thumb to stay pretty much as you make it so it's good for whatever filling you're putting in ... in this case, a Hershey chocolate Kiss.
Once the dough is mixed and chilled, form it into small balls and then roll each ball in sprinkles. Make sure each dough ball gets completely covered in sprinkles to create the best look.
Press your thumb into each sprinkle-covered ball ...
... to create a small indentation in the center. After baking, this indentation is where you'll rest the Hershey Kiss. The kiss will melt just a bit from the heat of the warm cookie and adhere to it.
And then you'll have a batch of fun-&-festive adorable little Christmas Chocolate Kiss Cookies, ready to spread some holiday cheer. They're such a fun cookie project for grown-ups and kids alike because they're just plain fun to make ... and just plain fun to eat, too!
Check out these other totally fun & festive Christmas cookies:
Spread some holiday cheer with these adorable little Christmas Chocolate Kiss Cookies. They're a great cookie project for grown-ups and kids alike because they're just plain fun to make ... and to eat!
prep time: 1 H & 30 Mcook time: 12 Mtotal time: 1 H & 42 M
With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg yolk, milk, and vanilla; mix until incorporated. Reduce mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture until just combined.
Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, 1 hour.
With your hands, roll chilled dough into 1-inch balls and roll each ball in sprinkles, completely covering the dough ball with sprinkles. Place balls about 2 inches apart on a baking sheet. With your thumb, gently press down into the center of each ball just slightly to make a small indentation. Chill the baking sheet of dough balls in the refrigerator for 10 to 15 minutes before baking. {This chilling time makes the cookies bake up soft and tender, and helps minimize spreading. I have skipped this chill before, and the cookies came out on the dry side ... so I don't recommend skipping it.}
Bake at 350℉ until set, about 12 minutes.
After removing cookies from the oven, immediately place a Hershey Kiss in the center of each cookie. {Once you place the Kiss, leave it be. Twisting or moving it will cause it to start to melt and pool at the bottom.} Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for about 3 minutes, remove to a cooling rack to cool.
TRACEY'S NOTES
There is indeed no leavener in this recipe - that is not a typo.
These cookies don't spread or change shape much while baking. They just puff very slightly.
I have not had much success with using Hugs, Candy Cane, etc. flavor Hershey Kisses. They melt too quickly and easily and just end up pools of white chocolate in the cookies. I recommend sticking with "traditional" Hershey Kisses.
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Christmas White Chocolate-Peppermint Popcorn ~ Finely crushed candy canes, chocolate candies, and white chocolate coating turn popcorn into a deliciously festive Christmas treat. CLICK HERE TO PIN THIS FOR LATER
I've been a bit obsessed with peppermint over the past couple of weeks. I'm really not sure why, but I've been drawn to recipes with peppermint this Christmas season.
So imagine my disappointment when today I tried out four new recipes with peppermint ... four ... and wasn't happy with a single one of them. Not a one.
Finely crushed candy canes, chocolate candies, and white chocolate coating turn popcorn into a deliciously festive Christmas treat.
Major bummer-in-the-kitchen day.
But I sure do like this Christmas White Chocolate-Peppermint Popcorn!
And the funny thing is, I didn't even mean to make it.
What's the Christmas season without chocolate? Biting into the creamy ganache center of these Kahlua Chocolate Truffles is pure chocolate bliss. They're just the right indulgently delicious chocolate treat for the holidays! CLICK HERE TO PIN THIS FOR LATER
Just in time for Christmas, I'm teaming up with some blogging friends of mine for a "Chocolate Challenge" to bring you 6 fabulous chocolate recipes for the holiday season. Because what's more perfect for the holidays than chocolate, right?
And my chocolate treat of choice are these super cute, super chocolate-y Kahlua Chocolate Truffles!
When it comes to making chocolate truffles, all you need are cream, chocolate ... and some time.
Be sure to scroll to the bottom of this post to see all the other tasty chocolate creations from my "Chocolate Challenge" friends ~ there's sure to be one ... or 6 ... you'll love.
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