Your Top 10 of 2011 {Most-Viewed Recipes of the Year}

Well, here they are!  Your top 10 of 2011 ... as 'voted for' by your clicks.  And I must say, you all have great taste.  Hee, hee.

1.  Funfetti Cake Balls - By farrrrrrr your most clicked post.  This post was viewed a whopping 7 times more than the #2 post.  Boy, who would have thought that one of my biggest 'oops' of the year would turn into such a fabulous-little-favorite treat.  One reader even called me "the MacGuyver of the kitchen" for this recovery of a flop ... I'm so flattered!

2.  Salted Chocolate Cake Pops - Oooohh, this one brings back such a wonderful memory ... an entire day this summer spent making cake pops and cake ball truffles with my friend Jenny.  Thanks so much for giving me this walk down memory lane!

3.  Nutella French Toast with Maple Syrup, Bananas, & Strawberries - I've definitely been on a Nutella kick this year.  Yum.

4.  The BEST Vanilla Cupcake + the BEST Coffee Buttercream - Thank you for coming along on my quest for the BEST vanilla cupcake!  It was surprisingly difficult to find a vanilla cupcake that I was truly happy with.

5.  Stovetop Smoked Gouda Mac & Cheese - This one holds a special place in my heart, because it was created for the first ever Crazy Cooking Challenge, the brain child of and hosted by Tina of Mom's Crazy Cooking.  I love participating in the Challenge with Tina and the other 80-or-so participating bloggers!  (Hey, check us out on January 7th when we'll be going live with a Chicken Noodle Soup Crazy Cooking Challenge ... I know, I know, shameless plug.)

6.  Margarita Cupcakes - a.k.a Top Shelf Margarita Cupcakes.  These were a July creation that were just perfect for summer.

7.  German Chocolate Chip Cookies - These tasty little beauties were also made for a Crazy Cooking Challenge ... the 2nd one, featuring chocolate chip cookies.  I decided not to submit these as my entry though, going instead with Nutella Chocolate Chip Cookies (which also made the top 10 list at #9).  Looks like you all liked these even better than the Nutella Chocolate Chippers ... maybe I should have gone with these for the Challenge!

8.  Black Bottom Cupcakes - Chocolate & cheesecake together in a two-or-maybe-three-bite-sized cupcake.  What more could we ask for?  This is the post in which I included a blast from the past ... Animal of the Muppets singing "mnah-mnum" ... love that little puppet guy.  This is also the sweet treat I featured in my personal cancer story post for 'Frosting for the Cause' in support of breast cancer research.

9.  Nutella Chocolate Chip Cookies - My 2nd Nutella-based treat to make your top 10.  These little tasties were baked up for the Crazy Cooking Challenge.  Delish.

10.  Margarita Cake Ball Truffles - Margarita Cupcakes' little sister!  This post even features a visit from Elvis.

And I would like to include my favorite find from 2011 in blogland ... S'More Pralines, adapted from Bakergirl's Graham Cracker S'mores Candy.  Incidentally, these made Bakergirl's 2011 Top Ten!  Believe me, these are absolutely scrumptious.

Thank you to everyone who has stopped by my little spot in blogland this year!  I truly appreciate you reading, your comments, your support, and your encouragement.  Happy New Year to you!!

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Classic Gingerbread Cookies: What's Your 'Perfect' Gingerbread Man?

The best classic Gingerbread Cookies recipe for soft cookies!  It just wouldn't be Christmas without a batch of these tasty beauties.
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Each year at Christmas time, I do the tradition of gingerbread with my little 1st graders as we're learning about different holiday traditions.  I'm always surprised to see how many of the students have never tried gingerbread before.

This year was no different ... over half my class had never tried it.  I love to introduce my students to new things!

I've discovered that my idea of the perfect gingerbread man is drastically different than a 1st grader's idea of the perfect gingerbread man.  Take a look at the photographs below and you'll see what I mean.

Here's my perfect gingerbread man ... just plain.  No frosting.  No icing.  No decorations.  Just 'nekked,' some might say.

I like to taste the wonderful spicy gingerbread flavor without any competition from sweet icings or embellishments.

Here's 1st graders' idea of the perfect gingerbread man ... their philosophy = the more frosting the better!

It's so fun to watch them having a big ol' time decorating their gingerbread.  (I especially love the cookie on the bottom right with the long red hair.)

On 'Gingerbread Afternoon,' I set up three stations in the room that the students rotate through.  At two of the stations, students work on the gift we make for their parents - a gingerbread ornament with a photograph of the student as the gingerbread "man's" face, and a gingerbread house gift bag made with a brown paper lunch sack.

At the third station ... they get to decorate and eat their gingerbread cookie.  And they love it!

What made this year's gingerbread stations extra fun was that my Mom and Dad came to help out.  I loved having them there!

My Mom facilitated the ornament station.  My Dad helped me with the cookie station.

It was my Dad's first time volunteering in my classroom, and he was so sweet with the kids.  We worked together to demonstrate decorating a cookie for each group, and then we'd let them have at it themselves.  Fun, fun, fun.  It might be one of my favorite 1st grade days each year.

The recipe I use for my gingerbread cookies is adapted from Muster Day Gingerbread in Valerie Barrett's The Complete Book of Gingerbread.  The recipe gets its name from the military Muster Day held in New England each year.  According to the recipe note:

"In New England before the Civil War, the first Tuesday of every June was Muster or Training Day.  All men from 18 to 45 were required to go for military training and many of them took their families along.  It became a festive occasion and gingerbread was an essential part of the day's menu," (p. 18).

So, whether you prefer gingerbread 'just nekked' or the 1st-grade-way, enjoy creating your perfect gingerbread man! 

I wish you a very merry Christmas filled with tasty treats and wonderful times with family and friends.

Check out these other tasty gingerbread treats:

• Gingerbread Magic Cookies
• Mini Gingerbread Cookie Bites
• Creamy Gingerbread Dip
• Gingerbread White Russian
• Gingerbread Waffles
• Blueberry Gingerbread Streusel Muffins
• More cookie recipes

Thank you for stopping by The Kitchen is My Playground. We'd love to have you back soon!

gingerbread cookies recipe, gingerbread men cookies, Christmas cookies

Cookies & Bars

Yield: varies based on cookie cutter size

Author: Tracey | The Kitchen is My Playground

Classic Gingerbread Cookies

The best classic Gingerbread Cookies recipe for soft cookies! It just wouldn't be Christmas without a batch of these tasty little beauties.

prep time: 1 H & 45 Mcook time: 10 Mtotal time: 1 H & 55 M

ingredients:

• 1/4 c. brown sugar
• generous 1/3 c. molasses
• 2 tsp. ground ginger
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 c. unsalted butter, cut into chunks
• 1 egg
• 2 ½ to 3 c. all-purpose flour

instructions:

How to cook Classic Gingerbread Cookies

1. Place butter chunks in a large mixing bowl. Set aside.
2. Put brown sugar, molasses, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves in a pan* and heat to boiling point. Stir in baking soda. Take off heat and pour mixture over the butter in the mixing bowl.
3. Stir until the butter has melted. Break egg into the mixture and stir to combine; then work in 2 ½ cups flour. Mix gently together until it becomes a smooth dough, adding up to ½ cup more flour if needed.
4. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about an hour.
5. When chilled and stiffened slightly, roll out and cut out cookies with cookie cutters (I roll mine a bit thick ... probably about 1/4" thick. I like thick, soft cookies).
6. Place cookies on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake at 325 degrees for 8-10 minutes.
7. Once cooled, decorate with icing, if desired.

TRACEY'S NOTES

1. *Place your brown sugar, molasses, and spices in a saucepan larger than you think you'll need. When you stir in the baking soda, the mixture foams up on you!

https://www.thekitchenismyplayground.com/2011/12/whats-your-perfect-gingerbread-man.html

Adapted from: Muster Day Gingerbread in The Complete Book of Gingerbread by Valerie Barrett

Created using The Recipes Generator

You might also like these other Christmas cookie favorites:

Gingerbread Magic Cookies

Gingerbread Cookie Bites

Cherry Almond Cookies

Christmas Homemade Thin Mints

Pound Cake Cookies

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11

Christmas White Chocolate-Dipped Pretzel Rods

White Chocolate-Dipped Pretzel Rods get all dressed up for Christmas with the help of beautiful holiday sprinkles!  Or, change the sprinkle colors to match any occasion.

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Need a quick-and-easy Christmas treat?  Here's an idea for you!  These White Chocolate-Dipped Pretzel Rods are perfect for little treat gifts, or for get-together nibbles.  Not to mention, they're just plain fun... both to make and to eat.

And, again, I'm realizing that I've been on a total pretzel kick this Christmas baking season.  So far,  four out of my five posts for December have included pretzels!  That was not at all intentional.

First there was Dark Chocolate Pretzel Fudge for the December Crazy Cooking Challenge, followed by Pretzel Cookies with Chocolate & Peanut Butter Chips, and then Yuppy Chow with ... you guessed it ... pretzels!

These White Chocolate-Dipped Pretzel Rods are perfect for little treat gifts, or for get-together nibbles.  Not to mention, they're just plain fun... both to make and to eat.

Now I've moved on to simply dipping pretzel rods in chocolate.  White chocolate.  With colorful sprinkles.  You know, to deck them out for Christmas and all.

I whipped these up at the last minute one night.  I was asked to make a batch of cake pops (like these Salted Chocolate ones) to include as a little "giftie" with the gift cards our teacher staff was giving the office staff for Christmas.

Now, I love to make cake pops ... but any of you out there who've made them know they aren't the quickest things to make.  They happen to be just a teeny tiny bit tedious and time-consuming.  So, I quickly said that wasn't going to happen at this point in the busy Christmas season.  But ... I did have another idea for a cute tasty treat.

And that's how these white chocolate-dipped pretzel rods came to be.

I think I whipped up (or dipped up!) an entire bag of pretzel rods in less than 30 minutes.  So quick.  So easy.

Then I put five of them in a cellophane pretzel baggy, tied it with a colorful ribbon, and voila! ... Christmas white chocolate-dipped pretzel rod bouquets!

All you need to make these beauties is a bag of pretzel rods, some white chocolate bark coating, a tiny bit of shortening, and an assortment of colorful Christmas sprinkles.

I think I whipped up (or dipped up!) an entire bag of pretzel rods in less than 30 minutes.  So quick.  So easy.

Melt some bark coating together with a tiny bit of shortening.  The shortening thins the coating out a bit and makes it so you get a nice, smooth layer of white chocolate.  Use a tall, skinny container that is tall enough to fit most of the length of the pretzel rod in it.  I had a hard time finding something in my kitchen tall and skinny enough, and ended up using a pottery cup.

Once you've melted your coating, dip a pretzel rod in.  Tilt the container a bit if you need to to get the coating as far down the pretzel as you can.

Dipping

Take the pretzel out of the coating, gently shake off the excess, letting it drip back into your container.  Then, sprinkle with your chosen sprinkles.

I started off with my sprinkles laid out in shallow platters, thinking it would be best to roll the pretzel rods in the sprinkles.  Not the case.

It turned out to be easiest just to grab a pinch of sprinkles and sprinkle it over the pretzel rod with my fingers.  Just make sure to do this over a bowl or something with a bit of a side ... not the flat platters like I did.

It turned out to be easiest just to grab a pinch of sprinkles and sprinkle it over the pretzel rod with my fingers.

Why?

Because the sprinkles tend to bounce when they land back on whatever dish you're sprinkling over.  I've swept my kitchen floor three times since making these pretzels, and I'm still finding little sprinkle balls hiding around my linoleum!

See my finger marks in the green sugar sprinkles below?  Yup, much better way to go than rolling.

Lay your dipped-and-sprinkled pretzels out on a sheet of waxed paper or parchment, let the coating set up, and then ... there you have it!  A beautiful, festive platter of White Chocolate-Dipped Pretzel Rods.

Tie a few up with a bow for a cute and tasty little give-away treat.

Check out these other fun white chocolate Christmas treats:

• White Chocolate Reindeer Chow
• White Chocolate Candy Cane Pretzel Rods
• Christmas White Chocolate-Dipped Rice Krispie Treats
• Christmas White Chocolate-Dipped Sugar Wafers
• Christmas White Chocolate Marshmallow Pops
• White Chocolate-Peppermint Popcorn
• White Chocolate-Peppermint Potato Chips
• Grinch Sugar Wafers
• White Chocolate-Peppermint Eggnog
• Peppermint-White Chocolate Creme Brulee
• Easy White Chocolate-Peppermint Pretzel Bark
• More cookie & candy recipes

Ribbon makes everything just that much more fun!

Christmas candy, Christmas recipe, easy recipe, chocolate dipped pretzels

Snacks

Yield: about 40 pretzel rods

Author: Tracey | The Kitchen is My Playground

Christmas White Chocolate-Dipped Pretzel Rods

White Chocolate-Dipped Pretzel Rods get all dressed up for Christmas with the help of beautiful holiday sprinkles! Or, change the sprinkle colors to match any occasion.

prep time: 20 Mcook time: total time: 20 M

ingredients:

• 1 (10 oz.) bag pretzel rods
• 1 (24 oz.) package white chocolate bark coating or 1 (1 lb.) bag white candy melts (you'll only use about 10 or 12 oz.)
• 1 to 2 T. shortening
• Assorted Christmas sprinkles

instructions:

How to cook Christmas White Chocolate-Dipped Pretzel Rods

1. In a tall skinny container (such as a pottery cup or perhaps even a small glass vase), melt bark coating or candy melts and shortening together in the microwave per package directions (typically in 30 second intervals, stirring in between).
2. Dip a pretzel rod in the candy coating, letting excess coating drip off back into the container. Sprinkle immediately with desired sprinkles.
3. Place on waxed paper and let stand for white chocolate coating to set up.
4. Store in a sealed container at room temperature.

TRACEY'S NOTES

1. I pour the leftover white chocolate coating into a plastic storage container and save it for another use later. All you have to do is heat it back up in the microwave, omitting the shortening (since it's already in there).

https://www.thekitchenismyplayground.com/2011/12/christmas-white-chocolate-dipped.html

Created using The Recipes Generator

You might also enjoy these other tasty Christmas treats:

Christmas White Chocolate-Dipped Rice Krispie Treats

Christmas Chocolate Layer Bars

Gingerbread Cookie Bites

Christmas White Chocolate Marshmallow Pops

CLICK HERE TO PIN THIS FOR LATER

Affiliate links are included in this post. I receive a small amount of compensation for anything purchased from these links at Amazon.com, at no additional cost to you.

35

Nutella Yuppy (or Puppy) Chow

Yuppy Chow.  Puppy Chow.  White Trash.  Whatever you call it, the bottom line is this stuff is good!  But this Nutella Yuppy Chow is not just good.  It's addictively good.

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My family was introduced to this delectable sweet treat years ago by my brother's mother-in-law.  And ever since, my Father has been in love with Yuppy Chow.  To him, it's just not Christmas without it.  Of course, the rest of us like it pretty good too.  

Crunchy cereal, pretzels, chocolate, ... all coated in powdered sugar ... what's not to love?

10

Rum Balls {with Spiced Rum}

This old-timey family recipe makes the BEST Chocolate Rum Balls, made extra-tasty with spiced rum. They're a classic Christmas favorite, for sure!

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It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

In our family, it's not Christmas without Rum Balls.  My Mom has made Rum Balls at Christmastime ever since I can remember.  And I have more than happily continued the tradition.  

Of course, once I got my hands on the recipe, I "Tracey-ified" it, as I like to do.  

Isn't it so fun to tinker with a recipe to make it your own?  To me, that's what cooking and baking is all about.

Dark spiced rum is richer in flavor than regular rum, which adds a wonderful richness and touch of spice to the rum balls.  

So, I took Mom's classic rum ball recipe and changed the regular white rum to dark spiced rum.  Dark spiced rum is richer in flavor than regular rum, which adds a wonderful richness and touch of spice to the rum balls. 

And oh, then added in some extra rum to the recipe ~ you know, just for good measure.

I make these Rum Balls with Spiced Rum each year to include in the Christmas treat bags I give to friends.  At this point I'm so known for rum balls, I don't think I could get away with not  putting them in my holiday treat bags without some form of a riot.  Of course, my friends never turn down my extra-tasty Kentucky Bourbon Balls, either.

The extra beauty of these chocolate rum balls?  They're easy to make.  

A bit time consuming if you're making several batches, like I do ... but easy.  

And hey, you can just turn on your favorite Christmas movies and roll away to your heart's content while getting in the holiday "spirit" (pun intended!).

To whip up a batch, start by crushing vanilla wafer cookies to form the base of the rum ball dough.  A super quick and easy way to do this is to give the vanilla wafers a whirl in a food processor.  But if a food processor isn't available, simply put them in a ziploc bag and crush them with a meat mallet or rolling pin.

Do be warned, I love my rum balls quite  "spirited" - aka: I make them a wee bit strong.  Adjust the amount of spiced rum to taste, if you'd like.

Then add in confectioners' sugar, very finely chopped walnuts, cocoa, a touch of honey, and ... the best part ... spiced rum.

Mix everything together until well combined, and then chill the dough for about an hour to make it easier to work with.  Once chilled, form the dough into small balls with your hands and roll each ball in confectioners' sugar.  I sometimes use a small cookie scoop to help keep the size of the rum balls consistent.

And that's all there is to making these Rum Balls with Spiced Rum.  They're an easy no-bake holiday treat.

But do be warned, I love my rum balls quite  "spirited" - aka: I make them a wee bit strong.  Adjust the amount of spiced rum to taste, if you'd like.

Happy holidays!!

Check out these other delicious little-bite treats:

• Kentucky Bourbon Balls
• Insanely Delicious Turtle Cookies
• Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Ritz Cookies
• Coconut Macaroons
• Snowball Cookies
• Pound Cake Cookies
• Cinnamon Roll Cookies
• Turtle Pretzel Rods
• More cookie & candy recipes

Thank you for stopping by The Kitchen is My Playground. We'd love to have you back soon!

rum balls recipe, rum balls made with spiced rum, Christmas cookies

Cookies & Bars

Yield: about 3 dozen

Author: Tracey | The Kitchen is My Playground

Rum Balls {with Spiced Rum}

Chocolate rum truffles spiked with spiced rum ~ a classic family favorite Christmas treat.

prep time: 1 H & 40 Mcook time: total time: 1 H & 40 M

ingredients:

• 1 c. crushed vanilla wafers
• 1 c. confectioner's sugar
• 1 1/2 c. finely chopped walnuts
• 2 T. cocoa
• 2 T. honey
• 1/4 c. + an extra little splash of dark spiced rum

instructions:

How to cook Rum Balls {with Spiced Rum}

1. Mix all ingredients together until well combined. Cover and chill one hour in the refrigerator.
2. Form into small smalls (I use a small cookie scoop to measure out each one). Roll each ball in additional confectioner's sugar.
3. Store in an airtight container.

TRACEY'S NOTES

1. Each batch makes about 3 dozen Rum Balls, give-or-take a few depending on the size you make each one. I usually make at least a double or triple batch.
2. These can be made in advance and stored in the freezer until needed.

https://www.thekitchenismyplayground.com/2011/12/rum-balls-with-spiced-rum.html

Created using The Recipes Generator

You might also like these other Christmas favorites:

Kentucky Bourbon Balls

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles

Christmas White Chocolate-Dipped Rice Krispie Treats

Cherry Almond Cookies

Christmas Chocolate Layer Bars

Candy Cane Cookies

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Affiliate links are included in this post. I receive a small amount of compensation for anything purchased from these links, at no additional cost to you.

This post is linked with Weekend Potluck.

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