Top 10 Recipes of 2012

It's almost 2013 which means it's time to sum up the year! So many things have happened in the past 12 months, where to begin? I guess I'll start with us being in Florida. Stephen was busy with law school and I was looking for a job. I had lots of free time and I needed something to do besides sew all day... that's when I started to bake. I tried a few recipes each week and took leftovers to friends and church activities. I began to post more frequently and found that with each new recipe came more blog traffic and new followers. As my blog started to grow I decided that I needed to learn more about food photography (my skills were seriously lacking) and the ins and outs of being a "food blogger." This past fall we relocated to Utah and I continued to blog while searching for work. I landed a job at Sur La Table and have since been learning more than I could have ever imagined about food, cooking and of course, kitchen gadgets. It's been a dream come true! This next year I plan on attending my first blog conference and I'm really excited to meet some of the bloggers who have helped make Life Made Simple what it is today. You guys are inspiring and I can't thank you enough for all you've done for my little blog! Anyway, here are the top 10 recipes of 2012, the ones that people have pinned, tweeted, emailed, shared, and liked-

1. Graham Cracker S'mores Bars: Back in February I decided it was time to get into the kitchen and spend a little time doing something I love- baking! I made a big ole sheet of these bars for the youth at our church and everyone was smitten! When I posted this recipe I had no idea just how many people would try them and how much feedback I'd get. It really shaped what Life Made Simple would be for the remainder of the year.

2. Chocolate Thin Mint Ice Cream: When Stephen and I spent the weekend at his parents house I tried Girl Scout cookies for the first time. My favorite? Thin Mints. It was love at first bite. I saved a sleeve and brought them back home. I broke out my ice cream attachment for my KitchenAid and made this ice cream. To this day it's still my favorite homemade ice cream!

3. Sweet and Salty M&M Pretzel Bars: I took a little trip to Barnes & Noble to do some research. I was looking for a cookbook that I could use day in and day out. Something with both savory and sweet recipes in it that were tried and true. That's when I came across the Cook's Illustrated New Best Recipe book. It's amazing! Every recipe in there is awesome! I used their blondie recipe as the base for these bars.

4. Peach Cobbler Muffins: During the beginning of summer when peaches were abundant, I decided to make muffins. I used the extra mushy ones and crossed my fingers that all would turn out well- and it did! They were perfect!

5. Loaded Potato Soup: It was 90+ degrees outside and I made soup for dinner. Stephen thought I was out of my mind but as soon as he had a spoonful he was hooked! This soup is quick and filling and is perfect no matter what temperature it is outside :)

6. Biscoff Gourmet Cupcakes: Oh Biscoff- how I love you! This summer I purchased 2 jars of Biscoff spread. They didn't last long. What can I say? It's divine. I added some to my cupcake batter and beat some into the frosting. These cupcakes lasted about as long as the spread- gone in the blink of an eye.

7. Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes: As soon as the weather started to cool off I stocked up on pumpkin puree, 10 cans or so. These cheesecakes were the first thing I made. When I posted the recipe on here I had no idea just how popular they'd be. The emails came flooding in, people were pinning it like crazy and everyone wanted to know where I got my mini cheesecake pan from (you can buy it here). Needless to say they were a hit both online and at home!

8. Pumpkin Muffins with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Filling: Muffins are always a huge hit no matter what time of day they're made. It was 3:00 in the afternoon when I decided to whip up a batch of these beauties. I had cream cheese left over from making mini cheesecakes so I decided to place a dollop inside the center of the batter. I topped them with cinnamon sugar flakes and tossed them in the oven. The house smelled heavenly and as soon as they came out of the oven I gobbled one up. They've certainly become a favorite, something I'll make time and time again!

9. Mini Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecakes: The week of Thanksgiving was hectic. I was working a ton and had little time to prepare for the big day. I knew I was going to make my mom's apple pie, but I wanted another dessert to serve. Stephen suggested chocolate raspberry cheesecake so to cut down on prep/baking time I adapted a recipe to fit into my mini cheesecake pan. I sunk a whole raspberry into the center of each for a little surprise. He loved them and I did too!

10. Mini Eggnog Cheesecakes: Since Stephen is a huge fan of eggnog I picked up a bottle at the store and brought it home for him. I used a little bit to make mini cheesecakes... turns out it's not so bad when you pair it with cinnamon and cream cheese! These little bites of creamy goodness are sure to please anyone who loves eggnog as much as my husband does and also those of us that think it's just ok :)

Oh, and a big thank you goes out to all of you who follow along! I have the best readers and just want you to know how much I've appreciated your comments and feedback over the past year! I hope that this next year will be just as good as the last... here's to new adventures and many more delicious recipes~

Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

When I found out about the tragic events of Sandy Hook Elementary I was on my way to work. The rest of the day was a blur. It was all I could think about. When I got home that night I hugged Stephen tight and prayed that those families would feel peace and comfort. May God bless them and their loved ones. As part of the blogger community, I'd like to dedicate this post/recipe to the Cookies & Crafts for Sandy Hook tribute. As many of you know, peanut butter is one of my all-time favorite things to eat. Yes, I'm 24, but there's just something about it that I love! I also love peanut butter cups, so this cookie is really a hit for me! I think you and you're family will love these too, so go ahead, make a batch and enjoy them together! Remember to tell those around you that you love them and hug them tight. Think of those who are less fortunate than you and pray for those who have suffered a loss. We all need to take more time in our busy days to slow down and enjoy the many blessings God has given us, especially our families. My heart goes out to the community of Newtown Connecticut, we are thinking of you-

Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
Ingredients
1¼ c. all-purpose flour
¾ c. sugar
½ c.  brown sugar, packed
8 tbsp. (1 stick) butter, room temperature
1 c. Reese's Peanut Butter
1 egg + 1 egg yolk
¾ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
1½ tsp. vanilla
1 c. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, chopped

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine sugars, butter and peanut butter. Beat for 2 minutes or until smooth. Add vanilla, then mix. Add egg then egg yolk. Mix until just combined.
3. In a medium size mixing bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder. With mixing speed on low, gradually add dry ingredients- mix until just combined.
4. Remove bowl from stand and gently fold in Reese's Peanut Butter Cup chunks. Form balls of dough using a standard size cookie scoop. Place on sheet and gently pat down with the palm of your hand (just flatten it slightly or use a fork and make a criss cross pattern in each).
5. Place in oven and bake for 12-14 minutes. Cookies will be slightly soft, but that's ok. Let cookies cool on sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Serve with a big glass of cold milk!

Adapted from the Magnolia Bakery Cookbook, Peanut Butter Cookies | Makes approximately 24 cookies

Sweet Honey Cupcakes with Mascarpone Frosting and Caramelized Figs

It's been a while. Again. I've been sick for what seems like a month. And just when I start feeling better it seems like I've got something else. Then there's the work thing... and the holidays. Yep, I'm pretty much maxed out. I wish there were more hours in the day, that I could sleep a little more and that I didn't have so much to do. We're in Florida now visiting Stephen's family, and that has seemed to help ease the stress of things, but somehow I just haven't managed to find time to blog (until now). And you know what? I'm ok with that. When I first started taking blogging seriously I was set on a 3 post week. I was really good at sticking to that. Now, well, you can tell that I've been slacking off. Not really, because like you, I do have a life. There are more important things than blogging for me to do during the day. The events of last Friday have really put that in perspective for me. I want to spend the little time I do have with my family and enjoy Christmas. There are so many wonderful things to do and see- I'd much rather be out there than on here. Do you know what I mean? With that said, I'm sharing this cupcake recipe with you today. It's one that I made back in October for a contest and people really seemed to love it- I hope you will too! The mild flavors of the cake and the frosting are really appealing to me. The natural sweetness of the honey paired with the mascarpone cheese is absolutely divine! Since figs are usually easy to find during fall and winter, I thought they'd be perfect to caramelize and place on top of these cupcakes. If you're not a fan of figs, try pear slices or even apples, I think they'd be just as tasty! I hope you don't mind that I'm "double-dipping," but this was a quick and easy recipe for me to share with you all- enjoy!

Honey Cupcakes

Ingredients

1 ¼ c. cake flour

½ c. all-purpose flour

½ c. honey

½ c. unsalted butter, room temperature

1/3  c. sour cream

2/3 c. whole milk

2 eggs

1 ½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

1 vanilla bean, scraped

1 tbsp. vanilla extract

For the mascarpone frosting:

1 (8 oz.) container mascarpone cheese

½ c. heavy whipping cream

2 tbsp. granulated sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

For the caramelized figs:

¼ c. granulated sugar

8 ripe and sweet figs (mission or turkey), cut in half 

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 cupcake tins with 16 liners, set aside.
2. In a medium size mixing bowl whisk together flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add honey, butter, sour cream, vanilla extract and vanilla bean. Mix for 1 minute.
4. Add one egg at a time, mixing after each addition. With mixing speed on low, alternate between adding the dry ingredients and the milk. Beat until just combined.
5. Divide batter and fill cupcake liners ⅔ of the way full.
6. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean (note: they will not turn golden brown, so do not over bake).
7. Remove from oven and let cupcakes cool in tins for 5 minutes, transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
8. Meanwhile, to make the frosting, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine mascarpone cheese, heavy whipping cream, granulated sugar, and vanilla extract.

9. With mixing speed on low, begin to beat the mixture. Gradually turn the speed up until it reaches a medium-high speed. Beat mixture for 2-3 minutes until soft peaks begin to form (keep an eye on it while it is beating, you do not want the mixture to curdle). Frost cooled cupcakes as desired.
10. To prepare figs, dip the cut side of each fig into the granulated sugar. Place on a baking sheet lined with foil. Using a kitchen torch, caramelize each fig (this will take approximately 1 minute). Place a cut fig on the top of each cupcake.
Stephen + Natalie | Makes 16 standard size cupcakes

Simple Dropped Sugar Cookies

Rolled sugar cookies are always such a lengthy and time consuming process. I love them, but they're a little too much work for me right now. So that left me with only one option- dropped cookies. I did a little research and came across a recipe that I thought would work... the only problem was that people were getting mixed results (check out the pictures here, it's really strange). Some cookies turned out flat and cracked (which was what I was looking for) and others turned out puffy and thick. I decided to add a little water to my cookie dough to help coax in into flattening and I also increased the vanilla and added lemon zest just to give them more flavor. I think the alterations paid off, because these came out looking beautiful and tasting amazing too! We've definitely found ourselves a really great substitute for traditional rolled & frosted cookies! Happy baking!

Simple Dropped Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
2½ c. all-purpose flour
1¼ c. sugar
16 tbsp. (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
3 egg yolks

1 tbsp. water, lukewarm

¼ tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. cream of tartar

1 tbsp. vanilla extract

Zest of 1 lemon

½ c. sprinkles or coarse sugar for rolling

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper, set aside.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together butter and sugar until creamy. Add 1 egg yolk at a time, mixing after each addition. Add vanilla extract, water, and lemon zest, mix until just combined.

3. In a medium size mixing bowl, whisk to together flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt. With mixing speed on low, gradually add the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined.

4. Form cookies by using a medium size scoop. Roll the tops (or the mounded side) in sprinkles or sugar (keeping the flat side or bottom free of any sugar). Place balls onto prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Do not flatten the cookies, they will do so on their own. 

5. Place in oven and bake for 14-16 minutes or until the the edges begin to brown and the cookies are cracked. Remove from oven and allow cookies to remain on the cookie sheet for 3-4 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Adapted from All Recipes, Cracked Sugar Cookies | Makes approximately 24 cookies

Guest Post: Buffalo Chicken Chili

Hello friends! Today I'm off running errands and getting ready for a few really busy weeks that are ahead, so Meredith is taking over for me and sharing a really tasty chili recipe with you all! Enjoy!

December is prime holiday season, which means your schedule is probably starting to get packed with holiday parties, potlucks and visits from out-of-town family members or friends.  Food is usually the main event at all of these get-togethers, so cooking for a crowd is a necessary skill to perfect during the holiday season.

One of the best crowd-feeding tricks to keep up your sleeve during the holidays, and throughout the entire year for that matter, is knowing how to make one-pot meals.  One-pot meals save you lots of cleanup, allow for easy serving and usually make large batches perfect for feeding a ton of people—all of which are perfect for holiday party foods.  From spinach dips to baked Brie and easy chili recipes to intricate lasagnas, there are plenty of different dishes to bring to all of your holiday events. This chili recipe is extra-special because it combines the soupy goodness of chili with the spicy kick of buffalo wings; it’s basically like eating hot wings with spoon, but healthier and without getting sticky sauce all over your hands!  How could you not love that?  Feed it to your family and friends this holiday season or whip up a pot for the next football game—you’ll never look at chili the same way again.    

Buffalo Chicken Chili

Prep Time: 15 min

Total Time: 30 min

Serves: 6

Calories per Serving: 230

Ingredients

PAM® Original No-Stick Cooking Spray

1¼ pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-size pieces

1½ cups sliced celery

1 (15 oz) can Rosarita® Premium Whole Black Beans, drained and rinsed

1 (14.5 oz) can Hunt’s® Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes with Garlic, undrained

1 (8 oz) can Hunt’s® Tomato Sauce

2 tablespoons red pepper sauce

⅓ cup crumbled blue cheese

DIRECTIONS:

1. Spray a large saucepan or Dutch oven with cooking spray; heat over medium-high heat. Add chicken and celery; cook 5 to 7 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink, stirring occasionally.

2. Stir in beans, undrained tomatoes, tomato sauce and pepper sauce; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook 10 to 15 minutes or until chicken is tender and flavors are blended.
3. Top each serving with blue cheese. Add more pepper sauce, if desired. Enjoy!

Author Bio: Meredith K. writes on behalf of ReadySetEat®.
For other easy dinner ideas, along with tips for how to make chili, visit www.readyseteat.com. 

Mint Chocolate Double Delights

Yesterday I shared this recipe over at This Heart of Mine, so today I thought I'd share it with you! Above is a picture of some of my family's favorite Christmas cookies. Growing up, my mom would bake hundreds of cookies each December to give away to friends and family. As kids we were in charge of helping her to cut out the sugar cookies and decorate them, roll the ginger cookies in sugar, and fill the mint and peanut butter ones. When all of the cookies were done, we'd plate them and wrap them in festive cellophane. She'd finish them off with beautiful big bows made out of curling ribbon and then we'd all hop in the car and spend the rest of the afternoon/evening driving around and dropping them off. Needless to say, everyone was really happy to see us :) Now that us kids have grown and moved away, my mom makes all of the cookies by herself. She still gets requests for all of her cookies, but especially her mint chocolate double delights. They are addictive little cookies! Mint lovers beware, you may have to double or quadruple this recipe- yes, my mom would quadruple it! Enjoy and happy baking!!!

Mint Chocolate Double Delights

Ingredients

3 c. all-purpose flour

½ c. brown sugar

¾ c. unsalted butter

2 eggs

2 tbsp. water

1 (12 oz) bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips

1¼ tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

¼ tsp. vanilla extract

For the filling:

3 c. powdered sugar

⅓ c. butter, room temperature

2-3 tbsp. whole milk

¼ tsp. peppermint extract (or more depending on how strong you like it)

pinch of salt

2-3 drops of green (or red) food coloring

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a medium size mixing bowl whisk together flour, salt and baking soda. Set aside.

2. In a large saucepan over low heat, melt butter. Add brown sugar and stir with a heatproof spatula. Remove mixture from heat. Add in water, then chocolate chips, stir until chips have melted.

3. Beat in eggs one at a time, then add vanilla. Gradually fold in dry ingredients. Mix until just combined.

4. Roll dough into 1½" balls and place on a baking sheet. Place into oven and bake for 8-11 minutes at 350˚. Remove from oven and allow to cool on baking sheet for 3-4 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. 

5. While cookies are cooling, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat together butter for 30 seconds on high. Turn mixing speed to low, gradually add the powdered sugar on cup at a time. Once the mixture has incorporated, add milk, salt, peppermint extract and food coloring. Gradually turn speed up and continue beating for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy. 

6. Place filling into a bag and pipe onto one side of a cooled cookie. Place a "top" on it (you will want to try to match up similar size/shape ones). Allow cookies to sit for 30 minutes before eating.

Stephen + Natalie Family Recipe | Makes approximately 12 sandwich cookies

Chewy Ginger Cookies

It's December! My Christmas shopping is done and the house is decorated, now it's time for me to relax and bake. I broke out my recipe binder the other day and started thumbing through family recipes. My mom makes these really yummy ginger cookies that I've always loved, so I thought I'd start there. I decided to add some crystalized ginger bits just to give them a little texture and to enhance the spicy ginger flavor that I love so much. They turned out exactly like mom's, something I'm always happy about! Do you ever make family recipes that don't turn out? Yeah, that's always incredibly frustrating! Anyway, these were perfect, so perfectly delicious that I snacked on a few, and then a few more... they're that good!

Chewy Ginger Cookies
Ingredients
2 c. all-purpose flour, sifted
1 c. sugar
¼ c. molasses
¾ c. butter flavored shortening
1 egg
2 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 tbsp. ginger
1 tsp. cinnamon
3 tbsp. diced crystalized ginger bits

½ c. sugar, for rolling

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together shortening, sugar and molasses. Add egg and mix until just combined.
3. In a medium size mixing bowl, whisk together sifted flour, baking soda, salt, ginger and cinnamon. With mixing speed on low, gradually add to the wet ingredients.
4. Remove bowl from stand and gently fold in crystalized ginger bits. Form into 1½" balls, roll in sugar. Place in oven and bake for 12 minutes. Cookies will look cracked, this is normal. Remove from oven and allow to cool on sheets for 3-4 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Stephen+ Natalie Family Recipe | Makes approximately 2 dozen cookies     [photo inspired by: bhg's ginger cookies]