Love and Olive Oil

The Best of 2012

What. A. Year. Seriously. Perhaps the best year yet.

This year I published my first cookbook. Wrote a second cookbook. Went to Florida, Atlanta (twice), Birmingham, Colorado, New York, and Pennsylvania. Appeared on local TV. Appeared on national TV. Successfully made caramel. Threw a birthday party for a blog. Smuggled cherries home from Colorado. Made homemade cat food. Ate chocolate in Hershey. Ate ramen in NYC. Embraced strawberry season. Went to Disneyworld. Didn’t go on Splash Mountain. Dressed my cats up in miniature Santa hats. Lived to tell about it. Bought a few spoons (just a few). Designed over two dozen new food blogs. Baked some cookies. Raised over $1,500 for hurricane Sandy relief, and over $4,400 for Cookies for Kids’ cancer because of those cookies. Phew.

Indeed, 2012 was a great year. But I have a feeling 2013 is going to be even better. We are both incredibly grateful for the role this blog and you (our readers!) play in our lives. Cheers!

As I have in the past, I’d like to quickly highlight some of my favorite treats and recipes posted in the past year. As I’ve seen myself grow as a cook, photographer, and writer, this task gets increasingly more difficult each year. So much so that I’m including 9 more posts in my year-end wrap up than I did last year. I had no choice… otherwise this round-up would be sugar filled and chocolate coated through and through. It just so happens that *MY* memory lane is paved with sugar cubes and chocolate bars. Can you blame me?

The 3 most visited posts this year were the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles (for the 3rd year running), Grasshopper Brownie Bars, and Cream Egg Brownies. Yup, you guys like your chocolate just as much as I do (maybe that’s why we get along so well).

Enjoy this look back at some of my favorites from the past year, full of chocolate and creme de menthe, ripe summer fruit and rainbow sprinkles.

Best Sweet Recipes of 2012

(1) Bourbon Cream Root Beer Floats / (2) Chocolate Mint Truffle Cookies / (3) Marzipan Brownies / (4) Cream Egg Brownies / (5) Meyer Lemon and Olive Oil Chiffon Cake with Lemon Poppyseed Curd / (6) Andes Mint Chip Ice Cream / (7) Chocolate Strawberry Oasis Pie / (8) Peanut Butter & Honey Ice Cream / (9) Blackberry Red Wine Chocolate Cake

Best Sweet Recipes of 2012

(1) Chocolate Dipped Brownie Cookies with Rainbow Sprinkles / (2) Rainier Cherry and Chocolate Chip Ice Cream / (3) Mini S’Mores Tarts / (4) Creme de Menthe Ice Cream Sandwiches / (5) Mexican Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles / (6) Chocolate Velvet / (7) Sweet Potato Layer Cake with Molasses Buttercream / (8) Peppermint Bark Brownies / (9) No-Bake Blueberry Truffle Tartlets

And because one cannot live by chocolate alone (although I’d darn well like to try), these were my favorite non-dessert recipes of 2012:

Best Savory Recipes of 2012

(1) Savory Winter Greens Beignets / (2) Roasted Root Vegetable Salad with Goat Cheese / (3) Homemade Gravlax / (4) Open-Faced Heirloom Tomato Sandwiches / (5) Fruit and Herb Lemonade / (6) Arugula Pistachio Pesto / (7) Peach Lavender Jam / (8) Watermelon Blueberry Salsa / (9) Fresh Tomato Soup with Mascarpone

Here’s to a happy and prosperous new year!

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27 Comments

  1. Everything here looks amazing!!!!

  2. Espero que el año 2013 nos silla fascinando con tan ricas recetas de sabrosos helados y más… Gracias por compartir…

  3. Everything sounds great EXCEPT the homemade cat food. You do have the most spoiled cats in the world. Is that how you got to dress them up in the little santa hats?

  4. What a tasty year. You certainly deserve every bit of success you’ve worked for. Cheers to 2013!

  5. Happy new year! And thank myou for an inspiring blog. You reached out all the way to Denmark and gave me the inspiration to start a blog myself about the good things in life -music, cakes and roses.
    Best regards from Ulrika

  6. Congrats on a fantastic 2012 and Happy New Year!

  7. Where do I even begin!? That was like a sensory overload of deliciousness…thank you for all of that :)

    Happy New Year to you and yours!

  8. You have had an amazing year!! Can’t wait for that second cookbook, and I can’t believe you do all this on top of running your own business!

  9. Congrats on all of your success in 2012 and look forward to seeing even more in 2013! Can’t wait for your next book – woo hoo! Happy, Happy New Year!!!

  10. Blackberry red wine chocolate? Now that is quite a classy dish if you ask me. Happy New Year!

  11. Happy New Year!
    Can’t wait for all the new delicious things you’ll provide us with

  12. Definitely have to save that Andes Mint Ice Cream recipe – Kroger used to have a Andes ice cream in their brand, but for some reason it disappeared :( It’s my all-time favorite ice cream!

  13. Well Lindsay, i would say Congratulations, Kudos to you or Way to Go…but you already did! Let us all hope for a wonderful and self-fulfilling 2013 for all people everywhere….those who blog, those who don’t…those with means and those without…let us all be hopeful for the hopeless and all do our little bit in our own way to help out. Let us all be more. Happy New Year.

  14. You truly had an amazing year and I’m sure next will be even more spectacular! Happy new year :)

  15. What a year! I enjoyed it. Here’s to a better 2013!

  16. Wow, what a delicious line-up of tantelizing recipes! Congrats on all of your accomplishments of 2012. I’m grateful for your contributions to our wonderful food blogging world.

    Buon Anno,
    Roz from ‘la bella vita’

  17. What a wonderful year, Lindsay! You should be so proud – I can’t wait to see what 2013 brings!! Cheers!!!

  18. You’ve had quite a year – between your blog, book, Purr, and just all you’ve done! Congrats and you deserve it and cant wait to see how 2013 shapes up for you! :)

  19. What a wonderful year in baking…I’m so happy I discovered your blog, XOXO

  20. What a great year for you and 2013 is going to be even better! Great round up of recipes! Happy New Years!!

  21. May 2013 be as successful as 2012, but I have no doubt about it. Happy new year!

  22. Congratulations on a very successful 2012!

  23. THE BEST year! Yay for 2012!! Here’s to 2013 :) xoxo- K

  24. It was so fun watching your 2012 adventures. All the best in 2013!

  25. You had a fab year, lady!

    Hope to see you in Twenty THIRTEEEEN. Cheers!

  26. Here’s to 2013!! Congrats on a great year!! Can’t wait for your 2nd cookbook!!! Yay!

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