Farewell, 2024 (or as I like to call it, 2020 version 4.0). Hard to believe another year has come and gone, and yet here we are again looking at the yearly roundup of the best recipes published this year!
TLDR: this year was the year of kittens and pistachios.
We published only 28 recipes this year, even less than last year. Why so few? Well, as in previous years I’ve been focusing more on quality over quantity, testing recipes more times and spending more time writing in-depth, helpful posts with detailed process images (and also a few videos!)
But let’s be honest… the real reason(s) there hasn’t been nearly as many new recipes this year? Kittens. Blame the kittens.
It’s true, we started fostering kittens through our local animal shelter this summer and have since had 9 kittens (and 1 cat) come through on their way to their forever homes, including a litter of three 10-day old bottle babies (whew boy that’s a lot of work!) and a mama cat and her 5 adorably stripey babies who we named after mushrooms (ahem—Meowshrooms). Be sure to check out my dedicated kitten instagram account @loveandlittlecats for more cuteness, and while we don’t have any kittens at the moment there will definitely be more come spring.
(Psst! That adorable little grumpy santa up there is Enoki, and if you want to get a head start on next year’s Christmas cards you can purchase them—plus one of the whole gang—in the L&OO shop!)
Anyway. I’ve done a best of post every year for the past 15 years, and want to continue that tradition, if only just because it’s fun to look back and reminisce.
These year-end posts are always interesting, seeing which recipes you all loved the most and how they differed from the ones I was most excited about (although to be honest, I don’t usually post about recipes I’m not excited about.)
(Click through to see which recipe came out on top!)
Your Favorite Posts this Year
These were the top recipes published this year! Y’all really like your flourless cakes, don’t you? (Spoiler: I have a hazelnut one in the works as we speak!)
1. Flourless Pistachio Cake with Chocolate Ganache / 2. Flourless Almond Cake / 3. Blueberry Banana Bread / 4. Strawberry Shortcake Crunch Topping / 5. Homemade Pistachio Flour / 6. Candied Blood Orange Slices / 7. Classic Strawberry Jam 3 Ways / 8. Triple Lemon Layer Cake / 9. Strawberry Crunch Sheet Cake with Buttermilk Frosting
All-Time Favorites
If we look at all the recipes, not just posted in the past year… the rankings look a little bit different. You’ll notice a lot of the same recipes show up here every year. With the exception of the two flourless cakes (new this year) along with last year’s pistachio butter, everything else you probably recognize from last year’s roundup (and the year before that… and the year before that…) It’s an interesting mix of sweet, savory, and boozy!
1. Homemade Pistachio Butter / 2. Crispy Oven-Roasted Broccolini / 3. Soft Amaretti Cookies / 4. Flourless Pistachio Cake with Chocolate Ganache / 5. Strawberry Cake Roll / 6. Sourdough Crackers with Olive Oil & Herbs / 7. Homemade Limoncello / 8. Flourless Almond Cake / 9. Creamy Chicken Florentine Pasta
Most Popular Month by Month
But what were the most popular post from each month? This grid is… very very green, at least until the fall when almond-geddon hits, just like it did last year (and the year before that and the year before that…) It always cracks me up when the popular posts are cake, cake, cookies, cake, broccoli, more cookies… and so forth. I mean, it’s all about balance, right?
January: Crispy Oven-Roasted Broccolini / February: Flourless Pistachio Cake with Chocolate Ganache / March: Flourless Pistachio Cake with Chocolate Ganache / April: Crispy Oven-Roasted Broccolini / May: Homemade Pistachio Butter / June: Homemade Pistachio Butter / July: Homemade Pistachio Butter / August: Homemade Pistachio Butter / September: Crispy Oven-Roasted Broccolini / October: Flourless Almond Cake / November: Soft Amaretti Cookies / December: Soft Amaretti Cookies
Most Popular on Instagram
I really truly might scrap this category next year, as instagram engagement seems to get lower by the day (it’s really discouraging). This year it seemed like only pistachio recipes seemed to get any sort of significant reach, with a couple random strawberry ones. But even the most-liked post of the year saw a mere fraction of overall reach as in previous years.
1. Flourless Pistachio Cake with Chocolate Ganache / 2. Flourless Pistachio Cake with Chocolate Ganache / 3. Strawberry Meyer Lemon Tart / 4. Pistachio Sour Cream Cheesecake / 5. Pistachio Sour Cream Cheesecake / 6. Pistachio Florentine Cookies / 7. Flourless Pistachio Cake with Chocolate Ganache / 8. Flourless Pistachio Cake with Chocolate Ganache / 9. Fresh Strawberry Rose Pie
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And with that, let’s bid 2024 adieu and ring in 2025 with delicious wishes for a happy, fulfilling (and just plain filling) New Year!
Beautiful! I appreciate the quality and beauty of your posts. Happy New Year!
Love & Olive Oil is always my first choice for recipes and last night’s Chanukah dinner is a prime example of that. Brisket, Latkes, Green Beans with Persimmons and Marble Swirled Cheesecake all thanks to Lindsay and Taylor:)
Many of my golfing friends are also fans of you, your site and your recipes.
Love your photos, love your humorous food puns and your entertaining writing style. And of course, love you both. Margie/Mom
you are the only recipe creator I follow and who’s recipes I can actually read and follow without dying of boredom. and I was always blown away. everything you wrote made 100% sense from every angle. worth reading every word. and you even reply to the comments!
I am looking forward to your new emails, and trying your other recipes!
all best
Well you just made my day. No, my week, my year! It makes me happy to know that someone’s actually reading the posts that I spend so much time writing. <3 Thank you for your kind words, and Happy New Year!!
Thanks for always sharing amazing, high quality recipes. You are certainly a talented cook. Also, thanks for sharing the pics of the kittens! We are a cat loving family and think it’s awesome that you are giving your time and love by fostering kittens/cats. Great job!!