As 2013 draws to a close, I want to thank everyone who reads my blog and visits my site.
Averie Cooks wouldn’t exist without readers, and I am so very, very thankful and grateful for you. Whether you read my posts in stealth or you leave comments, I am appreciative. Thank you for your pins, tweets, shares, and for your support and loyalty.
It makes my day when I wake up to your comments saying you’ve tried a recipe, you loved it, it made you look like a star among your family, friends, and co-workers, and that you’re head-over-heels with what you made. Thank you for trying my recipes, for buying the ingredients, making it, trusting that it will work, and then coming back to tell me about it. That’s truly the best part of blogging.
Some recipes are more popular than others, and I’m highlighting the 10 most popular according to my Google Analytics’ top landing pages. The first slot is people who land on my homepage without landing on a specific post.
Noteworthy is that many recipes from 2009-2012 were in the top 25, but for this post, I’m only including recipes that were made in 2013. I had to go down to #23, just to get the 10 most popular from this year.
Recipes that were made earlier in the year do have an advantage to gain more popularity, and notably, the majority of the top 10 were made January through March.
1. Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies – These are some of my favorite cookies on my blog, and I wish I would have put them in my cookbook, Peanut Butter Comfort, but there’s a similar recipe, minus the chocolate, in the book. I attribute the popularity due to the peanut butter and chocolate combo, the photography, and the tagline on Pinterest, “Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies (GF) – The BEST PB Cookies I’ve ever had. There’s NO Flour, NO Butter, and NO White sugar used! Soft, chewy & oozing with dark chocolate. Crazy good!”
2. Softbatch Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies – The cookies became a Pinterest hit and I think the tagline and melty chocolate did the trick. “Softbatch Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies – Move over butter. Cream cheese makes these cookies thick & super soft!”
3. Soft Batch Dark Brown Sugar Coconut Oil Cookies – The Pinterest text says it all, “Soft Batch Dark Brown Sugar Coconut Oil Cookies – NO butter, NO white sugar. Made with coconut oil. So soft that they’re bendable!” So true and one of my favorite cookies on my site. I adore these cookies.
4. Skinny Caramel Frappuccino – “Skinny Caramel Frappuccino (GF) – Just like Starbucks except only 50 calories per serving! Sweet, creamy, easy & guilt-free!” I posted this in June and I think the warm weather, and because everyone likes healthier and cheaper alternatives to storebought, contributed to the popularity.
5. Loaded M&M Oreo Cookie Bars – I think the photography helped these bars take off. I loved every picture in the post (almost never happens) and apparently others did too.
6. Thick and Soft Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies (GF) – I don’t know why these became as popular as they did. They don’t seem that ‘special’ to me, but I make so many cookies, and am a very tough critic. I attribute it to, “Thick & Soft Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies (GF) NO butter, NO white sugar, & NO flour used. Soft, moist, rich & boldly chocolaty. Almost like brownies!”
7. Overnight Buttermilk Soft and Fluffy Cinnamon Rolls – Better than any other rolls I’ve ever had, including Cinnabon. In general, I think people love cinnamon roll pictures and recipes. They’re soft, fluffy, and pure comfort food. These have a make-ahead/overnight option built in. “Overnight Buttermilk Soft & Fluffy Cinnamon Rolls- The best cinnamon rolls I’ve ever had! And no need to get up at 5am to start them!”
8. Soft and Puffy Peanut Butter Coconut Oil Cookies – I believe coconut oil is gaining popularity among mainstream Americans, and this recipe and recipe #3 help validate that point. “Soft & Puffy Peanut Butter Coconut Oil Cookies – Soft, light, puffy, & very peanut buttery. NO Butter & NO White Sugar used!”
9. Nutella-Swirled Peanut Butter Chip Blondies – I made these when I was in Aruba in August and cried after the photo shoot because I thought the pictures just looked like a hot, melted mess. I felt like I just wasted precious vacation time baking, doing dishes, staging, styling, and taking food pictures when all I wanted to be doing was be at the pool with my daughter. I was so close to not posting these, but I literally had no backup recipes, and the thought of re-doing the photos was never going to happen. So I went ahead and posted them, and within a day, I knew I had a hit on my hands. Go figure. “Nutella-Swirled Peanut Butter Chip Blondies – One bowl, no mixer, soft & gooey. Peanut Butter & Nutella is always a win!”
10. Peanut Butter Cup Cookie Dough Crumble Bars – These are some of the my favorite bars on my site. “Peanut Butter Cup Cookie Dough Crumble Bars – Fast, easy & worth every last minute of cardio you’ll need to do. Soft, chewy, rich & gooey!”
It’s interesting that 5 of the 10 most popular recipes include peanut butter. I guess that my cookbook with 100 peanut butter recipes was right on the money.
6 of the 10 include chocolate. Not shocking.
Any tagline in which I say something to the effect of, “NO Butter & NO White Sugar used!” or use “Skinny” tends to get a lot of attention. The downfall is that I get a zillion comments from people telling me that brown sugar is really just white sugar with molasses added. I try to explain that I am not making a health claim, but rather a taste claim; brown sugar has a different taste, but people become highly irate when it comes to sugar claims, so I measured my words a bit more carefully the second half of 2013.
I have my own set of favorite recipes. It’s really hard to narrow them down because I post between 20 and 25 new recipes per month, every month, so that’s closing in on 300 recipes last year.
I really do love all the ones that made the top 10 list, especially Peanut Butter Cookies #1 and #8, the Softbatch Coconut Oil Dark Brown Sugar Cookies, the Nutella Blondies, and, Cinnamon Rolls, and the PB Cup Bars.
But if I close my eyes, and say, quick, what do you love, a few that come to mind as My Favorites of 2013 include:
Chewy Peanut Butter and Chocolate Cereal Bars (No-Bake, Vegan, GF) – Everything I want in a bar. Chewy, gooey, dense, peanut butter, chocolate, fast, easy. I remake this bar, and versions on the theme, all the time on my blog and in my cookbook.
Soft and Chewy Gingerbread Molasses Chocolate Chip Bars – Dense, bold, gingerbread fudge-like. You have to love big, bold, powerful molasses and ginger flavors to enjoy these, along with a love of uber-rich desserts and a penchant for dark chocolate, but if all those things are a yes, you will love these. I love molasses yearround and plan to make these in July.
Blueberry Muffin and Buttermilk Pancakes Cake – “Soft, fluffy & tastes like a big buttermilk pancake that ran into a blueberry muffin on the way to the oven! Easy, one-bowl, no-mixer recipe”. I love this cake base so much that I adapted it for many other cakes, including Peaches and Cream Fluffy Muffin Cake, Peanut Butter-Swirled Strawberry Cake, Cream Cheese-Swirled Cherry and Mixed Berries Cake, and Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Bliss Cake. Rich, fluffy, flavorful, one-bowl, not fussy, and makes a modest 8×8-inch cake.
Another cake/muffin base that served me well is this (vegan) pumpkin base. From it, I made Soft Vegan Pumpkin Cake with Pumpkin Spice Buttercream Frosting
Soft Vegan Pumpkin Bread with Brown Sugar Streusel Crust
and Vegan Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins. If you like pumpkin, this base recipe, which just happens to be vegan but you’ll never miss one bit of flavor, is the best base for soft, rich, flavorful muffins, quickbreads, and cakes that I’ve ever tried, and I’ve made a whole lot of pumpkin stuff. I have news in 2014 to let you know about. Stay tuned.
Lofthouse-Style Soft Peanut Butter Chip Sugar Cookies with Peanut Butter Frosting – Just like the real Lofthouse cookies, but with peanut butter! They’re perhaps my favorite cookie on my blog, tied with the others previously mentioned. Soft, light yet dense, extremely satisfying, and one of the best things that’s ever come out of my kitchen. I really wish I had thought of these when I was still writing Peanut Butter Comfort. They are without a doubt cookbook-worthy and would have gone on the cover!
What was one of the best things you made in 2013?
If you made anything from my blog in 2013, I’d love to hear what it was and what you thought of it!
Your peanut butter cookies are still floating around my top five – they’ve stood the test of time! Keep up the brilliant baking!! xo
That’s great to hear they’re still in your top 5! It’s interesting that 2 other bloggers who blogged about recipes from it, they made their top 10 lists for this year, too! So that’s a nice feeling :)
Happy new year and thanks for all the great comment today, and always! xoxo :)
Cookies, brownies and blondies, oh my! What a great collection!
OMGOSH,
I am drooling and my butt just grew larger.
I want it all….especially the chocolate chip cookies!
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSS. yessss. Yesss.
LOL thanks for the great comment!
A tasty trip down memory lane :) Congratulations on another successful year, and Happy New Year!!
Every one of these look amazing! You’re so talented! Happy New Year!
Thanks, Chrissy!
I have made so many recipes I can’t remember them all! I made the vegan pumpkin chip muffins at least a dozen times, the plain chip vegan muffins, the apple ones, too. I made the peachy cake a lot in the summer. The triple layer bars with ghetto or do base and mint in the middle, the Nutella swirl PB blondes. We also love the frittata with shredded potatoes. So many more to try! Thank you, I love your blog! Happy 2014 to you and your family!
Thanks for trying SO many of my recipes and for saying hello, Lori! I love hearing the field reports of what people make and thank you for being a reader and for making things and sharing with your family! All the best in 2014!
I meant Oreo, not ghetto! I hate spell check!
I think your recipe that made my mouth water the most this year was your Lofthouse Soft Peanut Butter Cookies. That frosting is just too good for words! Congratulations on your cookbook and all of your success this year Averie! May I ask what you used to determine which posts had the most views? Thanks and Happy New Year!
Hi Mercedes I used the screenshot and the google analytics info that I showed in the post and discussed the details about.
Thanks for being a great supporter and hope you have a wonderful 2014!
I have been eyeing your vegan pumpkin muffins for so long!! I just need to make them :)
If you do, LMK what you think!
Yup, 2013 has been one heck of a tasty year!! Can’t wait for 2014!!
Averie, I love your recipes, love your cookbook, love your site! Thanks for so many great recipes this year.
I’ll be honest, though, I have been having trouble with the ads and pop-ups forcing my computer to shut down lately and I can’t visit here as often as I would like. Especially if I click through a pin to get here.
It might just be my computer (I think it might be because of the newest version of internet explorer), but if your traffic is down, that may be why. Luckily I have had your cookbook to keep me busy. Any more of those in the works? I pretty much print off at least one out of every 10 recipes you post, so I have a pretty big “Averie” section in my cookbook binder!
Keep up the great work and have a Happy New Year. :)
Sarah P in Kansas
Sorry that you have some glitches with my site. My traffic is higher than it’s ever been and rarely do I get anyone who says this (maybe 1 person per month out of millions) so I am thinking it’s on your end. Internet Explorer is hands down, the worst browser IMO for browsing and it’s interesting that most people with glitches are using IE. So maybe another browser would fix that for you – hope so! Thanks for trying my recipes, pinning, and buying my cookbook. And yes, I have news on that front coming shortly in the new year :) Stay tuned!
I catch up on your blog twice a week for years and I love it. The funny thing is, I don’t have much interest in baking/cooking and have never made any of your recipes but I just love your photography, creativity, and your writing.
That’s really awesome that you’re not a cook/baker but you still check in on my site. Thank you! And thanks for the compliments!
I love your blog and all of your recipes! The ones I’ve made are great (Peanut Butter Cup Cookie Dough Crumble Bar is a favorite!!), and I’ve got most of the rest pinned on Pinterest because I want to make them. I find this list both a treat and torture at this point, because I have the typical January plan to try and recover from my holiday overindulgence. The list quickly reminded me that I need to try so many more recipes in the four days I have left. I jumped right in and made a batch of the Loaded M&M Oreo Cookie bars today, and they are delicious. I love how many of your recipes offer pantry cleanup options, and I did have extra Oreos on hand along with a partial bag of green and red colored M&Ms. Perfect chance to polish off those two items and have a treat to share with neighbors. I want to try the triple peanut butter variation next because peanut butter is one of my flavor obsessions. Peanut butter paired with chocolate – even better, so it is easy to see why many of your recipes draw me in immediately. My next goal is to try some of the recipes that use coconut oil because I’ve never baked with that, but have a jar waiting in the pantry. I’ve heard there are a lot of health benefits to coconut oil, so those recipes may be perfect options for January when I’m eating healthy – HA. I wish you continued success in 2014, and look forward to all of your new creative and delicious recipes.
Thanks for the lovely comment, Deb, and for trying to many of my recipes and for being a loyal supporter! Glad you like the pantry cleanup options in my recipes. It’s so important not to go buy something, just to make bar cookies with it, in my opinion. Using what you have works just as well usually! You’re going to love baking with coconut oil! So far these cookies have gotten rave reviews as a starter or any quickbread, i.e. banana, pumpkin, muffins, etc with it, too! https://www.averiecooks.com/soft-and-chewy-oatmeal-coconut-chocolate-chip-cookies/
So I almost never actually leave a comment on your blog- not sure why- but I would definitely be considered one of your “stealth” readers! The first things I do every single day when I turn my computer on is check my email and check to see if you have a new recipe post. More than 80% of what I bake comes from your site and I bake a lot! So many favorites on this site and I have used all your traditional base recipes, such as the blondie base you always use that is oh-so-simple and totally foolproof and delicious, so often that I have them totally memorized and finally have the freedom to use my own creativity in the kitchen! I tried adding chopped candied ginger to your Cranberry Bliss Bars and it was fantastic! And I gave your homemade fudge as a gift to my family this year and they absolutely adored it! It is mindblowing to me how often you post and how dedicated you are to the site and your readers. I am so grateful for having a baking blog I trust completely to turn out goods that my friends and family love every time! Hopefully in the new year I contribute a little bit more actively in the comment section :)
Thanks for being a loyal reader, Chloe, and trying so many of my recipes! Sounds like you do quite a bit of baking and that’s wonderful! I really appreciate your vote of confidence and that you come to my site and trust my recipes and know they’ll work out for you. That’s so nice to hear and hope to ‘hear’ from you more in 2014. Keep me posted what you make!
Your recipes (and pictures) are so fun! I tried most of your list! I love your Peanut Butter and Chocolate combinations and the moist texture that you have discovered with your recipes! Also the blueberry recipes are a hit at my house!
Next on my list: The vegan pumpkin recipes!!! Awesome
Thanks for trying so many of my recipes, Kira! I appreciate it and your support! And can’t wait to hear what you think about the pumpkin goodies. It’s not really pumpkin ‘season’ but for me, it never goes out of season :)
I literally just tried the vegan pumpkin recipe and Oh My it is defiantly one I will keep forever! It’s not to late for me to bring back the pumpkin especially when things taste as good as yours!!! :)
So glad to hear you just tried it and are happy! Yay for pumpkin ANY time of the year :)
Averie, every time I visit your site I’m not even sure what to pin first. Everything looks so delicious and your photos have so much clarity and detail. I’m a newer blogger in the blogosphere and there are a few blogs I follow regularly to learn from so I can continue to get better and better. . .yours is one of them. Thank you for being an inspiration. I look forward to what 2014 will bring! Many blessings to you in the new year. You are fabulous!
Thanks for the lovely compliments, Sara, & best of luck on your new blog! Thanks for pinning my stuff and being a loyal supporter!
Hello Averie,
I’ve only just discovered your blog so haven’t made anything from it yet, but I can tell from the quality of your posts and the comments by other readers here that your recipes would definitely be a safe bet next time I’m looking for something deliciously sweet to bake!
Most of all, having just started my own food blog, I’m very inspired by your passion, dedication, creativity and beautiful photos and hope that I’ll be able to do half as well as you one day!
Congratulations on building up such a lovely blog and all the best for more well-deserved success in 2014!
Thanks for finding me and the compliments, Helen! Best of luck on your blog & LMK if you try any of my recipes!