I was so excited to post that pecan-crusted salmon the other day that I forgot to post this roundup. It’s really good fish. ;)
I haven’t done one of these Best Of roundups since 2011 but when I was going through my recipe archive recently, I felt compelled to do one. So many great recipes last year!
Below are my most popular recipes published in 2016. 9/10 are gluten-free, 8/10 are paleo and only one is whole wheat! Where are all the whole grain lovers?! I know there are at least 4 of you (totally serious here!) that are here for the whole wheat recipes. I realize I’ve been posting more paleo and fewer whole grain recipes but I’m hoping someone’s still interested in them.
And below that are my personal favorite recipes, in case you feel like making something but don’t know what. You’ll also find my least popular recipe at the end of the post!
10 Most Popular Recipes from 2016
#10
These Gluten-free Oatmeal Cookies are the same as my 100% Whole Grain Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies… but without the gluten. :) I actually prefer the gluten-free version. They’re somehow even chewier!
#9
This Healthy Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Fudge can also be made paleo if you use a different type of nut butter. It’s good stuff! The only annoying thing is that it melts at room temp.
#8
These Paleo Mini Lemon Tarts are bright and cheery and they make me happy. :D Especially post-Christmas!
#7
My one non-gluten-free recipe that made the Top 10! These Berry Bars are lemony and so full of berry goodness.
#6
These Paleo Apple Muffins have grated and diced apples in them and are loaded with cinnamon. They’re my favorite muffin recipe – right after the blueberry muffins below!
#5
So this isn’t actually a recipe but a roundup. There’s something for everyone in this roundup of 75 Paleo Cookie Recipes You Can’t Resist!
#4
Paleo Vegan Double Chocolate Cookies that taste just like regular double chocolate cookies. Need I say more?
#3
People seem to love the texture of these Paleo Chocolate Cupcakes! It’s unique but delicious.
#2
This Paleo Vegan Chocolate Fudge Frosting is ridiculously easy and hard to mess up. It holds its shape at room temperature and doesn’t taste like avocados or coconut (all of which are often issues with paleo frostings) so I can see why this was a hit!
#1
These Paleo Vegan Lemon Cookies were by far my most popular recipe I published last year, which makes my least popular recipe (at the bottom of this post) even more puzzling for me.
The Recipes I’m Most Excited About
This Paleo Vegan Pumpkin Pie has a suuuper creamy filling that I actually like more than regular pumpkin pie filling. And it doesn’t use coconut milk (just saying for the people sick of coconut milk-based stuff!).
People agree with me – the filling in these Paleo Vegan No-bake Key Lime Pies tastes just like regular key lime pie! You HAVE to try these. :)
I think these Paleo Blueberry Muffins are my favorite recipe ever. Or at least in the Top 5. The texture is similar to angel food cake and the almond extract in them… oh, man. You have to make these, too. ;)
Two Other Favorites
These Chocolate Cupcakes, just like the Pumpkin Cupcakes below, can be made with whole wheat or gluten-free flour. They’re just as delicious as my other favorites but they were adapted recipes, meaning I didn’t have to make them 20 times before being totally happy with them. So I’m not quite as excited about them just because I didn’t have that feeling of victory over them. ;)
Both are also recipes I posted in 2011 and then reposted last year because the pictures were terrible and nobody ever looked at them. They needed to be seen again. :D
The Least Popular Recipe (Ever!)
Even the recipes I posted in my first months of blogging had more pageviews than these Paleo Vegan Orange Cookies. I even made a video for them, thinking they’d be a hit! Don’t y’all like orange cookies?! I really don’t understand why these bombed so hard, especially considering they’re just like my lemon cookies, the most popular post of the year, but with orange flavor!
Did you make any of my recipes last year? What do you want to see more of this year? I’m taking requests! :)
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22 comments on “Most Popular (and My Favorite) Recipes of 2016” — Add one!
Everything I made from your recepies is all beautiful and very delicious. 5 Stars from me and that is including the Orange Cookies, thank you for sharing.
You’re welcome! I’m really glad that you’ve enjoyed everything so far. :) Thanks a bunch for your feedback!
I really appreciate what you do. I have crummy gut issues which makes me need to eat paleo. I’m not happy about it, but your chocolate chip cookies and banana bread thing are amazing. I’ve tried lots of recipes from many people and your work really stands out! You understand what I want in a cookie or cake. You get it! I can’t tolerate almonds so I substitute with cashew butter and cashew flour. I think they might even be better that way! Thank you so much for all the experimenting you must do in order to come up with such amazing recipes. I’m off sugar for a bit but when I can go back, I’m trying the orange cookies.
Thank you for your super nice comment! It made my week. :) I’m very happy that you’re able to sub with cashew butter and flour as I know most of my paleo recipes are almond flour based! And the bit about understanding what you want in a cookie or cake made me laugh. :D I know what you mean. It’s kind of why I started blogging! I felt like most other recipe developers didn’t understand that healthier sweet treats don’t actually have to taste healthier (or to be honest, like cardboard ;)) I’m so happy I get you! Thanks again for your comment and I hope your sugar-free break is going well.
I have printed off the orange cookie recipe, as well as others. I’m on an anti-inflammation diet, but allow myself a small treat once in a while. I have discovered brownies and muffins made in a mug, which is awesome because there are no leftovers! But I’m looking forward to trying some of your recipes. Thanks!
I hope that you’ll enjoy the orange cookies and the other recipes! Recipes with no leftovers definitely sound like a great thing for me, too. :) Thanks a bunch for your comment!
I remember most of these because they looked so amazing! I’m not surprised these were such big hits, they all look like winners!
Aww! Thanks so much. :)
I’d definitely eat your orange cookies!
P.S. No idea why they aren’t more popular. Do what I do—wait about a year, make them again and take more photos. Then update your post and reshare. Maybe they’ll get a few more looks :)
Aww. Thanks for liking my poor orange cookies. :D And great idea! Thanks for the tip. :)
Oh yes, still want those whole wheat recipes. HA!! Even though I have made more DF,GF things than I ever thought I would for some family.
Do you make bread very much? I really like whole wheat bread.
Haha. You’re one of the 4 people I was referencing! ;) I’m so thankful for all your comments and support. I never make bread anymore because developing those recipes is such a terrible process (for me). Not only that, but the flour flies everywhere and gives me a sneezing attack. Haha. So I leave bread to the others. ;) Sorry about that! I do remember that you like peaches and wanted to make some whole wheat peach recipes over the summer but every box we bought was awful and got moldy before they ripened. Hopefully next summer. :)
I made the lemon tarts and the brrry bars. I save all your GF recipes. Thanks for the work you do to develop them and for the photography- which is terrific.
I hope you enjoyed them! I’m happy that you’re liking the GF recipes. :) Thanks a ton for your thoughtful comment! I really struggle with my pictures so that means a lot to me.
I actually had the orange cookie recipe bookmarked and have been wanting to try it!! This is the push I need because I seriously can’t believe it was the least popular!?
Your recipes have made such a difference in my paleo, dessert-loving life and I can’t wait to see what you come out with in 2017 – as long as you keep blogging, I’ll keep reading/drooling/baking! :)
Woohoo! I hope that you’ll love them as much as we did. :) And I don’t get it, either. I thought that they’d be a great Christmas cookie! People just weren’t interested. I’m very happy to read that my recipes have made a difference for you. :) Thanks a bunch for your nice comment (and the feedback you’ve left in the past!). I sure do appreciate it!
I have used your recipes and love them! How about soft, gluten free tortillas? Have you experimented with that?
I’m so happy to hear that you love the recipes! I’ve never actually tried gluten-free tortillas but I just added them to my list. I LOVE homemade tortillas. Thanks for the idea! In the meantime, you could try these. They look amazing!
I’m newer to viewing your blog and to cooking with different flours and no butter, but I’ll seriously try the orange cookies! They look delicious and not as guilty for me as what I normally make. Definitely trying to be better this new year. I’ve never looked for these flours, so are they easy to find or can I substitute an unbleached white flour?
Aww, yay! I’m happy that you’re going to try the orange cookies. :) Unfortunately, nuts flours aren’t interchangeable with non-nut flours and coconut flour isn’t interchangeable with anything, as it absorbs so much more liquid. You should be able to find almond flour and coconut flour in most supermarkets (Costco has them, too!). They’ll probably be cheaper online, though. I think Vitacost has the best prices. Coconut flour is especially expensive but you normally just use a few tablespoons at a time so it’ll last a long time. I hope you’ll enjoy the recipes and thanks so much for taking the time to say hi!
I’m here for the whole wheat recipes!! I think it’s fun to experiment with different flours but I always find the paleo/gluten free recipes feel heavier and don’t sit in my stomach as well as when I bake with regular whole wheat flours!
Oh, yay! Hello. :) It’s nice to know you’re out there! Thanks for taking the time to comment. :)