Best Recipes of 2021 (2024)

1

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2

Once you make your own homemade vanilla extract you will be ruined to the store-bought stuff! It's so easy to make, but you do need to have patience. The longer it sits, the better it gets. You'll need to wait at least 5 weeks to crack into the bottle. I use 18 vanilla beans for a 750ml bottle of vodka.

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3

These chocolate chip cookies are the result of what I learned making countless batches for decades. I also explain what the ingredients do to a cookie and how baking can change them. You can tweak your cookies to be just how you like them using my cookie guide towards the bottom of the post.

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4

There are as many Irish Scone recipes as there are households, so this is one of them that I witnessed while traveling. Simple and delicious! Pro Tip: USE GREAT BUTTER!

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5

I think a pavlova is the perfect holiday dessert. It is beautiful enough to be a centerpiece on your table, so light that it can follow a big holiday meal and its flavors can change with your every whim.

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6

Perfect blueberry muffins are studded with fruit, with blueberries in every bite. It should have a crunchy streusel top and be tender inside. These blueberry muffins deliver on all of these.

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7

This tarte tatin was inspired by William Lanagnère, a pastry chef in Paris who took the rustic French classic and turned it into something beyond elegant. I marveled at the perfect spiral of apples and figured he had been paying much closer attention in knife skills class than I did in culinary school! Then I realized there is a kitchen tool that creates delicate ribbons of apple. I bought one so I could create a version of this caramelized apple dessert at home.

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8

This carrot cake is perfectly spiced, moist and unbelievably good! Using candied carrot peels as decoration (optional), cream cheese frosting and sweetened shredded coconut, this cake is simply the best — I make it all the time!

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9

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10

This chocolate zucchini bundt cake recipe is from my book Zoë Bakes Cakes! It's moist and sweet, but not overly so, and intensely chocolate.

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11

This Apple Almond Galette is just an apple pie without the plate or a top crust. So, it’s even easier to make than pie and, I think, just as beautiful in a fruit forward, rustic way. The pie crust recipe makes two galettes, but you can always freeze one disk for later. I have also made this tart in a tart pan using my tart dough or even sugar cookie dough (great way to use up scraps).

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12

Pot de crème, which is essentially as decadent as creme brûlée, without the crack of caramel resting on top. The texture is like silk and the taste is lightly sweet, with just a slight bitter edge from the burnt sugar in the butterscotch. Check the recipe notes for a pumpkin version!

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13

These bars are a perfect back to school treat, or for anytime really. You can use fresh or frozen blueberries, which means you can eat them year-round!

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