Top Ten Recipes of 2021

Today marks the last day of the year, and I’ve rounded up the very best recipes I've created over the past 365 days: the Top Ten Recipes of 2021.

It’s New Years Eve, and it’s been such a wild year for Heather’s Home Bakery! From signing a contract to write my very first cookbook, to working with a gaggle of new and wonderful brands, to continuing to grow and hone my craft of recipe writing and blogging, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed each twist and turn this year has brought my business. Today I’m writing my first compilation piece, and bringing you the top ten recipes of 2021 from Heather’s Home Bakery. Now these aren’t from top site visits, or Pinterest views. These are my personal favorites throughout the year because they helped me stretch my creativity within recipe writing. I am so proud of each of the recipes that live on my site, please enjoy these top ten of 2021!

Number 10, Sparkling Raspberry Hibiscus Iced Tea

This recipe was one of a few drinks I made, and my first tea creation. Now I am not a tea lover on the whole, but I love sweet, sparkling drinks. The flavor of hibiscus tea was surprisingly lovely on it’s own, and when added to an iced fizzy drink, it became one of my favorites to date.

Number 9, Vegan Chocolate Chip No Churn Ice Cream

I am writing an entire cookbook titled “Easy No-Churn Ice Cream” due out June 21, 2022, so this was a test year for ice cream in many ways. I found that I could create a dreamy vegan no churn ice cream with only a handful of easy plant based substitutes, and thus the entire vegan alternative for my book was born. I hope you love this simple, incredible chocolate ice cream recipe (that kicks the pants out of the store bought ones… seriously it’s so good). And I’ll have more information on pre-orders for my cookbook when that time becomes available!

Number 8, Bakery Style Cinnamon Chip Scones

This recipe has been in my back pocket for years and years. I once visited a brick and mortar bakery, and tried my first ever cinnamon chip scone. It was quite tasty, but as with most purchased scones that I’d tried over the years, it was on the dry side. I set out to create a moist and flavor-filled scone, and this recipe was born. I finally published it on my site in 2021, and I truly hope you love it as much as I do.

Number 7, Cinnamon Donuts with Browned Butter Caramel Sauce

I love donuts, they beat out cake every single time. Actually donuts beat most things, except cookies, which generally top most of my dessert lists. This recipe marked my first fried donut creation, and the browned butter caramel sauce was the perfect compliment. Sweet, crispy, and perfectly soft, these donuts are definitely ones to keep in your repertoire.

Number 6, Caramel Cheesecake Tart

2021 was the year of the Cheesecake Tart. I started experimenting with tarts, because I love cheesecake, but regular cheesecakes are pretty labor intensive. I wanted a quick cheesecake dessert that didn’t taste like corners had been cut to make it faster than a traditional one. Enter the cheesecake tarts. They revolutionized cheesecakes. Ok perhaps that’s an overstatement, but when you try this caramel cheesecake tart with my homemade caramel sauce swirled right in (and over the top, go ahead, be as extra as you want… I wholeheartedly approve), you might just agreed with that overstatement. Give it a try.

Number 5, Fresh Summer Peach Galette

Now I love peaches, but I have long had this thing about warm fruit: I had an aversion to it. Maybe I’ve never really experienced a GOOD warm fruit recipe, but I always thought that most fruit was better left chilled in it’s various forms. My exception to this has always been apples, which I’ve loved in a variety of warm desserts like pie, crisps, and danishes. I decided to give warm peaches a try, and I am so glad I did. Much like apples, peaches soften when baked and the flavor really shines though with my simple galette crust + brown sugar and spices. I adore this recipe, and will be writing more galette recipes in 2022.

Number 4, Rustic Apple Galette

I had to include this beauty. This rustic apple galette had been on my list to try for a while, due in part to it’s stunning presentation. Now just because something is pretty doesn’t automatically make it tasty, so I made sure to use my tried and true galette crust recipe + a simple sprinkling of dark brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and fresh lemon juice for that perfect kick of tart.

Number 3, Soft and Chewy Sugar Cookies

A really good sugar cookie is hard to find. It has to be buttery, and have the right ratio of salty to sweet. It also has to be soft and chewy, and my personal belief is that is also has to be made with all real ingredients and nothing artificial. Enter these soft and chewy sugar cookies. I topped them with a mouthwatering cream cheese buttercream and sugared strawberries, but you could absolutely enjoy them plain or with any other topping your heart desires.

Number 2, Creamy Grapefruit Mini Tarts

I adore tarts, and these creamy grapefruit curd tarts were a creations born from my mutual love of lemon curd. Grapefruit is such a wonderful citrus, I decided to creation a tart completely to celebrate it’s perfect flavor coupled with the creaminess of curd. This recipe uses my shortbread crust, and is really quite easy to make. I hope you love it as I do.

Number 1, Easy S’mores Cookie Bars

And now to top the list, my personal favorite creation of 2021: these easy s’mores cookie bars! S’mores flavors are ALLLL over the place, as I’m sure you know if you’ve done a simple internet search for it. I wanted to make a cookie bar that also embodied all of the deliciousness of an actual campfire s’more. These cookie bars have crushed graham cracker crumbs, plenty of milk chocolate chunks and mini marshmallows in the center, and then additional marshmallows are toasted on top for that true fire roasted flavor. Take them on your next camp out and enjoy a difference s’more experience!

I hope you enjoyed my first ever recipe roundup. I loved reminiscing over the past year and bringing some of my favorites to the table, my top ten recipes of 2021! I also can’t wait for what 2022 holds.

I want to thank each of you for following along and supporting my business. Heather’s Home Bakery was born out a love for baking + and all things sweet. Being able to take that love and turn it into a thriving business over the past two years has truly been a dream come true, but it honestly could not have happened without your comments, shares, tags, encouragement, and kind words. I have the best readers in the world, and I am so thankful for you all!

HAPPY NEW YEAR, and may the Lord bless you this upcoming year!

OX,

Heather

A few links to products I love too:

That long gold cocktail spoon

The newspaper printed parchment

The iced tea glasses