The 10 Most Popular Recipes of December 2020

Our readers’ favorite cookies, cakes, and cocktails of the month.

December 31, 2020

Image may contain Food Dessert Chocolate and Fudge

According to the datasphere, we all used a heck load of flour, butter, sugar, and food coloring in December. This month, a staggering number (um, five) of our most popular recipes were baked goods—oaty cookies, chocolate-pumpkin cake, and cosmic-looking moon pies. Call it the holiday effect! Call it...a coping mechanism? Beyond the doughy stuff you’ll also find a zippy-but-festive beer cocktail (that you’ll definitely want to make poolside in Summer 2021). The beloved spicy-sweet Korean stir-fried chicken that comes together in a few easy steps and one pan. And, I’m sorry, is that super-nutritious CAULI RICE? Hey, life is about balance. Here are our most popular recipes from the last month of the year, starting with No. 1.

Photo by Alex Lau
1/10
Oat and Pecan Brittle Cookies
A gorgeously textured cookie with crispy-edges, a chewy center, toasty pecans, and tiny crispy pecan brittle bits throughout.
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Photo by Laura Murray, Food Styling by Micah Morton
2/10
Spiced Chocolate-Pumpkin Cake With Pumpkin Glaze
This lightly spiced chocolate cake from Yossy Arefi's book Snacking Cakes is packed with pumpkin purée and features spices often found in Mexican chocolate. If you choose to use it, the pinch of cayenne adds a pleasing bit of warmth.
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Photo by Joshua Kissi, food styling by Roscoe Betsill, prop Styling by Amy Wilson, cake by Flour Shop
3/10
Life-of-the-Party Layer Cake
From the always-sunny brain of Flour Shop’s Amirah Kassem, this colorful, festive cake with a surprise filling is about as celebratory as it gets.
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Photograph by Emma Fishman, prop styling by Elizabeth Jaime
4/10
Vegan Leek Latkes
With crisp outsides, creamy insides, and a subtle sweetness from tons of blanched leeks, these latkes might not be what you’re used to—and that’s a good thing.
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Photographs by Yudi Ela, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, prop styling by Sophie Strangio
5/10
Tequila, Beer, and Citrus Cocktail
The holiday cocktail that takes you straight to the beach (and isn’t that where you want to be anyway?).
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Photograph by Laura Murray, food styling by Sue Li
6/10
Coffee-Hazelnut Biscotti
Embrace biscotti as the anti-gooey-chewy cookie that can be packed with coffee, chocolate, and nuts, and dunked in amaro, bourbon, or cold milk.
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Photo by Emma Fishman, Food Styling by Adriana Paschen, Prop Styling by Elizabeth Jaime
7/10
All-Dressed-Up Cauliflower Rice
Fluffy, textured cauliflower rice with warm spices and crunchy roasted pumpkin seeds.
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Photo by Laura Murray, Food Styling by Micah Morton
8/10
Dakgalbi
The beloved Korean stir-fried chicken dish dakgalbi is spicy, sweet, aromatic, and comforting—and it comes together in a few easy steps and one pan.
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Photo by Emma Fishman, Food Styling by Adriana Paschen, Prop Styling by Elizabeth Jaime
9/10
Tofu With Rice and Miso-Maple Dressing
Crispy tofu cubes get tossed in a sweet and savory glaze that hits all the umami notes.
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Photograph by Laura Murray, food styling by Sue Li
10/10
Pretzel and Potato Chip Moon Pies
These grown-up moon pies are made with shortbread cookies loaded with blitzed-up pretzels and salty potato chips—the perfect contrast to the sticky-sweet marshmallows and bitter dark chocolate.
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Ali is a writer and editor at Bon Appétit whose culture and lifestyle work includes reporting on the health claims behind fake meats, interviews with opinionated chefs about the evolution of restaurants, personal essays on the intersection of work and identity, and subtle attempts to propagate her favorite Australian foods. ... Read More

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