Author: Faith Durand

Well, we’ve showed you our best chocolate desserts from 2009, as well as our favorite baked treats. But what about all those other sweet things that aren’t cake or cookies? Creamy ice cream, stewed plums with spices, apples stuffed with brown sugar, popsicles and dressed-up fruit — there are so many delicious ways to end a meal, and many of them are simpler and healthier than traditional desserts. Here’s a look back at 25 desserts from 2009 that were a little different from the typical chocolate cake.

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It was really hard, choosing just 40 kitchen hacks and tips from this past year. We have so many good tips, tricks, techniques, demonstrations, and tutorials in our archives! But here are a few of our favorites, from how to make milk foam without a machine to building a cooling rack or tube pan out of other kitchen pans. Plus how to use naked lemons, and ways to keep your cutting board from slipping!

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We love kitchen tours. They are such an interesting opportunity to peek into the way someone else cooks and lives, and we are always picking up bits of inspiration from them! Here’s a look back at some of our kitchen tours from this past year — there were so many interesting ones! From Margaret Roach’s garden kitchen, to a blogger’s new restaurant in Seattle, to a light-filled space in Boston, to Kitchn regular Art’s Chicago loft. Take a tour back through our kitchen tours!

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There was so much going on last summer! We had a peek into the Delancey kitchen, lists of the most useful (and useless) kitchen tools, recipes for quick one-dish dinners, and 50 kitchen tips from Ina Garten. Plus, 10 ways to feed 10 people for under $20, a $30 kitchen makeover, and how to get rid of cockroaches. Read on for these and much, much more!

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A transformed city kitchen, hot-chocolate-on-a-stick, how to make six kinds of stir-fry sauces at home, and ignitable tap water! These were some of the most popular posts this past fall. Read on for more, including the best chewy chocolate cookies ever, and tips on getting more out of your toaster oven.

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Bacon-wrapped potato bites and bacon pops were quite popular last spring, as were the kitchens from Small Cool 2009, and Ina Garten’s two kitchens (one in the city, one in the country). We also had ten ways to use a can of tuna, and four ways to reuse butter wrappers, plus broccoli slaw and smoked lemons.

Read on for these and more from Spring 2009.

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Welcome to The Kitchn’s look back at our favorite (and your favorite!) posts from 2009. We’re starting with the winter season, and the first quarter of 2009. What were we talking about last winter?

Well, it seems like a lot of you were thinking about improving your kitchen. But you were still cooking: Cake pops, breakfast recipes, and an Oreo cake were popular!

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Q: I’m planning to upgrade from the homely dish set that I bought as a college student ($12 at Goodwill, so I feel I’ve gotten my money’s worth out of them by now). I’m drawn by the clean-cut look of square plates, but I am wondering if there is a trade-off in functionality. Will they be a pain to put into cupboards or the dishwasher? Will dinners look undersized on a plate with all that extra real estate on the corners?  

I’m interested in others’ opinions on square vs. round plates; I don’t want to “go square” without knowing what I’m getting into!

Sent by Emily

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Q: I recently acquired a lot of smoked spanish paprika, which I love, but I need to figure out how to use!

The only recipe that I know of that calls for it is Chicken Paprikash. I’d like a good Chicken Paprikash recipe, since the one I’ve used isn’t that great, but I’d also love learning about more ways to use this spice.

Sent by Betsy

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Q: My husband recently became a vegetarian, and although I’m adjusting pretty well in our daily cooking I’m not sure what to do about Christmas dinner with the family. We’ll be at a relative’s home and I know they’re ordering a turkey dinner from a gourmet grocery. No one else in the family is a vegetarian.

Is it rude to bring an alternate main dish for him? I’d hate to make our host (who is over 90 years old) prepare a separate dish. Also, what are some suggestions for his meal? I’d hate for him to have a microwaved Boca Burger while we’re all eating a special meal.

Sent by Laura

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Q: I want to use those mini loaf pans to bake individual cakes and/or breads as gifts but recipes usually only give me baking time for a specific type of pan.

I assume that I would need to cut down baking time for a smaller pan, but by how much? Is there a formula I can use?

Sent by Jennifer

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Q: So I’m thinking of making one of those baked good in a jar kits for a Christmas present (like these) and was wondering how long they would keep?

Is there any good reason sugar, flour, and other dry ingredients wouldn’t keep as well in a jar together as they would seperately?

Sent by Katharine

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Q: I’m looking for some cheap, homemade ideas for Christmas gifts. I was thinking flavored salts or olive oils, but am not extremely cooking-savvy, so also want it to be fairly easy.

Was hoping for some ideas from the many creative readers out there — and if it can be easily shipped, that would make it even better. We are going to be on a plane, so the less we have to fly with, the happier we will be.

Sent by Brie

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Q: My family was thinking ahead to Christmas and my cousin brought up the subject of eggnog and how much he loved my homemade version. But the problem is that he is lactose-intolerant and could only drink so much.

I know there is not lactose in goat and sheep milk and was looking for recipes that use that. But they are few and far between.

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Q: I’m making a fancy dinner for my husband and parents for Christmas. I’d like it to be both delicious and impressive.

I’m a bit stuck on what to make for dessert. My mind leaps toward chocolate of some kind, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be that. The menu so far consists of blue cheese gougeres, arugula salad with prosciutto and pine nuts, and chicken (or maybe veal) marsala with fresh pasta.

Do you have any suggestions for a dessert that would be festive, fancy, and go with the rest of the meal?

Sent by Claire

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Q: As a consummate baker I have been asked my partner to bring a dessert to Christmas which can A) travel nicely (as we are driving 2 hours) and B) be diabetic friendly.

I have done a quick internet and book search, and apart from making a normal dessert with a sugar substitute, everything sounds just awful. Not one dessert I can find stands to be something that can be revealed post-Christmas dinner. Please help!

Sent by Matthew

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Q: A senior coworker gave me a Ball jar with a frozen “pudding” inside and a container with warmed sauce and a tiny bottle of brandy. I forgot about it and left the whole thing sitting out overnight and into the morning. I’m afraid it may have spoiled, but I’m also not even sure what it is.

What is this called-pudding-but-looks-like cake stuff? What’s the sauce (dark brown, runny, firmed up in fridge)? What do I do with the brandy, and could the pudding or sauce have spoiled overnight? Don’t make me ask the gift-giver — I’d be mortified!

Sent by Jessica

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Pistachio brittle, cocktail parties on a budget, and gift guides in this past week’s most popular posts. Read on for the top ten.

15. A Cocktail Party for 20 for Just $140
14. Memories of Christmas Breakfast Strata (and a Recipe)
13. What Do You Only Eat At Restaurants (or Only at Home)?
12. Five Tips for Flawless, Fabulous Cheese Plate Construction
11. Roundup: The Kitchn’s Holiday 2009 Gift Guides

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We first saw Christen Carter’s light, bright kitchen in the Chicago Reader’s Nest issue (here’s our discussion). Since then Apartment Therapy did a full tour of Christen’s lovely home, and here’s a peek into her vintage-inspired yet thoroughly modern kitchen.

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Happy weekend! Over the next two weeks we’ll be taking a little break from our usual blogging schedule, rounding up our favorite posts from the past year and working through our mailbag of reader questions. We also have more holiday guest posts from our wonderful friends! So stick with us through the next two weeks of holiday festivities, and tell us: what are you cooking this weekend?

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