One year of Not Crocker down and many more to come!

As many readers know, it has been an interesting year full of ups and downs. I started this site during the second semester of my Master of Publishing coursework, kind of a ridiculous thing to do considering how demanding the workload was but it was a nice distraction and gave me a place to publish all the recipes for the cookies and cupcakes I was bringing in for my colleagues. With the personal stress in my life, my father’s diagnosis of brain cancer and his passing, Not Crocker has been a place where I can create beautiful things, relax, and share. I’ve fiddled around with the formatting, post schedule, and style of baking and cooking a lot over the past year and I am still figuring out what works for me, but all along the way I’ve enjoyed watching the blog grow!

I’ve gotten the chance to participate in the wonderful Food Blogger Cookie Swap, I’ve been featured on some incredible websites, and I’ve started to find my place in the dynamic food blogger community.

Thanks to all you wonderful readers who come back time and again for recipes that have become favourites. So much love to the family and friends who have been avid supporters of Not Crocker from the beginning.

Without further ado, here is a Not Crocker retrospective! Let’s take a look at my first post!

St. Patrick’s Guinness Cupcakes with Irish Cream Buttercream!

So, these were incredibly delicious, the Guinness Chocolate cake was a hit with my colleagues and I may or may not have gotten a professor a little tipsy with the amount of liquor. It was a fun way to start a blog that was mainly initially dedicated to my baking for my friends. Since then, I’ve included all my cooking and baking endeavours, with over 150 posts in the last year. Here are some of my favourites and some reader favourites for everyone to enjoy!

Coconut French Toast

This was one of my earliest hits. This post went up on Tastespotting and EXPLODED my site for weeks. The traffic has died down a bit for it but it was a regular draw for Sunday brunchers looking for something special to whip up. I created this as an ode to the Honeybuns of my father’s childhood. The mixture is sweet and custardy with a nice buttery coconut flavour.

 

Chocolate-Dipped Strawberry Cupcakes

This post was the first with a new camera, resulting in clearer pictures. I actually quickly moved on from that camera to another and things have just gotten crisper from there! These cupcakes are INCREDIBLE. Seriously. Made with fresh strawberries, you could easily eat them plain. My dear friend Caelin still demands that I figure out how to ship her some to England.

 

Beer Bread

A huge favourite for all my readers, beer bread is an easy, buttery, delicious quick bread that makes lives easier and more beer filled! This first went up to rave reviews and is a consistant top-read for everyone coming to the site. This bread whips up in minutes, is crunchy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. You can add some cheese, spice, and deeper, darker beers to the mix to create incredible variations. A slice smothered in butter is the ultimate comfort.

 

Brown Sugar Scones

These are my mom’s recipe and one the simplest, most incredibly delicious baked goods out there. There are a lot of word to describe these, most of them start with mmmmmmmmmmm. Honestly, there is not a lot to say other than, “go make a batch.”

 

Buffalo Chicken Dip

This is such an easy and delicious dip for any occasion. The sharp flavours of the buffalo sauce with the creaminess of the cheese and ranch make for an awesome combo. My friends Heather and Tobias are crazy for this dip, and I am right on board! This dip, along with my Jalapeño Popper dip are go-to party foods!

 

Rum Cupkrakes

These cleverly-named (by my husband) cupcakes went crazy after Kraken Rum posted them not once, but twice to their Facebook and Twitter. These mini rum cakes pack a deliciously buttery, boozy punch. I prefer to use Kraken Rum in mine to give it a little extra depth of flavour, and come on, look at that bottle!

 

Butter Chicken from scratch

One thing I always prefer to do is to make my meals from scratch where I can. I’ve made mayo, bread, cranberry sauce, curry spice mix, pita, and a whole lot more. I decided one day that I wanted to tackle one of my favourite dishes, and wow, totally worth it!

 

Blackberry Cream Cheese Muffins

Blackberries and cream cheese are awesome on their own and are a super team in this muffin. Lightly sweet with a punch of flavour, these are some of the most delicious muffins I’ve ever made. I am excited to try to sort out the original inspiration muffin, but in the meantime these are a fave!

 

Finally a surprize reader favourite has been my Muffin Pudding (or Muffin Bread Pudding).
It seems that I am not the only one who gets stumped about what to do with stale muffins. Who knew that something so hairbrained could turn into a delicious dessert that people look for every day!

These are just a small selection of some of my favourite recipes and the favourite recipes of the readers. Please feel free to cruise the post index at the top or through the categories at the side for most recipes to try and love!