Best of 2016: Recipes (Inspired by Charm)

Merry Everything! I hope you had (and are still having) a joyous holiday season. I feel very blessed to have been able to spend a lot of time with my family over the past week.

With the end of another year upon us, I think it’s a good time to reflect. Over the past couple weeks I’ve noticed many folks on social media looking forward to a fresh start in 2017. It seems that 2016 wasn’t a great year for many. Given my own trials and tribulations, I tend to agree. 2016 was a tough year in some respects. However, in an attempt to focus on the positives, I thought I’d use the next several days to reflect on the delights of the past year. Here on Inspired by Charm, I created over 165 posts filled with delicious recipes, beautiful interior inspiration, creative DIY projects, effortless entertaining ideas, and more. Sometimes you don’t realize how much ground you’ve covered until take a moment to look in the rearview mirror.

Whether you are new to Inspired by Charm, have missed some of this year’s posts, or just want to take a trip down memory lane, this series will focus on the Best of 2016. This look back is based on your comments, social media shares, and my own personal favorites, so I hope you enjoy it. Let’s start things off with IBC’s Best Recipes of 2016.

I kicked off the year with Breakfast Week. One of my favorites in this series was Mixed Berry Stuffed French Toast. Paired with my recipe for Brown Sugar Bacon (plus my tips for cooking it without the mess of splattered grease), it’s a hands down winner. For a quick breakfast, try my Overnight Oats!

Anything that you can mix with sprinkles is another winner in my book. That’s why this Funfetti Coffee Cake will probably always be a favorite of mine. It’s not only fun, but also totally delicious.

Filled with thoughts of spring, I taught you how to make this Trio of Herbed Butter. It’s great mixed with mashed potatoes or pasta. It’s equally delicious served with homemade bread.

For St. Patrick’s Day, I had a blast creating this Leprechaun’s Kiss Martini complete with a rainbow sugar rim. Serve it with Lucky Charms Cupcakes for a magically delicious combination.

Two pasta salad recipes stole the show on Pinterest. My easy and inexpensive Ramen Noodle Salad is a fan favorite, and this BLT Macaroni Salad is a tasty twist on a classic.

For seasonal cocktails, I experimented by infusing liquor with fruit to create these Fruit Infused Cocktails. I also taught you how to make Apple Pie Moonshine at home.

And just before the summer ended, I created this colorful and flavor-packed Avocado Panzanlla Salad that still makes my mouth water just thinking about it.

Fall Cookie Week returned for its fifth year! With six new cookie recipes, you’re bound to find a couple you’ll love.

For more fall treats, these Pumpkin Cheerio Treat Bars were an easy no-bake dessert.

Also, this Caramel Apple Cream Cheese dessert went crazy on Pinterest. It was one of the most pinned IBC recipes for 2016!

The cocktail excitement continued during the holiday season with three popular recipes: Salted Caramel White Russians, Cranberry Bourbon Cocktail, and my holiday extra special holiday creation, the Ornamentini! These were my three go-to holiday drinks. It sounds like they were favorites for many of you, too!

Finally, the year wouldn’t be complete without a holiday dessert. My Gingerbread Village cakes and Pink Velvet Yule Log were not only a treat for the tummy, but for the eyes, too. I love when a dessert gets the response, “That’s almost too pretty to eat.”

And that concludes our little walk down IBC recipe memory lane. Were any of these your favorite IBC recipe from 2016? Did you have a “best IBC recipe nominee” that I overlooked? Let us know in the comments below.

Happy 2017!

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