My Top 10 List!
As some of you may know, Dave Letterman holds a special place in my heart. Don’t worry I’m not one of those girls who digs really older men, there’s a good reason for it. Back when I was in college, I was a guest on Letterman. Yep, you read that right, a guest. And not just a stupid human tricks guest or something similar, an actual guest (Hubby was in the audience, and for those of you who we know in real life, I know you’ve seen him in his Letterman t-shirt!). Even before that day, I was always a fan. I had a great roommate who was OBSESSED and we would watch together. My favorite part was always the Top 10 list.
When I saw Cait’s Top 10 blogging event (check out her blog Food*Nerd), I knew it was something I wanted to participate in. This month the topic is Blog Envy: Top Ten Recipes You’ve Been Meaning to Make.
Basically you make a list of the top 10 recipes you’ve been saving and then you make one and blog about it! This is very time appropriate since our kitchen renovation just about finished up and I’ve been trying to figure out what to bake when I could get back in the kitchen. I had a really hard time coming up with a Top Ten List since there are so many great recipes out there I want to try. But here it is (in no particular order):
10. Rainier Cherry and Goats Cheese Pie from Peabody – I love goat cheese and this combo sounds awesome
9. Chocolate Bacon Cupcakes with Caramel Buttercream from Scrumptious Photography – I’ve been dying to try the chocolate/bacon combo – update: I made these cupcakes for a friend’s pirate party!!!
8. Fresh Strawberry Cake from A Good Appetite – Strawberries are in season and this cake looks awesome – update: I made this cake into cupcakes!!
7. Dorie’s Chipster-Topped Brownies from Engineer Baker – I’ll probably leave out the nuts and add ganache to the top like Bakerella did – update: I made these!!
6. Chocolate Goat Cheese Truffles from Divine Domesticity – I’m intrigued by this recipe…
5. Bagels from Smitten Kitchen – I’ve been wanting to make bagels for a while, but they kind of definitely intimidate me… – update: I used a different recipe, but I did make these Mini Whole Wheat Bagels
4. Choc-alot Cake from Confections of a Foodie Bride – You knew I was going to have a super chocolatey cake on here – update – I made this cake and it’s AMAZING!
3. Billy’s Vanilla Cupcakes from How to Eat a Cupcake – I’m still searching for the perfect vanilla cupcake… – update: I’ve found a go-to vanilla cupcake recipe, so I’m not going to be trying this one!!
2. White Cake with Fresh Strawberry Buttercream from Peabody – again, strawberries are in season and how awesome does this cake look?!?
1. Brownie Mosaic Cheesecake from Smitten Kitchen – Um, hello?!? Cheese cake, ganache, and brownies in one dessert – heaven! update – I made this cake with a winter twist – peppermint!! It was everything I hoped and dreamed it would be.Â
I had HIGH hopes of actually being able to make something off my top ten list by the end of the month. However, we had a mishap with the granite (um, they lost our order for over a week!?!) which set us back about a week. The good news is that on Thursday, I’ll be able to use the kitchen again!! It won’t be completely done, but very close. I’ve decided that the first thing I’m going to bake is going to be from this list… now which one should I make… I’ll post as soon as I make it!
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
I’ll take any leftovers! They sound amazing. I keep saying dessert recipes with bacon and bookmarking them, but I haven’t tried any yet. Adding this one to the list now too. 🙂
These look so terrific. I love the flavor combinations!
I’m intrigued!
interesting! I have a recipe for chocolate bacon fudge or maybe pb bacon fudge but I’m afraid to try it
The frosting sounds amazing. I honestly still can’t bring myself to get behind bacon in desserts. Maybe someday I’ll try a bacon cupcake if I’m given one though. 🙂 I can only resist so long.
YUM! These look so good! I haven’t tried the bacon / sweet combo yet, but I’m sure I would love it!
This looks delicious but I’ve got to ask….what is a pirate party?
Fun and Fearless – It’s exactly like it sounds… Everyone dresses up as a pirate (or something related – Hubby and I went as Treasure maps last year). They even hire this guy who looks like Captain Jack Sparrow to come and there’s a prize for best costume. One of the best parties of the year!
Sounds great! The problem I’ve seen with bacon is that sometimes it is chewy in cupcakes. That’s not good. I like that this recipe says to cook until crispy. Extra crispy for me!
My favorite candy bar is bacon chocolate!!! I can’t wait to try this 🙂
Wow, those look and sound amazing!
oh yum. after putting bacon in last years cookies this might need to be next 🙂
I’m so curious to try bacon in baked goods, but do you think turkey bacon would work?
Corrine – I’m sure turkey bacon would work if you could get it nice and crispy. I’ve heard that if the bacon isn’t super crispy, it has a really weird chewy texture in baked goods.
Thanks Jen! I’m going to give it a try!
This has just about everything that I would want to go together. Awesome recipe!
This is certianly a unqiue mixture of tastes and textures, but it comes together nicely. Definatly a must try!
Chocolate..caramel…bacon…PERFECTION.
I am infatuated with the perfect smoky/salty addition of bacon into sweet baked goods. So delicious. Of course, I’m kind of a fan of adding bacon into just about anything.
Great pics, def wanna try these out!
Sorry the cupcakes didn’t turn out like you wanted. Have you ever tried the bacon/chocolate cupcake at Cherry Bomb Bakery in Brighton? They are fantastic!