Another fast and furious month passed in the blink of an eye. Time seems to be moving at a supersonic rate.
Here are the noteworthy recipes and events:
Recipes
Fudgy Brownie Cookie Dough Ice Cream Sandwiches
Softbatch Cookie Butter Brown Sugar Cookies
Apple Pie Pancakes with Vanilla Maple Syrup
Skinny Pina Colada Smoothie (vegan, GF) – Under 100 calories
Lofthouse-Style Soft Peanut Butter Chip Sugar Cookies with Peanut Butter Frosting – Some of the best cookies I’ve ever made
Vegan Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins
5-Minute Microwave Apple Cinnamon Crumble For One (vegan, GF)
Salted Caramel-Swirled Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars – First photos I took in my new apartment
Vegan Chunky Apple Cinnamon Muffins
Soft and Puffy Pumpkin Spice Honey Cookies
Chocolate Peanut Butter Mocha Powerballs (no-bake, vegan, GF)
Loaded Fudgy Candy Bar Brownies
Soft and Chewy Toffee and Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies (GF, no white sugar used)
Soft Vegan Pumpkin Bread with Brown Sugar Streusel Crust
Homemade White Chocolate and Butterscotch Sunflower Seed Butter
Honey Butter Pumpkin Dinner Rolls
Black & White Cookies: Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip & Dark Chocolate Dark Brown Sugar
Recipe Reflections
I broke out plenty of pumpkin (5) and apple (3) recipes. Seems that readers (and other bloggers) want these ‘fall’ recipes earlier and earlier each year, and by mid August I was already seeing pumpkin recipes. I waited until September before opening the pumpkin floodgates and already felt late to the pumpkin party. I am sure we’ll be seeing mint and Christmas cookies on blogs here within the next week or two.
I am pleased to have created 3 vegan quickbreads (2 muffins, 1 bread/cake) that sure don’t taste vegan or ‘healthy’ in the least. Full of flavor, softness, moisture, and are lacking nothing other than any animal products.
I made Lofthouse-Style Peanut Butter Cookies after wanting to make cookies along those lines for years. I finally got them the way I wanted them, and they are some of the best cookies I’ve ever made. I wish I could have included them in my Peanut Butter Comfort cookbook.
I also baked cookies with Cookie Butter, and made Homemade Sunflower Seed Butter. Peanut butter is always well-represented on my site , but was happy to show some love for CB and SFSB. People are always asking for recipes and ways to use Cookie Butter/Biscoff and for those with nut allergies, Sunflower Seed Butter is a nice option.
The Loaded M&M Oreo Cookie Bars have been a big hit on Pinterst, being pinned over 100,000 times in 3 weeks that I can track. Yet a very similar recipe, the Loaded Candy Bar Brownies, have not had nearly the success. I loved both of them and it’s one of the Pinterest mysteries that I like pondering as a blogger – what makes something take off and what makes others not do as well.
Combined with the Fudgy Brownie Ice Cream Sandwiches, the Chocolate Peanut Butter Mocha Powerballs, and the Black and White Cookies, lots of chocolaty, fudgy, brownie-ish recipes this month.
Mid-month I went back to adding the recipe title to the lead-off image in each post. I used to do it, but it takes time and I fell out of the habit for over a year. But I’ve realized it’s helpful to include. People seem to prefer it on Pinterest, and if for nothing else, I like being able to easily glance at my own photos and see the title. Sometimes my own cookies and bars even look similar to me when I’m glancing quickly.
Noteworty Events
Weekend Things – Shared about moving into a new apartment. It’s less than 1 mile from the other one, but moving is a massive chore and undertaking no matter the distance.
I am feeling settled and loving the new place. So much light, so bright and cheery, I actually have more light than I know what to do with for my photography. A good problem to have.
3-Day Juice Cleanse: Purify Cleanse – I did another cleanse and discussed my thoughts, and it inspired me to buy a new juicer.
I got the Hurom HU-100 Slow Juicer, Snow White. I had sold all my the others because they were not effective in extracting the juice (food was coming out way too wet and that’s wasteful) and cleanup was horribly time-consuming. I am much happier with the Hurom than I was with my Breville 800JEXL Juice Fountain Elite
I posted a few of the juices I’ve been making on Instagram
Weekend Things – Mid-month I spent the weekend in New Jersey at the Duncan Hines Test Kitchens with other bloggers.
Via Instagram – L to R: @sweettreatsmore @nikki_chefintraining @shugarysweets @somethingswanky @brucrewlife @crazyforcrust @averiesunshine having fun at Duncan Hines! #sweetstars
I finally got to meet so many ladies in person whom I’ve wanted to meet for years. Me and Shelly
Me and Nikki
It was an excellent event and Duncan Hines really rolled out the red carpet for all of us. I cannot speak highly enough of them and how well they treated us.
And how much sugar they fed us. And that’s why I juice. Yeah.
Chocolate mousse with chocolate ‘spaghetti’. Thanks @realduncanhines for a great #sweetstars weekend!
Gratitude
Last but not least, Averie Cooks had the most views ever in September (and prior to September, August 2013 was the highest viewed month). I truly appreciate every single person who stops by to read my site and is perhaps inspired to try a recipe. Some of you have also purchased my cookbook, and I am grateful for that, too.
I hope my readers know how valued you are. I sometimes read blogs where the author seems almost disingenuous, trite, or somehow something less than purely grateful for their readers and fans. I value my readers above all else becuase as they say, the buck stops here. Without readers, and people visiting my site, I couldn’t do what I do developing and sharing recipes at this pace and level. Thank you for your support!
Previous 2013 Recaps
Thanks for the entries in the Oster VERSA Performance Blender Giveaway ($300 Value) + 20 Favorite Blender Recipes
What did you do or make in this month that was memorable?
Wow – September was an amazing month! Congrats on the traffic! And that pantry of kitchen plates and bowls – I am so jealous! I need me one of those! But let’s be real, I’ll just end up using the same bowl for my photos.
I end up using the same 3 boards most often :)
Still drooling over those apple pie pancakes – tempted to whip up a batch now for a Saturday night snack!
Do it! :)
That was quite the month for you. Hobby Lobby put out their Christmas stuff a month or so ago and I have to avoid that section, because I am so not ready for it. Funny, because I totally agree we will be seeing Christmas treat posts soon.
I was at Trader Joe’s today and one of the employees was talking about Candy Cane Lane coming soon (their xmas tea) and mind you, it was 86F in San Diego today!
Aw thanks for the shout out to your readers, we love you too!! Thats why we keep coming back day after day for your amazing recipes, photos, tips, etc!!
Thanks for your support, Rena! I appreciate it!!
Oh boy, I want that brownie ice cream sandwich! And what fun that Duncan Hines event looks like! Congrats on all your success – you clearly work hard and deserve it! : )
It was such a fun event – just loved it! And thanks for your support, Monica!
You could not have eaten all those sweets this month. NO you couldn’t have. I’ve seen your photos. You are either blessed with an amazing metabolism or your neighbors are the luckiest folks on the planet. GREG
I run about 50 miles a week (7 a day, give or take) and do yoga because no, I don’t have an amazing metabolism. And I do also have very lucky neighbors and friends. I’m of the take a bite or a piece, and donate it mentality. God I wish I could eat all of this stuff, in entirety! Every one in awhile something is good enough to hoard, but usually I have to donate it so I can fit through doorways :)
Huge congrats on your September page views! Your recipes are always so creative, accessible and -most importantly – mouthwatering. It’s clear how hard you work to make this blog as amazing as it is and you deserve every single reader that stops by. I have been looking forward to your posts ever since the first time I discovered your blog!
Thank you Nora, that is really sweet of you to say you look forward to my posts. Thanks for all your support and wonderful comments! :)
What a perfect blend of fall flavors – pumpkin and apple and spices! – and chocolate! Congrats on the record page views, too. It’d pretty obvious, given the recipes highlighted in this post, why you are getting so many people flocking here. Lovely photos, and perfect easy tasty recipes. AWESOME!
Thanks my friend. Given all that Sept entailed for me, with moving and such, it’s been one big blur :)
This post made me SO happy! Congrats to your September success! I can’t wait try your Gluten Free Power Mocha Balls!
I had some in the back of the fridge last night I found at midnight. Perfect little snack :) Enjoy!
I made your Peanut Butter Lofthouse cookies. They were so good!
I am so glad to hear that! Thanks for LMK!
These all look AMAZING, Averie! And congrats on the record pageviews! :)
Averie, I’m incredibly jealous of your prop closet! And fabulous recipes, as always :)
I actually just bought a second one that’s identical b/c that one was busting at the seams to the point I couldn’t even see what was in it because it was so crammed. It’s from Ikea, the Hemnes line, and I love it. If you need a prop storage item, check it out. Holds tons and cheap!
These post just show your pure amazingness! I mean every recipe after the other is a great one. You never turn out anything short of truly awesome! Congrats on all the pinterest success! That is some huge numbers you are talking and also on the blog! YAY for September being your best month yet. Let’s hope October is even better!
Thanks Tieghan. Every post you turn out – I feel the same about. I pinned those bars of yours yesterday and they’ve been doing very well! Thanks for all your support! :)
What an interesting and thoughtful post! I really enjoyed reading it. I’m glad September was such a great month for you, in more ways than one. I never know how things take off on Pinterest. I can’t seem to get anything to stick.
You NEVER know what will stick. And 18 mos later I will have recipes get hot on it – and they’re always just a whatever recipe. Maybe the pics are nice but the recipe itself isn’t like the most amazing thing ever. Those, unfortunately, never go gangbusters. LOL It’s always the ones you least expect!
So many fabulous cookies and bars again in Sept. and congrats on your record views!!! Loved the apple crumble, mocha PB power balls (I keep a little stash in the freezer) and apple muffins. I had also planned to do a juice cleanse myself this weekend because my hubby and his brothers were going to take their father to Wash. DC, but with the shutdown, they’ve postponed their trip. I appreciate your advice on the whole thing, and I think for me, it will be best if I do it while he’s away because I can just busy myself with my hobbies and totally indulge in a “me time” sort of weekend. Definitely going with Urban Remedy too, and should get another chance to do it in the next few weeks.
Thanks Paula for making so many things, as always! I had some powerballs in the back of the fridge last night I found at midnight. Perfect little snack :) And your cleanse…wow, you’re really doing it! Well if you are needing support when you start and are having some white knuckle moments, email me! I think buying the juices premade and doing it while you’re by yourself is good. With the removal of solid food and others/outside distractions, you will go on an internal pilgrimage of sorts. Lots of soul searching and enlightening moments will come. It happens for me every time. Lately been doing juices until dinner and normal food at night. It’s been good b/c it helps me not want to devour each and every recipe in this post when I have juices in the fridge :)
You had SOOO many amazing recipes last month, scrolling through it I kept on thinking yep that was great, yes that one too, oo that was my favorite, now this one..etc!! Honestly, I loved so many of them! Just need excuses to bake em ;) And woo hoo to all your views!! You work so hard, you deserve them!! Cheers to a good October!
Thanks Elizabeth! You are always so supportive and such a great commenter and team player! Totally appreciate it :)