Most Popular Posts of 2012 {Old or New}

When I started looking at Google Analytics to find out the top recipes and top DIY projects from last year, I also started making a list of the most viewed posts, period. I mean, you guys are the reason I do this – and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the encouraging words you’ve given me over the last three-and-a-half years of blogging – so it would make sense to figure out what you like, wouldn’t it?

Well, it was fun – there are some no-brainer articles that I knew would make the list, of course, but there’s also a surprise (or two) in there as well. This time I’m starting with the last of the list – that would be #10 – and working my way to the most popular post of all time (read: 3 1/2 years) just to make it fun. Try guessing which post made it to the top spot as you read through the list of the most popular posts of 2012 – both old and new:

10. Homemade Moose Munch. This was surprise number one. I’m sure the holiday baking spree is what put this into the top ten – and I don’t want to brag, but this recipe is awesome. Try it and you will agree.

9. French Styled Bench From Broken Chairs. Oh, Brian will be so happy. His bench made it onto two lists this year.

8. How to Turn a Dresser into a Vanity. Love our dresser/vanity and I’m so glad others are finding our tutorial helpful. It is pretty easy to have a unique and inexpensive vanity this way.

7. How to Roast and Freeze Beets. Huh? What? This was the biggest surprise on the list (and #7 at that!) for me. Who knew that freezing beets was on so many people’s minds?

6. Classic Caesar Salad Dressing. Truly a classic and my family’s favorite salad, so you know I make this a lot.

5. How I Learned to Love Cast Iron. I’m even more in love with my cast iron pans now than I was then, so I’m not so surprised at this one.

4. Homemade Caramel Apple Dip. The original recipe with a lower sugar version and fun family apple tasting night tradition idea.

3. Brown Kraft Paper Floor Tutorial. This has actually been one of AOC’s most popular posts for a few years, so it wasn’t surprising that it made the list (or that the companion FAQ that I added this last year made the top 2012 DIY list), just surprising that it only came in at #3.

2. Best Homemade Ranch Dressing. There are a ton of ranch dressing recipes out there (I know, I probably tried half of them in the search for the best…), so this ranking #2 on the list sorta bowls me over. But it really is the best, most ranchiest-ranch dressing out there – I’m glad others agree!

1. Soft 100% Whole Wheat Rolls. A post from the early days of AOC that saw new life this last year after Money Saving Mom added them to a couple of her weekly menu plans. Of course that was in October right before all the holidays, so it was pinned, shared, and commented on basically constantly throughout November and December. I’ve made them three times in the last month and they really are spectacular. At Thanksgiving one family member told me she was thinking about these rolls the whole drive down from Seattle, knowing I would bring them to our celebration. If you haven’t made them yet, I’m going to go out on a limb and say you probably ought to think about it…

So, there it is – the top ten posts from the beginning of the blog up to now. Were you surprised by anything? Is there a post you think should’ve made the list? Leave a comment!