Our 10 most popular recipes of 2024
It’s been a year of great bakes! Let’s unveil your favorites.
The King Arthur Test Kitchen is constantly churning out stellar new recipes, all of them meticulously tested and endlessly evaluated to ensure they’re the best they can be. But each year, some rise above the rest. Here are the ten most popular new recipes this year, the bakes you simply couldn’t get enough of. If you haven’t made them yet, now is the time!
10) Pretzel Biscuits
What happens when a malty, salty pretzel meets a buttery, flaky biscuit? You get this inspired mashup, ready to be turned into next-level breakfast sandwiches. To make, you brush biscuit dough with a baking soda bath and sprinkle with crunchy pretzel salt, which provides that classic bronzed topping and salty bite.
Get the recipe: Pretzel Biscuits
Shop the recipe: Professional Pastry Brush and Bench Knife
If you like this recipe, you may also like: Pretzel Focaccia, Pretzel Buns
9) Apple Cider Snickerdoodles
With boiled apple cider and a dash of apple pie spice in the dough, these cookies evoke your favorite harvest doughnut — minus the hassle of frying. They’re soft and chewy, with a sugar-and-spice coating just like the classic cookie they’re named after.
Get the recipe: Apple Cider Snickerdoodles
Shop the recipe: Apple Pie Spice and Vermont Boiled Cider
If you like this recipe, you may also like: Buttery Snickerdoodles, Apple Cinnamon Bars
8) Mortadella Pizza Sandwich
This recipe got a lot of love and rave reviews when it first debuted, and if you haven’t tried this mind-blowing sandwich yet, you need to fix that ASAP. Not only is the trio of salty mortadella, creamy burrata, and crunchy pistachios impossible to resist, but it all gets folded inside a puffy flatbread made from Neapolitan pizza dough. Martin shows you how to make it — and why it’s oh-so-good — over on YouTube.
Get the recipe: Mortadella Pizza Sandwich
Shop the recipe: ‘00’ Pizza Flour
If you like this recipe, you may also like: Pizza Bianca, Neapolitan-Style Pizza Crust
7) Double Chocolate Focaccia
Fun focaccia spins were everywhere this year, and this recipe is a very captivating riff on an Italian classic. An open-crumbed, cocoa-infused bread with ripples of chopped semisweet chocolate, it could be served for breakfast or dessert — or both. Watch recipe creator Melanie Wanders guide you through how to make it: Chocolate Focaccia: The Perfect Crispy, Chewy, Anytime Snack.
Get the recipe: Double Chocolate Focaccia
Shop the recipe: Black Cocoa and Guittard Semisweet Chocolate Wafers
If you like this recipe, you may also like: Pretzel Focaccia, Christmas Ham Focaccia
6) Quick and Easy Vanilla Cake
Most yellow cake recipes require a mixer, but not this one — it’s made entirely by hand, and in one bowl. This easier method doesn’t mean you’re sacrificing on flavor or texture, either: This plush cake delivers the same classic, nostalgic, yellow cake flavor that's likely to trigger childhood memories. A win-win!
Get the recipe: Quick and Easy Vanilla Cake
Shop the recipe: Pure Almond Extract and Supernatural Rainbow Softies Sprinkles
If you like this recipe, you may also like: Classic Birthday Cake, Cute and Small Chocolate Cake
5) Easiest Sourdough Discard Crackers
This recipe lives up to its name: These crackers really are the easiest. To make, you simply mix discard sourdough starter, melted butter (or olive oil), salt, and seasonings. Pour onto a parchment-lined sheet pan, bake, and you’ll have a tray of crunchy, savory crackers perfect for dips, cheeses, or just eating straight from the baking sheet. If you find yourself frequently drowning in discard, you need this recipe!
Get the recipe: Easiest Sourdough Discard Crackers
Shop the recipe: Small Offset Spatula and Pizza Wheel
If you like this recipe, you may also like: Sourdough Crackers, Vermont Cheese Crackers
4) Tiramisu for Two
There was a lot of affection for our small-batch bakes this year, and your favorite example was this tiny tiramisu, the perfect dessert for just two people. Assembled in Mason jars, this recipe features espresso-soaked cake layered with a sweetened, creamy mascarpone filling, with a dusting of cocoa powder to finish.
Get the recipe: Tiramisu for Two
Shop the recipe: Espresso Powder
If you like this recipe, you may also like: Tiramisu, Tiramisu Cupcakes
3) Giant Sheet Pan Chocolate Croissant
You love when a recipe goes small, but you also love when a beloved bake goes big! This recipe takes all the best elements of a chocolate croissant — gooey filling and flaky layers — and super-sizes it. It also skips the labor-intensive laminating and shaping: Instead, we call for Fast and Easy Puff Pastry to achieve those characteristic flaky layers without the fuss.
Get the recipe: Giant Sheet Pan Chocolate Croissant
Shop the recipe: Triple Cocoa Blend
If you like this recipe, you may also like: Big and Buttery Croissant Bread, Giant Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop Tart
2) Pumpkin Spice Latte Bars
Not to spoil our #1 bake of the year (more on that in a moment!), but you really loved making bars this year. This super-seasonal recipe captures the essence of everyone’s favorite fall drink: The bars are sweet and spiced, with a hit of espresso and a subtle but perceptible pumpkin flavor. Think of them like pumpkin blondies: soft, thick, and rich.
Get the recipe: Pumpkin Spice Latte Bars
Shop the recipe: Pumpkin Pie Spice and Espresso Powder
If you like this recipe, you may also like: Ombre Chocolate Cake Bars, Vanilla Chai Bars
1) Berry Easy Jam Bars
This fun recipe was the most popular one published this year, and it’s clear why it was such a hit. These bars are easy to pull off, while still showcasing ripe fruit at its best in one nutty, streusel-y package. You don’t need a mixer, you don’t need to prebake the crust, and you don’t need to precook the fruit, either. Just stir together a buttery, brown sugary, oat-bolstered dough, sandwich with berries, and bake — the hardest part is waiting for the jam bars to cool before you dig in.
Get the recipe: Berry Easy Jam Bars
Shop the recipe: King Arthur Rolled Oats
If you like this recipe, you may also like: Rye Blueberry Bars, Swirled Rhubarb Bars
How does this list stack up to years past? Check out our best recipes of 2023 and 2022. And don’t forget to bake our 2024 Recipe of the Year, Supersized, Super-Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies, before our next Recipe of the Year drops at the beginning of 2025!
Cover photo by Rick Holbrook; food styling by Kaitlin Wayne.
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