Another year has come and (almost) gone, and I think we can all agree that it was a doozy! Many of us spent more time at home than ever, and that means that a lot of people (and I mean a lot) discovered the pleasure of baking. Or at the very least, they baked something, and sometimes that something was one of my recipes. *pandemic hair flip*
In that vein, this is the annual top ten most popular recipes from E2 Bakes. Many of these recipes have appeared on past lists, and I’m sure some of these will make the cut next year. Please note that, for the first time, none of the recipes on this year’s list were actually published this year. 2020 just happens to be when they hit their stride. The internet works in mysterious ways.
10) Polenta Breakfast Bake {Gluten-Free}
Everybody loves a special breakfast, and for me, this Polenta Breakfast Bake is about as special as it gets. This is a gluten-free spin on my mom’s go-to Christmas brunch offering. Cheesy, filling and endlessly adaptable—take my recipe and make it vegetarian, use it as a base for leftover odds & ends, or eat it for breakfast for dinner! Take my recipe and make it yours.
9) Churros {Accidentally Vegan}
Who doesn’t love churros?! These crisp and delicious Spanish-style doughnuts are easier to make than you might imagine. Mix up a quick dough in a warm pan, then pipe it into hot oil and toss the results with cinnamon-sugar. So good! And accidentally vegan!!! Make 2021 the year you make your own churros—trust me.
8) Maple Layer Cake
I haven’t made many layer cakes in 2020–without parties, there wasn’t much point—but this Maple Layer Cake is one of my favorites. Surprisingly simple with huge maple flavor, it’s no surprise that this recipe made this list again.
7) Toasted Oat Graham Crackers {Vegan & Gluten-Free}
Many of my most popular recipes are vegan or gluten-free, despite the fact that I am neither. These Toasted Oat Graham Crackers? They’re both! And incredibly delicious stacked with toasted marshmallows and chocolate. Mmhmm.
6) Banana Snickerdoodles
Banana bread may have had its moment in 2020, but I think Banana Snickerdoodles should have theirs’ in 2021. Soft, chewy and egg-free, a batch of these will make exceptional use of your brown bananas.
5) Coconut Custard Pie
Coconut Cream Pie is great and all, but have you tried Coconut Custard Pie? Because you should. There’s a reason it’s on this list: because rich coconut custard baked into a pie crust is about as good as dessert gets.
4) Maple Thumbprints
First a cake and now the thumbprints- y’all sure do love maple syrup! And to state the obvious, so do I.
3) Chocolate Macaroon Tart {Grain-Free}
This five ingredient Chocolate Macaroon Tart was a hit from the moment I hit “publish.” It’s super simple to make, completely grain-free, and while I originally made it for an Easter dessert, it’s perfect for any occasion including New Year’s Eve.
2) Silky Smooth Sweet Potato Pie
Silky Smooth Sweet Potato Pie was my most popular recipe of 2019 and is the second most popular of both 2018 and 2020. It’s a classic with a textural twist, and so, so delicious.
1) French Apple Cake
This simple cake was far-and-away my most popular recipe this year, and for good reason. It’s easy to make, requires ingredients you probably already have, and is the perfect finish to any meal. Pandemic or no, this basically my favorite kind of recipe.
Have you made any of these recipes? What was your favorite E2 Bakes recipe this year? Let me know in the comments or on social media!
Christmas in a pandemic is so strange. I mean, I’ve spent Christmas away from my immediate family before, but it’s always been with (ex-)boyfriends or friends. But this year, traveling and gathering don’t seem like great plans and I am deeply single, so Christmas alone it is.
I’ve already had my pre-Christmas anticipatory-loneliness gloom and doom, and have now moved on to determining what will make this Christmas feel like…Christmas. Like, when I FaceTime my family, I’m going to wear my Christmas pajamas that match my sisters. And I’m going to take a walk. Maybe watch Love Actually for the 374th time. Perhaps make a pot roast. And I’m going to eat chocolate-covered pecans by the handful. It’s the Davenport way.
Chocolate-Covered Pecans have a 
Since my sisters and I all moved away, we’ve each been added to my dad’s chocolate-covered pecan Christmas list. It’s something I look forward to every year—my tin showing up a week or two before I fly home for the holiday break. Except, of course, that I’m not flying home this year. And for a brief moment, thanks to the notorious difficulties with shipping right now, I thought that my dad might have decided not to send chocolate-covered pecans in 2020.
Thankfully that is not the case and my tin arrived on December 16th, but in that moment where I thought this tradition might be another casualty of 2020, I took the time to create my own recipe for Chocolate-Covered Pecans. I certainly wasn’t going to go without them. No way.
My Chocolate-Covered Pecans are the tiniest spin on my 
Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! Whatever you do or don’t celebrate, I hope you find a way to enjoy the end of this challenging year. I’m taking Friday off for Christmas, but will be back next week with year-end round ups. Stay cozy, everyone.
Happy Christmas week! Happy Solstice! Happy almost the end of 2020!
I’m coming at you on this winter Monday to give you one last cookie recipe before Christmas. Don’t worry, it’s super easy—just a slice & bake shortbread that’s been rolled in sparkling sugar so it looks *fancy.* And it is. But it’s also stupendously easy. I don’t know about you, but when it’s four days before Christmas, I only have time for things that are stupendously easy.
This dough is super rich and buttery, and comes together in 15 minutes. Once mixed, divide it in two and shape each half into a log. Don’t worry about perfect round shaping—you can fix flaws after an hour-long chill. It’s much easier to form smooth shapes when the dough isn’t so pliable.
Next up, coat your shortbread in sparkling sugar! Working with one log at a time, give your shortbread a few rolls to even out any odd shaping. Then, roll them in a few tablespoons of festive sparkling sugar (this is the Mistletoe Blend from 
After coating, the shortbread will need another hour chill. I know—I know!—two chills are too many, but they are easily the most annoying part of this recipe. One upside, however, is that this means you can make the Sparkling Shortbread dough days in advance and then slice & bake when you have time.
When it’s time to bake, slice the dough in 1/4-inch rounds and bake for 20 minutes at 300F, so they’re fully done but not brown. Despite not containing any leaveners, these cookies will puff and spread (but not too much).
Once the shortbread are baked and cooled…well, that’s it! Time to eat. Sparkling Shortbread are crisp and buttery with a little extra crunch and zazz from their sugared edges. Truly, they’re so simple and stunning that I don’t know why you’d bother to make any other cookies this close to Christmas. Keep a few for yourself, drop a few off with a friend and leave a few for Santa. Everybody needs a little sparkle right now.
There’s only one more E2 Bakes recipe left this year, and it’s coming up Wednesday! Any guesses???
We’re getting close to the end of this year’s posts (two more recipes to go!), but I just couldn’t let 2020 end without making sure you knew about these Chocolate Salted Caramel Thumbprints.
Let me say that again: Chocolate. Salted. Caramel. Thumbprints.
While Christmas and New Year’s Eve (and literally everything else) are different this year, these cookies should be a part of your holiday, however it looks. Are you gathering with a tiny group to do a gift exchange? Share some cookies with people you love. Are you spending the holiday by your lonesome, like me? Have a cookie (or four) while you watch Home Alone while you’re home alone. Are you skipping it all and hoping next year is better? Well, Chocolate Salted Caramel Thumbprints are good for that too.
Christmas is only a week away! To accommodate the holiday, I’m changing up next week’s posting schedule from the usual Wednesday/Friday to Monday/Wednesday. Since we’re getting down to the wire, look out for two easy as can be, festive as everything recipes. Oh, and let me know what you’re baking! I love seeing all your holiday (E2) bakes over on 
My friend, VJ, loves gingerbread. Loves it. She speaks often about how before she had to stop eating gluten and went vegan, her grandma used to serve hers with canned peaches and whipped cream. While I am not much for canned peaches, the 
Over the years, VJ has asked me to make gingerbread cakes for various milestones and occasions, but I have mostly failed. I even failed this past Thanksgiving! Too greasy, too dry, vaguely tarry, completely flavorless—I’ve made all the gingerbread cake failures under the sun. Let’s not discuss the occasion on which she had to serve store-bought ice cream cakes (that she couldn’t even eat!) at her own party because my attempt at this cake was so vile.
It’s not just because I like to have a gluten-free vegan item on my holiday line-up every year (which I do). It’s that VJ’s 40th birthday is next week—you know I can’t let my favorite gluten-free vegan’s milestone birthday pass without cake. No way. Not rain, nor sleet, nor masked and distanced delivery will stop me from getting this cake to her on December 23rd.
Holy crap, y’all, this is good. Super moist with nothing to distract from its deep dark flavor, it’s better than most traditional flour, egg and dairy-based gingerbreads I’ve had. It’s definitely not better than VJ’s grandma’s though, because nothing is ever better than grandma’s. Believe me, I’ve tried to out-do grandmas and it never goes well. But anyway… 
This Gingerbread Cake tows the line somewhere between holiday dessert and wintry everyday cake. It doesn’t need a blanket of frosting (although I think a little vegan 
e2 bakes brooklyn 