We've looked back over lots of our favorite recipes and posts from the past year, and now it's finally time to check out the reader awards. Which posts garnered the most clicks this year? Some simple things rose astonishingly swiftly (can you say monkey bread?) and others had slow and steady popularity all year long. Let's take a look at the top 15 posts of the year. We'll start at number 15 and work our way up!

TOP ROW
15. The (Healthier) Breakfast Flowchart
14. Breakfast Recipe: Sweet Potato Biscuits and Maple Butter
13. 10 Uses for Your Microwave That May Surprise You
12. Breakfast Recipe: Giant Gooey Cinnamon Biscuits
11. Ill Effects: How Soda Pop Consumption Affects Your Body
More

One part of preparing food at home is testing out new products and brands of foods and beverages. Here are a few of our favorite eats and drinks from 2011 that were shining stars — plus a few that turned out to be a little ho-hum. Check them out below before your next trip to the grocery store.

• 1 Trader Joe's Gluten-Free Brownie Mix
• 2 MiO Liquid Water Enhancer
• 3 Trader Joe's Caffè Latte
• 4 Laura Santtini's Taste No. 5 Umami Paste
• 5 Demitri's Bloody Mary Seasoning More

We've rounded up some of our favorite vegan dishes, desserts and delightful meals from 2011. The best part? If we didn't tell you they were vegan, you'd probably never know. Want to see what made the list? More

December was a short month for tours, but we still had three: A classic, timeless kitchen designed for a cookbook author, a gleaming New York City kitchen, and a kitchen that mixes materials to good effect.

TOP ROW
• 1 Cookbook Author Diane Morgan's Timeless Kitchen
• 2 Doryn's Lovingly Lacquered Cooking Lab
• 3 Betty's Multi-Purpose Kitchen More

We do our best to answer the questions that you, our readers, send in. Quite often some of the trickiest topics have to do with health and embracing or avoiding specific foods. Here are a few posts from the past year that discuss some of these health questions.

• 1 Healthy Homemade Alternative to Potato Chips?
• 2 Good Question: Substituting White Whole Wheat Flour?
• 3 Got a Copycat Recipe for Veganaise?
• 4 What Are the Best Vegan Breakfasts?
• 5 Looking for Vegan Breakfasts with Beans More

Monkey bread was the runaway hit of December recipes, followed by sweet potato hash, Thai-style Brussels sprouts, and hot buttered rum!

TOP ROW
• 1 Monkey Bread with Bourbon Creme Anglaise
• 2 Thai-Style Brussels Sprouts
• 3 Sweet Potato Hash with Sausage and Eggs
• 4 (Grownup) Almond Joy Milkshakes
• 5 Cream Cheese Braids More

In November our kitchen tours included a look in Sabrina Soto's New York City kitchen, and a small yet sparkling $50 budget makeover.

TOP ROW
• 1 Whitney's Fabulous $50 Budget Kitchen Makeover
• 2 Penelope's Resourceful Kitchen Renovation
• 3 Sabrina Soto's Clean Slate
• 4 Jenny and Asmund's $4000 Renovated Kitchen & Garden More

These 9 posts kept us chatting for days with our readers. Do you know what soda does to your body? Do you have a favorite yogurt? We do — check out these discussions below!

• 1 Ill Effects: How Soda Pop Consumption Affects Your Body
• 2 Will Starbucks Kill the Cake Pop?
• 3 Operation Cupcake: How A Recipe Fought Terrorism
• 4 Why Everyone Thinks I Eat My Pancakes Weird
• 5 What Is Your Favorite Yogurt? More

In addition to our visits with makers, growers and provisioners, we have had the pleasure of interviewing many pros over the past year, from a food foraging expert to a gluten-free baker and several food photographers. Want to learn how to drink whisky, make pie without fear, or temper chocolate? Read on… More

'Tis the season for sparkly drinks and a bit of bubbly. We're entertaining and enjoying the company of others this weekend. Whether or not that means alcohol is up to you, but no matter what you're drinking this New Years, we've got you covered. We have bubbly cocktails and mocktails of all sorts, from Peach Thyme Bellinis to Fig Old-Fashioneds. You can go classic with a Sazerac, or glam it up with a Spiced Pear Margarita (and a rim of glittering sugar). Or leave out the booze and sip an Asian Pear Sparkler or Rosemary Citrus Spritzer. Read on for these and more — we're sure there is something sparkling and bubbly here for you. More