2023’s Most Popular Recipes, Part 1

It’s been a good year of recipe sharing here at the Source Weekly and what better way to celebrate than to take a look back at some of our most popular dishes. This week the focus is on the most sought after appetizers and desserts of 2023. Next week’s Part 2 will feature the most popular main dishes, sides and beverages.

From a classic Tex-Mex 7-layer dip perfect for company to an old-fashioned apple dumpling recipe to add to your dessert repertoire, here are the 2023 appetizer and dessert fan favorites.

Homemade 7-Layer dip is creamy, flavorful and certainly worth the few minutes it takes to put it all together. Credit: Adobe Stock

Homemade 7-Layer Dip
Serves 4-8

1 pound Roma or plum tomatoes, seeded and finely chopped
1 green onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
½ jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
Salt

In large bowl, combine tomatoes, green onion, garlic, jalapeno, lime juice and small pinch of salt. Set aside.

1 teaspoon canola oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

½ teaspoon chili powder

1 can (15-oz.) pinto beans, rinsed and drained

Salt & pepper

In a small skillet, heat oil. Add chopped onion and cook and stir for several minutes until golden. Add chili powder and cook for one minute. Remove from heat; add beans and a dash each of salt & pepper. Mash beans with fork or masher until almost smooth.

1 ripe avocado, peeled and pitted

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

Salt

In small bowl, mash avocado with fork. Stir in cilantro, lime juice and small pinch of salt until smooth.

1 cup fresh corn kernels (from 2 ears) or 1 cup canned corn kernels, drained

1 red pepper, finely chopped

½ cup sour cream

½ cup shredded cheddar cheese or Monterey Jack cheese

Chopped tomato, green onion, for garnish, optional

Sliced black olives, for garnish, optional

In a straight-sided bowl or dish, spread bean mixture in an even layer. Top with corn and red pepper. Spread sour cream and then tomato salsa over vegetables. Spread avocado over salsa. Sprinkle cheese on top. Serve immediately or refrigerate for a couple hours. Great with tortilla chips.

Jalapeño and sweet peppers filled with bacon, chicken, cream cheese and shallots. Credit: Tambi Lane Photo

Bacon Wrapped Pepper Poppers
Makes 12 poppers

1 pound bacon, with 3 slices set aside to make bacon bits
1 pound chicken, turkey or duck breast meat, cut into strips (I prefer chicken thighs)
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 package cream cheese, softened
crumbled bacon bits
½ cup finely chopped shallots or onions
A dozen jalapeño peppers or small, sweet peppers or a combination of both, tops cut off and seeds removed
Vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Lay bacon slices (reserving 3 slices for bacon bits) in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake until the fat is rendered out but strips are not crispy. This will take 20-30 minutes depending on your oven. Remove bacon from oven and let cool while assembling poppers.

Fry the other 3 slices of bacon in skillet on medium-high heat until extra crispy. Remove bacon from skillet, reserving bacon grease. Set bacon aside to cool and then crumble it into bits.

Salt and pepper the meat on all sides. Reheat the skillet with the bacon grease and add chicken, turkey or duck strips. Turn strips frequently until completely done with no pink inside. Remove strips from skillet and drain on paper towel. Once cool, cut the meat into small pieces or chunks.

Mix softened cream cheese, cooled meat, bacon bits and shallots together in a bowl. Mix until well combined. Taste the mixture. Add more salt and pepper or any other spices to taste.

Using a spoon or your fingers, stuff each pepper with the cream cheese mixture. Wrap a piece of the partially baked bacon around each pepper, securing with a toothpick. Lay the stuffed peppers on a lightly oiled baking sheet or stand them up in a popper pan. Bake at 350 degrees until bubbling and bacon is crispy.

Cider Apple Cake with freshly whipped cream Credit: Tambi Lane Photo

Cider Apple Cake
Serves 6

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour OR Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Gluten Free Baking Flour
½ cup sugar OR monk fruit sweetener
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cloves
1 ¼ cups unsweetened applesauce
¼ cup molasses
1 small apple, peeled or unpeeled, shredded
¼ cup vegetable oil
¼ cup hard cider (Avid Blackberry Currant Apple is a good choice) OR regular apple cider
Zest of one lemon
Whipped cream for serving, optional
Thin apple slices for serving, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously butter an 8-inch cake pan.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, soda, cinnamon, salt, and cloves. Set aside. In a medium mixing bowl, stir together applesauce, molasses, shredded apple, oil, cider, and lemon zest. Mix wet ingredients into dry ingredients until well blended. Pour batter into buttered pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes. Insert toothpick into center of cake to test for doneness and start testing early if cake begins to look too brown.

Remove cake from oven and cool for 5-10 minutes on a rack. Slide a butter knife around inside of cake pan to loosen cake. Gently turn cake out of the pan onto the rack and continue to cool.

Serve with whipped cream and apple slices, if desired.

This is a very detailed recipe written conversationally as if the writer is standing beside you in the kitchen talking you through how to make the dumplings. I’ve typed it up exactly how it was written including the spelling of the word syrup as sirup, which is how it was commonly spelled through the late 1950s.

Old Fashioned Apple Dumplings are made by baking apple slices and spices inside a soft dough. Credit: Adobe Stock

Old Fashioned Apple Dumplings
Serves 4-6

First make a thin sirup by boiling together for five minutes:

2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
2 cups of water
2 tablespoons butter
Set aside where it will keep hot while you pare, core and slice five or six tart, firm apples and make a rich biscuit dough as follows:
2 ½ cups sifted flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
3 teaspoons salt
1 ½ cups shortening
Scant ¾ cup milk

Cut the shortening into the sifted flour, baking powder and salt, until as fine as corn meal. Stir in just enough milk to make a rather soft dough. Turn out on a floured pastry board or cloth and knead lightly, about half a minute. Roll out a quarter inch thick to form a rectangle and cut into eight squares.

Put a mold of apple slices in the center of each square, add a good spoonful of sugar, a dash of cinnamon and a dot of butter. Bring up the corners of the pastry square and pinch together – they needn’t be perfectly neat – then place, smooth side up, in a large, buttered baking dish or pan. When all the dumplings are in the pan, pour the hot sirup over them, cut a slit or two in the top of each dumpling to let steam escape and bake in a fairly hot oven, 425°F for thirty to thirty-five minutes.

Serve warm with their own sirup as a sauce and plenty of cream on top in addition.