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Top 10 BruCrew Recipes from 2021

Hello, friends. Can you believe that another year will be over in just a few short hours? Here are the Top 10 BruCrew Recipes from 2021. You are going to want to make each of these popular recipes over and over again.

A large collage of the top ten recipes from 2012 on Inside BruCrew Life with a text box overlay.

We love looking back at the previous year to see what new recipes get the most love from our readers. Thank you so much for reading our blog, making our recipes, and leaving comments and 5 star reviews. It brings us so much happiness and joy when a recipe is loved by you.

We also appreciate each and every comment and email that has been sent to us throughout the year.  Keep them coming because we appreciate the support...and constructive criticism. It just drives us to perfect our recipes even more!

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Merry Christmas 2021

A black and white Merry Christmas card from Inside BruCrew Life.

We want to wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and God's best as you head into the New Year! Our family is so very thankful for your support and love as you visit our site and make our recipes.

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White Chocolate Cranberry Cheesecake

This sweet White Chocolate Cranberry Cheesecake is a fantastic holiday dessert. To give this Christmas cheesecake a festive look, add swirls of whipped cream, candied cranberries, and thyme sprigs.

A white plate with a slice of White Chocolate with swirls of cranberry sauce in it. Great cheesecake recipe to make for the holidays.
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We love making cheesecake for every event or occasion, so of course, we couldn't wait to make a cranberry cheesecake for Christmas with our own little twist.

This white chocolate cranberry cheesecake is an excellent combination of two classic desserts. The creamy, smooth New York-style cheesecake has a delicious, tangy swirl of cranberry sauce.

It is the perfect cheesecake recipe to make for the holidays.

Why You Will Love This Dessert

This white chocolate cranberry cheesecake is the perfect combination of creamy and tart. The homemade cranberry sauce swirls give it a beautiful presentation.

Make your family and friends happy with this delicious holiday cheesecake. They will love how pretty it looks with sugared cranberries on top.

Have a busy holiday schedule? This cheesecake is easy to make ahead of time, so you have one less thing to worry about. Plus, it looks beautiful on any table setting.

Can't get enough cranberry treats? Then you won't want to miss this apple cranberry cake or these orange cranberry scones!

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Reindeer Chow

It isn't the holidays without making this Reindeer Chow recipe. Chocolate covered pretzels, red M&M's, and chocolate candies give this Christmas Chex mix a fun flair that will have you coming back for more. Great no bake treat to make for parties or gifts.

If you love easy holiday snack mixes, try our grinch popcorn or this chocolate peppermint popcorn.

A Christmas tin filled with brownie reindeer chow with chocolate covered pretzels and candies.

A batch of this reindeer snack mix is always one of the last holiday treats that we make before Christmas. Our kids always loved putting a bag of this out for the reindeer along with milk and cookies for Santa every Christmas eve.

Even though our kids are too old and cool to continue this tradition, we still make the reindeer chow and reminisce about when they were little and still believed.

This fun snack mix goes by so many different names in different parts of the country. Do you call it muddy buddies, puppy chow, or Chex mix?  Whatever you call it, just make sure you call it delicious.

Why You Will Love This Recipe

  • Easy to make with just a few ingredients.
  • Great no bake Christmas snack that younger kids can help make.
  • Our nut free version makes it perfect for anyone to enjoy.
  • Chocolate covered pretzels and chocolate candies give it a sweet and salty flavor.

In less than 10 minutes you can have a festive holiday treat to share with friends and family. It's also a great snack mix to bring to parties or to give as a homemade gift.

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Cranberry Fluff Salad

Cranberry Fluff Salad is the perfect addition to your holiday table. It is a delicious and light dish that can be made in 5 minutes with just 5 ingredients. This creamy fruit salad will be the star of your Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner.

Love fluff desserts? You should try this orange fluff and this banana split fluff too.

A white bowl on a green towel filled with pink cranberry fluff salad and topped with pecans and fresh cranberries.

Fluff salads and ambrosia dessert are classic holiday side dishes. Forget the main dish because I just want to fill my plate with sides and fluff dessert. I'm totally on board with eating dessert and calling it "dinner".

For some reason I'm all about cranberry desserts this year, so I couldn't wait to add my homemade cranberry sauce to a sweet fluff dessert. I have even added this magic berry into a sparkling cranberry punch.

The combination of tangy cranberry sauce and pineapple is sweetened and toned down with mini marshmallows and whipped cream. Nuts are a great way to add a delicious crunch to the cranberry fluff salad.

Why You Will Love This Salad

  •  This fluff recipe comes together in minutes with just 5 ingredients.
  • It is a great side dish or dessert to serve for any holiday.
  • The classic dish will remind you of childhood Christmas dinners.
  • A pretty pink color makes the dish stand out on the table.

Your family will be begging you to make this cranberry fluff recipe all year long because it tastes just like the one grandma used to make.

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Chocolate Peppermint Crunch Cookies

These dark Chocolate Peppermint Crunch Cookies are perfect for Christmas cookie trays. They have a fudgy texture and lots of holiday flavor, with peppermint chips, white chocolate chips, and Oreo cookies in each bite!

Looking for more peppermint treats? Try these peppermint Oreo balls and this candy cane bark.

Four chocolate peppermint cookies stacked on top of each other with a bite out of the top cookie.

A few years ago, I made these peppermint Oreo cookies, and right away, they became an extremely popular Christmas cookie.  Years later, they are still our number one cookie recipe.

That got me thinking. How could I take that popular peppermint cookie recipe make it even better?  Since chocolate and peppermint is a classic holiday flavor, I chose a chocolate cake mix with extra peppermint flavor.

Chocolate is always the answer to making things better, right?

Why You Will Love These Cookies

  • Easy to make with just a few ingredients.
  • Cake mix cookies stay soft for days!
  • The contrast of red, white, and brown makes them stand out on cookie trays.
  • Chocolate and peppermint is a fantastic flavor combo!
  • It is guaranteed to be everyone's new favorite holiday cookie.
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Lemon Cheesecake Bars

Tired of the same old desserts? These Lemon Cheesecake Bars will change your life. They are fresh, creamy, and have just enough sweet and tart flavor to make them perfect for any occasion!

A white plate with a lemon cheesecake bar topped with whipped cream and a raspberry on it.

Cheesecake is such a delicious dessert! But most people avoid making it because they don't have the time or patience to make a fancy dessert.

But what if I told you that you could make cheesecake in minutes? Don't believe me? Try these popular chocolate cheesecake bars and see for yourself. Don't settle for store bought dessert when you can make your own at home.

I love making cheesecake bars because they are easy to make and can be customized for any occasion.

Our easy lemon cheesecake bars have a tangy twist from fresh lemon juice and zest, plus swirls of lemon curd that is mixed into the batter. The graham cracker crust adds extra texture and flavor and makes each bite amazing.

This recipe is so simple that even beginner cooks will feel confident making it for their next dinner party or get-together.

Bonus: If you love lemon, you will love this lemon cream cheese pie, mini lemon blueberry cheesecakes, and these easy lemon bars!

Why You Will Love These Cheesecake Bars

  • Lemon is the perfect flavor for any occasion or season.
  • The crust and filling are so easy to make.
  • Each bar is loaded with lots of delicious lemon flavor.
  • Everyone who tries this dessert will be impressed with your baking skills.
  • The lemon cheesecake bars can be made beforehand, so dessert is ready when needed. 
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Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce

You are going to love this easy recipe for Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce. It comes together in minutes and is an easy way to make your dinner taste like Thanksgiving or Christmas without all the fuss.

A white bowl filled with homemade cranberry sauce topped with mint leaves.
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Holiday dinners just are not the same without some type of cranberry sauce or salad. Growing up, we always had canned cranberry sauce at our Thanksgiving dinner. It was just tradition.

In fact, I never really questioned the canned stuff until years later when my mother-in-law served homemade cranberry Jello salad for dinner. I realized that it was quite easy to make cranberry sauce from whole berries.

You can have this delicious side dish ready in minutes. It can even be made ahead of time. So, when you are ready to serve dinner, simply pull it out of the fridge.

Why You Will Love This Recipe

  • Easy to make in under 15 minutes.
  • Turns out perfect every single time.
  • Beautiful, bright color that pops on your table.
  • Delicious alternative to canned cranberry sauce.
  • Perfect side dish to serve at Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner.

This berry cranberry sauce is so delicious that you might never need to buy canned again!

Other great side dishes for the holiday are this Red Hot Jello or this cranberry fluff salad! For a tasty drink, try this sparkling cranberry punch.

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Eggnog Cheesecake Brownies

These Eggnog Brownies have layers of gooey brownies and creamy eggnog cheesecake baked into one amazing dessert.  They are the perfect holiday dessert to serve at Christmas parties or family gatherings.

You can never have too much eggnog. But if you do, try making these eggnog donuts and these eggnog bars with the leftovers.

A white plate with a square of eggnog brownies topped with whipped cream and sprinkles.

Why This Recipe Works

You can't go wrong with brownies and cheesecake!  And you can't have the holidays without eggnog! These eggnog brownies are a delicious combination of all three classic treats in one pan. 

A packaged brownie mix keeps the crust simple. Feel free to make a double batch of our chocolate chip brownies, if you prefer homemade instead. The layers of gooey chocolate brownies and creamy eggnog cheesecake make these the perfect treat for any party or get together.

Everyone will love these delicious holiday brownies. If you are looking for a way to impress everyone at Christmas dinner, make these cheesecake brownies. A swirl of eggnog whipped cream and sprinkles makes them even fancier.

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No Bake Peppermint Oreo Cheesecake

When you are too busy to bake, this No-Bake Peppermint Cheesecake is the perfect dessert. This holiday cheesecake is easy to make and full of delicious peppermint flavor. Make sure you get a slice because it will be gone before you know it.

For more peppermint treats, try these peppermint Oreo cookies and peppermint brownies.

A white plate with a slice of no bake peppermint cheesecake topped with peppermint crunch chips on top.

The post and recipe for this Peppermint Oreo Cheesecake were originally published in December 2014 and updated and republished in December 2021.

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Christmas is my favorite time of year! Seeing all the lights and decorations and baking chocolate peppermint chip cookies definitely puts me in the holiday spirit.

The only problem is that this time of year can also be busy with parties, events, programs, and shopping for gifts. It can be hard to get everything done.

I created this fun peppermint cheesecake recipe a few years ago for a church dinner when I was short on time. Honestly, this simple little no bake cheesecake got more comments and compliments than anything else I had made all year. Who knew everyone loved simple, easy desserts the best!

This festive holiday cheesecake is the best dessert to make when you are busy. It is easy to make in minutes, looks impressive, and tastes great! 

Why I Love This Recipe

  • This recipe is completely no-bake. You won't need to turn on the oven and heat up your kitchen for this creamy delight.
  • A creamy peppermint filling on the sweet Oreo cookie crust gives it a festive holiday taste.
  • The pink, white, and chocolate layers make it a pretty dessert for Christmas parties.
  • Extra peppermint chips on top give it a sweet crunch.
  • And the best part is that it can be made ahead of time, so you can have this peppermint Oreo cheesecake in your fridge when you need it.
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