2012 Favorites: Taste.

As this month winds down, I'd like to share some of my favorite things from 2012—things that range from music to books to tastes to those little moments that have stuck with me. Today it's all about taste.

Similar to how I feel about the amount of reading I did this year, I also feel like I baked a bit less than normal, too (or maybe this feeling is just amplified because, thanks to being sick for the past two weeks, I totally neglected my usual Christmas cookie frenzy). But I really liked what I did bake, so there's that, right?

As I was looking back through the archives, though, there was one recipe that I thought about for months after I made it, and that is the pumpkin cinnamon rolls from Smitten Kitchen, pictured above. Dear Deb: I can't thank you enough for posting this recipe; the mere thought of those sticky, pumpkin-y, soft, just-sweet-enough buns is enough to make my mouth start watering. Plus, I've figured out that if you really beat the cream cheese frosting for a good long while, it gets even tastier and creamier—as close to that iconic Cinnabon frosting as the home cook can get, I think.

Here's my original post, which has a link to the recipe; if you make these buns, I think you'll see why they're my favorite taste of 2012 (and why I'll be dreaming up reasons to make them well into 2013).

P.S. My favorite book of 2012, and my favorite album, too.