A recent Google Trends report reveals that current events and TikTok trends influenced the recipes Americans searched for this year. The top five recipes included a popular breakfast pastry, a life-changing macaroni and cheese, and cookies made famous by an NFL player's mom.
1. Olympics chocolate muffins
The chocolate muffin from the Olympic village was the top searched-for recipe in the United States, said Google Trends.
The muffins first gained attention after Norwegian swimmer Henrik Christiansen posted about them on TikTok, and quickly became a viral sensation both among the Olympians and viewers back home.
Team USA swimmers Abbey Weitzeil and Torri Huske went to get "the famous, infamous, chocolate muffins" and documented their experience on Weitzeil's TikTok account.
"On first look, glance or whatever, it looks like it's melted on the top, but it feels cold to the touch," Huske said.
"It tastes just like cake," she said.
"For a chocolate muffin, nine out of 10," Huske said, adding that it would be better if it were warm.
With the Olympics now long over, here's a dupe recipe to try at home that its creator says is "better than the real thing."
2. Tanghulu
Tanghulu, the Chinese candied fruit treat, took TikTok by storm this year – and was the second-most Googled recipe in the United States.
Making tanghulu involves heating a sugar and water mixture until it is boiling, said TikTok creator Jasmine and Tea, who first posted a tutorial in April.
A person then dips skewered fruit into the mixture, encasing it in the sugar. Once it dries, it creates a glass-like coating.
While tanghulu was popular this year, doctors warned that hot sugar has the potential to cause serious burns, so be careful when trying this one out.
3. Tini's mac and cheese
While chef and content creator Tineke "Tini" Younger first posted her macaroni and cheese recipe on her TikTok account in 2023, it really took off in 2024 – so much so that "Tini's mac and cheese" was the third-most Googled recipe in the United States.
Younger, a Maryland native who now lives with her husband in Georgia, has amassed more than 10.5 million followers on TikTok.
Her mac and cheese recipe, which she posted versions of in 2023 and 2024, has a combined 220.4 million views on TikTok.
Younger's macaroni and cheese is loved by both kitchen newbies and seasoned professionals.
Palestrina McCaffrey, a California-based content creator who has made more than 30 kinds of macaroni and cheese for social media, said that Younger's recipe was her favorite.
"Tini is still queen," McCaffrey told Fox News Digital. "She is so unbeatable. I admire her so much. That girl can cook."
4. Mama Kelce's cookie
The year 2024 was undeniably the year of Taylor Swift, whose sold-out Eras Tour was a bona fide cultural phenomenon across the globe.
Her boyfriend Travis Kelce's mother, Donna, known throughout the internet as "Mama Kelce," also experienced quite a bit of attention throughout the year.
"Mama Kelce's cookie" was the fourth-most Googled recipe in 2024, said the report.
The cookies first burst onto the scene in 2023, when Donna was seen giving her sons, Jason and Travis, each a container of them before they played each other in the Super Bowl.
The recipe remained popular throughout 2024. Unlike a standard chocolate cookie recipe, Mama Kelce's recipe contains cinnamon.
5. Dense bean salad
The fifth-most searched-for recipe in 2024 also had its origins on TikTok
The first "Dense bean salad" video, which was shared on TikTok by Violet Witchel on her account @Violet. Cooks on May 25, was viewed more than 11 million times.
"Every week, I meal prep a dense bean salad, which is a dense salad packed with veggies, tons of protein, and a vinegar-based dressing," said Witchel, who lives in San Francisco.
The salad lasts the entire week, she said, and "it's basically the only thing that ensures I get enough protein and vegetables throughout the week."
Bd-pratidin English/ Afia
