This plugin gives the look of a magazine-style website with thumbnails and excerpts in a clean layout. Thumbnails are generated automatically, and there is a settings page to set an unholy amount of options. (Really, it’s out of control and I’m sorry.) The latest release also has a “featured post” add-on so you can specify any post you want or just the most recent one to be put in the featured post box. You can also add a css popup for the image that includes the post title and 
Are you using Thesis from DIYThemes.com? Easily place your Recent Visual Posts by simply inserting your desired Thesis hook on the settings page. No code changes needed.
This plugin uses a slightly modified version of the excellent Image Extractor plugin found at <a href="https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/image-extractor/" rel="ugc">wordpress.org/extend/plugins/image-extractor/</a>.
<h3>I need more help!</h3>
Make sure you check out the <a href="http://oktober5.com/visual-recent-posts-plugin/" rel="nofollow ugc">plugin homepage</a>. If you need my help, check out the <a href="http://oktober5.com/forums/" rel="nofollow ugc">plugin forums</a>

Visual Recent Posts

Displays your recent posts with auto-generated thumbnails and excerpts; also includes a featured post and popup box option.

Nelio Software

David Aguilera

With this WordPress plugin, you can define a set of featured posts easily. 
These featured posts can be added to your theme wherever you want via a widget.
The plugin is extremely simple, fast, and reliable. Once you have selected the 
featured posts, they are saved in a cache, so that the amount of database 
queries is kept to the minimum.
<blockquote>
Custom Templates 
 Version 2.0.0 let’s you define your own templates for displaying each related 
 post. Just create a directory named <code>neliofp</code> in your theme’s directory and 
 create the template you want to use such as, for instance, 
 <code>template-name.php</code>. When inserting the widget, specify that the template is 
 <code>template-name</code> and you’re ready to go!
Warning Remember to save your templates somewhere save before updating 
 your theme!
(In the directory <code>template-examples</code> you’ll find some examples).
</blockquote>
Featured image by <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/abulic_monkey/291689115/" rel="nofollow ugc">Abulic 
Monkey</a>
<h4>Features</h4>
<ul>
<li>Featured Posts Selection Set the list of featured posts from one single 
place.</li>
<li>Powered by a Widget Use the featured images wherever you want by simply 
adding a widget.</li>
<li>Customization You can tweak a few details of the featured post list, such 
as the section title or the number of words in the excerpt.</li>
</ul>
<h4>Featured On</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://designcoral.com/wordpress/free-featured-post-widgets-for-wordpress/" rel="nofollow ugc">13 Awesome Free Featured Post Widgets for 
WordPress</a> 
(designcoral.com)</li>
<li><a href="https://neliosoftware.com/blog/set-collection-featured-posts/" rel="nofollow ugc">How To Set Up a Collection of Featured 
Posts</a> (Nelio’s blog)</li>
</ul>
<h4>Related Plugins by Nelio</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://neliosoftware.com/content/?fp=wordpress.org" rel="nofollow ugc">Nelio Content</a> | 
<a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/nelio-content/" rel="ugc">Download</a></li>
<li><a href="https://nelioabtesting.com/?fp=wordpress.org" rel="nofollow ugc">Nelio A/B Testing</a> | 
<a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/nelio-ab-testing/" rel="ugc">Download</a></li>
<li>Nelio External Featured Image | 
<a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/external-featured-image/" rel="ugc">Download</a></li>
<li>Nelio Related Posts | 
<a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/nelio-related-posts/" rel="ugc">Download</a></li>
</ul>
Featured image by <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/abulic_monkey/291689115/" rel="nofollow ugc">Abulic 
Monkey</a>

Nelio Featured Posts

The easiest featured post plugin I've come across. It's easy to setup, and the templating system was perfect for my needs. I would give this 5 stars except for some styling issues related to default styles from the plugin.

Simple & Effective

Select the featured posts you want to show at any time and include them in your theme using a widget.

Visual Recent Posts vs Nelio Featured Posts