So this was the first year on my blog that I started to post recipes on here. As an avid baker, it never crossed my mind to ever share my recipes with other people. For one thing, they weren’t always my recipes and I wasn’t sure how to post them without plagarizing. But after spending many hours scrolling through other food blogger’s websites ‘researching’, as I like to call it, I kind of had an idea how to do it…

The first recipe I ever posted was on April 1st of this year and it was of my Sugar Cookie Recipe with butter frosting which my friend Chelsey had asked for after I met her downtown for a grand total of 5 minutes to hand her a container full of them. She asked for the recipe, and I sent it to her immediately, but then got to thinking that I wanted to post it on my blog, like I had seen so many other bloggers do. And boom, then’s when I got hooked and couldn’t stop!

If you scroll through my first recipes, you’ll notice that they were kind of all over the place. My pictures sucked (they still kind of do…), and I hadn’t yet learned the art of writing recipes. And yes, there is an art to it! They’ve got to be easy to read and the method needs to follow an order, otherwise it gets confusing.

I like to think my pictures have gotten better since that picture-laden post I wrote up on April 1st. I try not to bombard the post with images, but let my words paint some pictures too. I try to take them during the day, but because of my wacky schedule, this doesn’t always work out. I try to make the baked goods look as pretty as I can, while also trying not to gobble them up as quickly as I possibly can.

I’ve also learned over the year that, no matter how closely you follow a recipe, sometimes things just don’t turn out right. Despite how many recipes I post on here, there are still some that don’t make it on here, mostly because they didn’t turn out as I thought they would. Being the person that I am, I’ve often taken these baking and cooking mishaps as personal assaults by the oven, like a “HA! You suck!” kind of comment, especially on days when I’m already feeling down. But after all those cookies I burned and the cakes that fell apart in my hands, I like to think I’ve becoming better at figuring out the problems before they occur. I think that’s worth something.

But I wouldn’t have been able to continue posting if I didn’t get the super sweet and awesome feedback from you, all of you! Whether it’s on Facebook or Twitter, I’ve loved hearing back from you guys about how you can’t wait to try to make on of my recipes yourself or as you offer me tips and tricks. If I could bundle up a package of everything I’ve made this year and send it to all of you, I would.

So here are the top 3 viewed and clicked on recipes on the blog. For reasons unknown to me, number 1 beats the others by a landslide!

1. I got the recipe for the Mini Oreo Cheesecakes a few years ago from a Kraft Magazine. After buying a mini cupcake pan, I became obsessed with making things mini, and what could be cuter than mini cheesecakes with mini Oreos on the bottom?! I made them for a party and they were an instant success!

2. Not to sound like an idiot, but even I couldn’t believe these Chocolate Truffles were homemade when I bit into them! So decadent and rich, I made these for my best friend’s birthday and she loved them too! Made with Oreo Cookies and cream cheese and nothing else, these truffles are probably the easiest yet most impressive-looking thing I’ve ever made.

3. Change is good is something I discovered after making these Caramel Swirled Brownies, according to a different brownie recipe than the one I’m used to. Swirled with ribbons of sticky caramel and studded with chunky pecans, these soft and chewy brownies were a brownie-lover’s dream!

And those are the recipes that you guys loved the most! And while I definitely enjoyed making (and eating) the delectable treats above, one recipe stands out in my mind as my most cherished recipe, not just from this year, but in general.

These Coconut and Chocolate Chip Squares aren’t exactly original, I’ve recently discovered as I’ve visited other food blogger’s websites. But that’s okay, because for me, these were the first things I ever made as a kid, after years of of following the instructions on Betty Crocker cake packages. They were what I think of when I think of summer, as my brothers and I munched on them, while sitting on the steps on our back porch, while swatting away mosquitoes, and watching the sun sink into a gloriously pink and purple sky. They are what my brother’s request, no matter how many cookies, pies, muffins, or cakes I make them, and what they constantly compare everything to. They are what I made and took with me as my family and I drove down to Florida on a two week adventure. And they are what make me think of my childhood.

So thank you for being patient with me while I navigate these murky waters of the food blogging community, and get my hands dirty on the way. I hope to have lots of yummy treats for you next year, so thanks for sticking around.

And as always, thank you for reading,

Ikhlas