It’s been 2 years since I first started this blog. Initially I didn’t begin by posting recipes here. The blog started out as a place where I rambled about books, and other books/writing related things.

Last year I introduced recipes on the blog and they were a huge hit. Despite my horrible pictures, you guys loved the recipes and asked for more!

So I started posting more reicpes, becoming a lot more conscious of how I photographed my food, ensuring that my brothers and dad only ate the less photogenic samples (lol), and making things early in the morning so that I could take advantage of the best lighting.

This year, something else changed. Pinterest happened.

Prior to this year, I didn’t have a Pinterest account, since I was dead set against joining another social media site. But I somehow kept getting hits from Pinterest, as I found people pinning my recipes and visiting my site as a result. So I joined.

And since then, I’ve found that recipes are my blog’s most popular feature! No matter which life-changing book I’ve read and reviewed or which revealing writing I’ve posted, recipes remain the most popular posts! Even obscure recipes from months ago bring me hits, no matter what new content I’ve posted.

Seeing how many people have come to my blog because of these recipes brings me joy. Especially when I see my recipes posted on boards like ‘Need to make’ or ‘Yummy food’ or ‘Favourite food’, which makes me smile.

I’m not a chef or a professional baker. I’m not a professional photographer either. I just love to bake and enjoy sharing that love with you all.

So here are the top 5 recipes that you all loved and made this year.

5. Vanilla Cake Balls

This was the first time I ever make cake balls/pops. I made this recipe in April, and I was still learning about staging my food and adding graphics. I’m not the most proud of this recipe, since it’s fairly standard, but it got selected in a ‘12 Different Cake Balls‘ post in Diply.com!

I love cake balls; there are so many diverse ways you can make them: chocolate cake, chocolate icing, vanilla cake, vanilla icing, etc. So many different flavour combinations, and so many different ways to decorate them! I use a cake mix in this recipe, which cuts down a lot of the time. Buying store bought cake pops can be easy, but making them is just as easy.

You can also stick lollipop sticks in them prior to dipping them in the candy melts and turn them into cake pops, like I did here.

4. Red Lobster Biscuits

I told you guys all about my love for Red Lobster’s classic biscuits. When I stumbled upon the recipe on Pinterest, I knew I had to make it!

I’ve made these countless times over the past few months and various family members and Pinners have told me they LOVE it. Made with Bisquick mix, these biscuits come together in a matter of minutes. All you really need in addition to Bisquick is milk, butter, cheese, and a bit of garlic powder. Or more garlic powder if you’re like me. 😉

My cousin recently came to visit from Grenada, and him and his wife told me that they craved these biscuits when they were away from home.

If you haven’t tried these yet and you’re a fan of the famous biscuits, you need to make these…asap!

3. Best Ever Banana Bread

This is my dad’s recipe. I’ve never experimented with any other banana bread recipe (and trust me, there’s a lot out there!) because this recipe has never failed me.

Super easy to make, this Best Ever Banana Bread comes together within minutes. You can add the nuts or even add some chocolate chips, which makes this basic bread a little more special. 🙂

I hardly get to make this recipe since whenever we have rotting bananas in the house, my dad beats me to it. And this bread is usually gone within the day; that’s how much we love it!

Pinned over 400 times, my dad’s recipe hasn’t failed me yet. I’m sure it won’t fail you either.

2. Best Ever Jalapeño Poppers

As you guys know, I don’t make a lot of savoury recipes. I usually stick to the sweet stuff. ^_^ That’s why when I decide to share a savoury recipe with you guys, it’s GOOD.

I made these in September for the first time, and my brothers loved them so much that they constantly request these. Made with a brick of cream cheese, grated cheddar cheese, jalapeño peppers, and bread crumbs, these poppers are an explosion of creamy goodness in your mouth.

It was my brother’s birthday a few weeks ago and he requested these for his birthday dinner. They were gone within the night!

Crunchy and creamy, these easy Jalapeño Poppers have been pinned more than 400 times!

1. Chewy Oatmeal Cookies

 I can’t even remember making these cookies…it seems SO long ago! I just checked the date and it was in February, but seems more like it happened in 2012 rather than early this year.

When I look at how many hits this recipe has (over 800 pins on Pinterest!), I can’t fathom why this recipe is so popular. The staging in it is pretty terrible and there are no graphics whatsoever. But it grew so much in popularity that I became astounded!

Chewy and studded with melt-in-your-mouth chocolate chips, this recipe is easy and serves up a cookie that is classic.

Looking back on the year, I know that I haven’t made and posted as many recipes as I used to earlier in the year. School pretty much ate my life this year, and I didn’t have too much time to eat anything else. Lol. 😛

But looking back at what I did make throughout the year, I did branch out a little more this year. I made a few more savouries, and I expanded away from cookies, which is usually my go-to dessert.

So thanks so much for joining me in my virtual kitchen this year and checking out my recipes!

See you next year for even more treats. 🙂

Thanks for reading,

Ikhlas