SMiLes by Meg

Tag: baking

Wheat Thins

Hi friends. This week I want to highlight another way you can show your support in a tangible, make-a-difference-right-now way. We’re all still in varying phases of being stuck at home, and if you are, I’m sure you’re ordering take-out. On the other hand, if your city is starting to open up again, you may be excited to go literally anywhere that isn’t your kitchen. If either of those sound like you, consider supporting black-owned restaurants the next time you buy a meal. This article pulls together a variety of different sources from across the country, and can help you …

Marshmallows

I bought the ingredients to make these 3 weeks ago. And then things kept coming up. I had to use up the egg whites and make chocolate chip meringues. Alexandra had a birthday so I made chocolate caramel tart. Liz asked for cookies for her clients so I made cowboy cookies. This weekend, finally, I got to make marshmallows! And, honestly, this recipe has been in the back of my head for much longer than 3 weeks. I think it was in college when Marj first introduced me to the idea that you can make homemade marshmallows. I remember her …

Cowboy Cookies

Happy Mother’s Day! Some years I would be spending this whole weekend down in Duxbury, helping my mom get her garden going and baking all the coconut things. This year, though, social distancing is making that unwise, so we’re making do. I am still making coconut treats, though! Liz Bone messaged me a couple weeks ago asking if I could make some cookies for her clients for Mother’s Day. I thought the best way to do this would be one chunky drop cookie (with coconut) and one pretty spring sugar cookie. For the sugar cookie, you’ve seen my recipe before, …

Salted Chocolate Caramel Tart

Alexandra always gets me to make the most fun things. Last year, I made one of the things I’m most proud of – a Rainbow Explosion Cake. This year, even though we aren’t in the office, I promised another birthday treat and the request was “something with chocolate and caramel.” So here’s a chocolate caramel tart! Start by making the crust. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, confectioners sugar and cocoa until smooth. Add the egg yolk and vanilla extract and beat until creamy. Add the flour and beat until dough comes together. Press …

Chocolate Chip Meringues

So last week when I made bourbon vanilla ice cream, I had 7 left over egg whites. I asked Instagram what to do with them, and 4 different people told me I had to make Smitten Kitchen’s chocolate chip meringues. With that much independent support, I obviously looked them up. You guys. These only needed two egg whites. How was that supposed to solve my problem. There wasn’t a world in which I should be making 3.5 batches of meringues. Fortunately, I love egg tacos, and egg whites did fine for those this week. I saved two, and here we …

Bourbon-Vanilla Ice Cream Sandwiches

I don’t think I’m patient enough to make ice cream sandwiches. I can make cookies – those are quick. I can make ice cream – at least then I can throw it in the freezer and let it finish making itself. But I’m not good at the make-ice-cream-then-wait-long-enough-but-not-too-long-to-fill-the-cookies part of things. This time, I ended up with too melty ice cream when I wanted to fill the sandwiches. Sometimes I end up with rock hard ice cream that doesn’t sandwich well. Someday I’ll find the right balance. Either way, These are filled in my freezer right now, and I think …

Creme Fraiche Scones

Happy Easter! This is the first year (I think in my entire life) where I’m not home with my family for Easter. 2020 is a weird year. I was feeling pretty sad about it (and still am, to be honest), but decided that I would make the best of it, so Madison and I are having a little Easter brunch of our own! We exchanged Easter bags, because we don’t have baskets, and I’ve already started my chocolate consumption for the day. For brunch, I made scones, supplemented with mimosas in fancy glasses, of course. Next up: painting rocks (instead …

Coconut Granola

Not a single person took me up on free delivery of baked goods in Boston last week. How is that possible. How are all of you NOT in need of some cookies for quarantine? Just meant this week I needed to find something to make that I actually could justify for myself. I eat granola every morning, and have made various granola recipes over the year, but hadn’t made one recently, so thought that would be a good option. Last year, before Star Market opened three steps from my door, I was still shopping primarily at Whole Foods. They have …

Brown Butter Blondies

Week 2 of quarantine baking and I still haven’t come up with a good word for it. “Quaranbaking”? “Sugar isolation”? Those are both so bad. If someone has already figured this out, let me know. I’m also quickly realizing that baking treats when you don’t have a kitchen to offload them into is a different experience. This week, a friend in the building requested blondies, so that’s what I made, and now they aren’t in my kitchen! If you live in the Boston area and are looking for something sweet, PLEASE let me know – I will happily make it …

Candy Cookies

I’m calling these Candy Cookies because I’ve made M&M cookies before, and these are different enough that they needed their own post. Plus, you could put any kind of candy into these and get a good result – the original recipe from Weeknight Baking actually included sno-caps, too, but sno-caps were inexplicably sold out out every store I checked. They must be good quarantine snacks or something. Regardless, I decided to just double the amount of M&Ms to make up for it, and no one ever complains about double the M&Ms. Start by melting the butter. Just chop it up …