SMiLes by Meg

Tag: dark

Flourless Chocolate Mini Bundt Cakes

Ends of vacations are the worst. Though as COVID vacations go, this was a pretty good one. Erik and I spent a few days at a cabin where we could go for paddles on my stand up paddle board in the marsh. We saw lots of cool birds. We saw the wild horses at Assateague National Seashore. It’s snowing out right now. And I made these really good mini cakes, the last of which I just ate for second breakfast (first breakfast was cold pizza and a smoothie to cancel out the cold pizza). I bought the mini Bundt pan …

Brookies

Continuing my small-batch kick this week with some brookies (brownie/cookie combo, for those not in the know) made in my cute little 1/8 sheet pan! We’ve been having a nice lazy stay around the house day, and these were a good little midday snack. And, even though it’s a small batch recipe, we’ve got lots of them to get us through to Thanksgiving! Speaking of, planning a Thanksgiving meal for two is strange. We’re not traveling (thanks, COVID), but will be doing virtual Thanksgiving with each of our families at various times during the day. That still leaves food for …

Magic Shell

Remember that time I said the busier I was at work the more complex my baking projects? There’s a limit to that, and I found it this week, so instead I’m sharing a very simple (very satisfying) recipe with you. As a kid, I remember loving Magic Shell. Erik didn’t know what it was when I asked him if he remembered it, and Madison remembered it at Dairy Queen but not as a store bought treat. I remember going to A&P and begging to get a bottle from the ice cream aisle, right next to the sprinkles I obviously also …

Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies

OK OK. I know that I’ve made a lot of chocolate chip cookies for this blog. And, like, how different can one chocolate chip cookie be from another? In my mom’s words, “is there anything about these cookies that is….special?” But hear me out. This is my first recipe in my new kitchen. SMiLes by Meg has relocated to Washington, D.C. If you’re in the area and have a request/want to pick it up, I’m happy to oblige. And this week, I wanted a recipe of something that I could give out to the people that work in my building …

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 …

Caramel Peanut Brownies

“;.////////////////////////////////////p;//” – From Elwynn, who decided to walk across my iPad when I started typing this up. He did capture how I feel about this week though – I could use another 3 weekends right now. But I think that’s just February for you. Fortunately, I did get to spend some time making something new – caramel peanut brownies! Meg Fay, one of the other second years at my firm, has a birthday this week. She requested something “chocolate and peanut butter, or chocolate and caramel” and I was able to find something that was chocolate and peanut AND caramel. …

Dark Chocolate Fudge Brownies

I recently discovered the blog Hummingbird High when she was featured on another blog I like, Cloudy Kitchen. I feel like there’s this network of real baking bloggers that are all friends and go to each other’s places in New York and make really amazing and beautiful desserts and generally live pleasant lives. Michelle Lopez, behind Hummingbird High, recently released a cookbook, Weeknight Baking. The entire concept appealed to me – ways to bake delicious things in minimal time. And, the star recipe that seemed to be all over Instagram was Better-Than-Supernatural Fudge Brownies, so obviously I started with those. …

Grasshopper Tart

For New Year’s Eve last week, I wanted a lighter dessert that would go somewhat well with a heavier main course of mushroom risotto. I also wanted that dessert to include liquor, since I was baking for friends. So, obviously, I turned to Boozy Baker. I’ve made a version of this in the past as Grasshopper Pie, and I think my baking skills have come a long way since then. That pie looked kinda weird, was not a good green, and I thought I could effectively make a tart in a pie pan. This time around, I decided to actually …

Homemade Pocky

I saw these on the New York Times cookie spread and knew I had to make them. I love pocky, and can never eat just a few. They’re crispy, chocolate, and are cookies, so there’s not much not to like. The best part? These ones are easy. They don’t actually make good cookie tin cookies (they break kind of easily and therefore shouldn’t be packed with lots of other cookies, but I think they’d look great out on a platter for dessert at one of the eighteen holiday parties you’re probably going to this week. In my cookie marathon weekend, …

Triple Chocolate Cookies

This is it. It’s cookie baking weekend. And it has been a GREAT cookie baking weekend. I made my standards (Sugar Cookies and Gingerbread Men), but also made some new ones. This week I’m sharing with you the triple chocolate cookies, because they should 100% be the cookie you bring to parties for the next couple weeks. I also made some crystallized ginger sugar cookies and homemade pocky, but you’ll hear more about those later. Other than baking cookies, I surprisingly fit a lot in. My mom and I went to a craft fair, and then had wine and cheese …