SMiLes by Meg

Tag: halvah

Millionaire Bars

Last week, I promised to make something with halvah. This week, I bring you: Millionaire Bars. I’m going to keep this post on the shorter side, since I’m typing it before going into the office on Friday, and I’ll be traveling to Portland for the weekend to see what the pacific northwest is all about. Though these take a little bit of work (three separate layers, each with its own instructions), they actually were easy to make during the week. One night, I made the shortbread layer, and let it cool overnight. The next morning, I quickly did the halvah …

Halvah

Here’s how deciding on this week’s recipe went: Last Wednesday, I start thinking about what I wanted to make. Laura is coming into town to visit, so I think maybe it would be fun to do something a little more hands on and bake together. I decide on macarons. Thursday, I realize Laura won’t actually be in town long enough to make macarons. But that’s OK, I’ll make them myself. They’d be a good Easter recipe, and I should probably practice once first. I start looking at Cloudy Kitchen’s posts. Saturday, Laura is supposed to arrive within an hour and …

Tahini Shortbread Cookies

So. Many. Cookies. Every year, I make cookie tins for friends and colleagues, and usually spend an entire weekend in my kitchen making the cookies. This was that weekend. Since yesterday at noon, I’ve made 6 different types of cookies, 3 of which are new recipes, and I’m not even done yet (I still have to ice the sugar cookies).  Making cookie tins is a bit of an art. You want to have a cookie to make everyone happy, and different levels of effort/impressiveness. When designing my boxes this year, I decided I needed a couple classics (sugar cookies with …

Walnut Halvah Cake

Fun fact for my Instagram followers (@smilesbymeg): while 76 of you took the time to watch my Instagram story in which I made this cake, only 24 of you could bring yourselves to like the post itself. I’m not really sure what that says about my respective video/photo editing abilities, but I think it means I have to work on my food photography. Also, despite now having posted 7 different Ottolenghi recipes, I still haven’t been selected in his #IBakedOttolenghi compilations. Further proof that my food photography needs work. Looks like I have my project for post-bar-exam life!

Halvah Ice Cream

If you’re reading this on the Sunday it’s supposed to appear, it means that my posting from Italy worked! I’m actually typing it on Tuesday, the day Erik and I leave for a bike tour through Piedmont. To say I’m excited is an understatement. It has been far too long since I’ve been able to go on vacation and not even think about bringing my laptop with me – my only electronics will be my phone, my kindle, and a camera.

Tahini Halvah Brownies

It’s Spring Break! And Spring Break means fun baking. This week I tackled another Ottolenghi recipe: Tahini Halvah Brownies. Ottolenghi uses tahini a lot, and I am yet to meet a recipe of his where I wish he didn’t. For example, I rarely eat banana bread without some tahini, salt, and honey these days. And his hummus is very tahini forward, which I firmly believe is for the best. So when I saw these brownies, with their swirls of tahini across the top, I knew they’d be one of the first recipes in his baking book that I tackled.