SMiLes by Meg

Tag: sugar

Fudge Stripe Cookies

This week’s recipe is courtesy of Marj, who sent me a very exciting housewarming gift – the BraveTart cookbook! This book is so fun. It’s full of homemade versions of classic desserts you definitely grew up eating, and it’s making me want to redo many recipes on my blog, where I had tried to do the same based on recipes on the internet. So don’t be surprised if you see a new version of Nutter Butters or Oreos or Rice Krispies in the coming weeks. But to start, I went with a cookie that I always considered a treat when …

Mini Funfetti Cake

Hummingbird High has introduced me to maybe the best thing to come out of quarantine – mini cakes. Made in a loaf pan rather than a cake pan, these are normal sheet cakes, but meant for 4 to 6 people instead of 16 to 20. So for those socially distant gatherings you might be able to start having, where the group has to stay small, you can still have cake! I also discovered, in making this recipe, that I’ve been living a lie. I always say to make any loaf pan recipes in a 9×5 inch loaf pan, but it …

Lavender Honey Shortbread

I don’t know why I one day saw dried culinary lavender in the grocery store and thought “THAT is something I need in my life,” but I did, and here we are, about a year later, finally using it. I move in a month, and can’t really bring all of my food with me, so am trying to make recipes that use up as much of it as possible in an effort not to waste it. When I was in the pantry yesterday, I came across the lavender, and remembered a fun cookie book I had that I could have …

Madelyn’s Snickerdoodles

Happy Fourth! When I heard my cousins would be coming over for a socially distant picnic, I realized this weekend would be the perfect opportunity to get to bake with my cousin Madelyn, who has been sending me very delicious-sounding recipes for weeks, and who is recently breaking into the baking business herself. The first recipe she sent me was for snickerdoodles. My mom had all of the ingredients on hand and I’m a firm believer that cookies are the best cookout dessert, so that’s what we decided to go with. Madelyn did all of the hard work here – …

Lime Curd Bars

Happy Father’s Day! My dad likes lemon meringue pie, but I’ve made that before, so I decided to try to make something in the same family. Boston is in a heat wave (it is so hot out), and I initially wanted to make something no bake. However, when I found these, they seemed perfect – quick to make, didn’t have to buy many ingredients, and in the general family of lemon squares (but lime!). Start by making the graham cracker crust. In a medium bowl, toss together the melted butter, graham cracker crumbs and sugar until the texture of wet …

Strawberry Sorbet

Hi friends. A word on the murder of George Floyd before I get into this week’s post below. I, like many of you, have felt a lot of things. Anger. Sadness. Hopelessness. Restlessness. I’ve been thinking a lot about what my role can or should be as an activist. I really struggled to decide whether to say anything here at all. But, in the end, I decided it would be irresponsible to let another week go by without using this platform in some way, and I think this blog reaches a different audience than my Instagram account, where many of …

Classic Blueberry Pie

Today’s recipe was both the first thing my mom wanted me to make and the last thing. She started with “please make me something with these blueberries.” Then we went down the rabbit hole of “should we make a braided bread instead?” And then we decided yes, we should definitely make a braided bread. The grocery store disagreed – no yeast to be found anywhere, except the local French bakery, which only had fresh yeast, and that seems like way more work than I wanted. So we came back to blueberry pie, and I got to play with pie stamps! …

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 …

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 …