SMiLes by Meg

Tag: sugar

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 …

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 …

Sprinkles

This week in life-changing recipes, I learned how to make sprinkles. And I think I’ve found a new favorite thing to make. What’s better than a recipe that eats up 15 total minutes of your day and gives you a product that is infinitely customizable? I found this recipe in Weeknight Baking, which every person needs in their life. The book calls them overnight sprinkles, but I’ve found that most overnight recipes actually work great as over-workday recipes, if you’ve got a bit of time in the morning. For these, I did them on a Thursday morning, and when I …

Cherry Pistachio Oatmeal Cookies

This was one of those weekends where the only way I was going to have time to bake was if I pulled out Weeknight Baking. And made drop cookies, which are, besides bar cookies, the least time intensive baked good I can make. In looking at cookies, I decided to go with an oatmeal base, because I like the chewiness that comes with that. However, I am a firm anti-raisin baker, so I needed something else to go in them. Fortunately, Weeknight Baking had a solution: cherries and pistachios. Dried cherries are actually my favorite dried fruit. They’re a bit …

Sunflower Oat Cookies

I’m currently sitting in an airport in Seattle, on a layover heading back to Boston after an absolutely perfect week with Erik in Alaska. We skied on two lakes, spent a night in a dry cabin in -20°F weather, ate a lot of pizza, went climbing, and played a lot of board games. But mostly, we got a lot of much-needed hangout time, which is what I miss the most when we’re apart. Because I’m feeling sentimental, here’s a gratuitous picture of us doing fun things: One day this week, we had two of Erik’s friends over for dinner (Jake …

Father’s Famous Flying Flapjacks

I don’t know how I have other pancake recipes on this blog but not the most important pancake recipe in the world: my dad’s. He makes them for us maybe twice a year (Christmas and New Year’s), but they have always been my absolute favorite, and the standard by which I judge all pancakes. The recipe is simple – dump a bunch of stuff in a bowl, whisk it, and fry them up. Serve with plenty of butter and real maple syrup. Perfect for a family of four! This week, I’m in Alaska, and hadn’t done a blog post yet, …

Ginger Sugar Cookies

For my last post of 2019, I have one more Christmas cookie for you – Ginger Sugar Cookies. I wanted one more drop cookie for my cookie tins this year, and a sugar base is as good as any this time of year. Plus, I saw that the Star Market near me sold crystallized ginger, which, weirdly, Whole Foods doesn’t. Start by whisking together the flour, salt, baking soda and cream of tartar in a medium bowl. Set aside. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the …

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 …