SMiLes by Meg

Berry Pie

I almost went to bed without posting because I was having such a good weekend I forgot I had to write this! Fortunately, the recipe was quick and easy (and I made it earlier today, not right this second). Last weekend, I let Erik down and didn’t make a pie for Pi Day. This weekend, I made it up to him with a fruit pie, and he was very excited. You could make this pie with whatever fruit you want. I highly recommend the pie dough – it’s all made in a stand mixer, which I haven’t seen before, and

Butternut Squash Pumpkin Pie

Thanksgiving was different this year, and I definitely missed the big family gathering, traditional holiday foods (mostly the secret stuffing) and post-meal nap/movie on the couch. But, if we couldn’t have that this year, our little Thanksgiving was the perfect Plan B. We made this pie the night before, and decided, since there was no one coming over, there was no reason we couldn’t eat it for breakfast on Thanksgiving day. This could very much turn into a new tradition. The rest of our meal came together throughout the course of the day, interspersed with video calls with family and

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!

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

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

Pumpkin Flan

This Thanksgiving, Erik’s sister, Sarah, hosted us in San Francisco, which is weirdly basically halfway between Boston and Anchorage. We got to spend the weekend with Erik’s family, which was lovely, and meant lots of good eating. For Thanksgiving itself, Sarah let Erik and I help out with dessert, which was pumpkin flan and blackberry pie. Erik is the flan expert in our relationship, so pumpkin flan was an obvious choice as our contribution. It was a team effort, with Sarah and Trevor staying up to take it out of the oven when the time difference finally caught up to

Blueberry Rhubarb Galette

When I tried to explain to my brother what a galette was, I told him it was kind of like a deconstructed pie. You use pie dough, it’s filled with fruit, but instead of a pie plate you just kind of fold the edges over themselves and leave it a little open in the middle. He responded, “so hipster pie?” That’s kind of right. But I’d never made one before, so I decided to go for it. And i’m glad I did! Because I then had my friends over for dinner (hi, Josh and Sungho!), and served it for dessert,

Ginger Lime Pie

Happy Father’s Day to the best Daddy-o around! This week, because I was going out to Duxbury, I obviously had to make something for my dad. Unfortunately, I’ve already made a lot of things he likes: whoopie pies, icebox cake, half moons, lemon meringue pie… So I was in a bit of a bind trying to find something good. Then I remembered he LOVES key lime pie. I did a quick search for “lime” on my blog (because this is a recipe I feel like I should have made before), but, fortunately, hadn’t made this particular pie. I was also

Crack Pie

This is a recipe I’ve been meaning to try since probably the first year of SMiLes by Meg. Before I acquired any of the multitude of kitchen gadgets that currently define my baking. Before I had Amazon Prime. Before I felt confident enough to try a recipe that involved 3 separate internal recipes. But I’ve grown in the last 5 years, as has my kitchen gadget collection, and with the Patriots going to the Super Bowl, I was finally felt ready to make it: Crack Pie. I first had Crack Pie when visiting Marj in NYC after college. She brought

Harvest Pie

Imagine this: you’ve been assigned “dessert” for Thanksgiving dinner. You ask around and get a recommendation for a good fall pie (Thanks, Michelle!). You send the recipe to your mom so she can have all the ingredients ready for you when you get to the house. You should have plenty of time – the train gets in at 8:15am and guests don’t arrive until 11am. And then, the night before Thanksgiving, you double check the train schedule… And the train doesn’t leave Boston until 8:30am.