SMiLes by Meg

Gingerbread Spritz Cookies

What’s that? Thanksgiving is in 4 days and you don’t really like to make pie? Don’t worry, I’ve got a solution! Of course, my solution only actually works if you’ve bought in to my frequent endorsements of cookie presses. I recognize it’s an oddly specific kitchen utensil, but at least it’s a cheap one!

Challah

It is scarily close to the end of my first semester of law school. This coming week is the last full week of class. After that, two half weeks are all that separate me from reading period and final exams. And then that’s it – one sixth of the way through.

Lithuanian Coffee Cake

Full disclosure: this is the earliest I’ve started celebrating Christmas in recent memory. Most years, I have a strict no-Christmas-until-after-Thanksgiving rule, but desperate times and whatnot.

Lofthouse Cookies

Halloween is a weird holiday. As a kid, you’re all about the fact that you can dress up in costume and go door-to-door taking candy from strangers. Then, in middle school, you go through this stage where you are just way too old/cool for Halloween and you want nothing to do with it. Fast forward to college and you realize how great it is to have an excuse to dress up in costume again – so great that you decide Halloween should really be extended into a multi-day event.

Pumpkin Bread Pudding

This is kind of embarrassing. I made it all the way to October 25 (only 6 days until Halloween!) without posting a single pumpkin recipe. I’m not sure how I can call myself a true seasonal baker.

Mini Oreo Cheesecakes

I think Thursday night baking is going to be a thing. With only one class on Friday, it’s a great time to not do work. Also, with having class on Friday, I’m guaranteed about 80 people who don’t mind a morning pick-me-up.

Grammy’s Torte

I am not usually a spontaneous person. I live by my planner. I love to make lists. Baking is a very orderly habit. But this weekend, on a bit of a whim, I am on a trip to Maine with a group of friends from my law school class. We have this unbelievable house on a lake. I spent today canoeing, playing games, and generally enjoying my life. It’s really exactly what I needed.

Cookies and Cake Batter Ice Cream

This week’s post has been about a month in the making and is wholly inspired by J.P. Licks, an ice cream shop in Harvard Square, which provided dinner in the form of cookies and cake batter ice cream for my roommate and me a couple weeks back. It was life changing, and I have been trying to find the best way to recreate it ever since.

Dirty Girl Scout Cookies

Thursday was just one of those days when I really needed to bake something. Class got out early, I had done the reading for Friday, and I suddenly had a full afternoon on my hands. Since I was going to the grocery store anyways, I decided to pick a new recipe to try. And, as I usually do when I have friends coming over, I browsed through Boozy Baker to decide.

Black Bottom Cupcakes

I think I’m finally starting to settle into the rhythm of being a student again. At first, it was a bit of a shock switching back to the other side of the classroom. For two years, I’ve been able to spend my entire day on my feet, constantly having to be the most excited person about Biology in a room full of high schoolers who were significantly more concerned with my personal life than their grades. Now, I’m the one sitting for hours on end trying to absorb a new subject, and, though I am thoroughly enjoying the learning part, it