SMiLes by Meg

Chocolate Banana Pecan Cookies

Do you work with me? If so, these cookies will be in the kitchen tomorrow morning, and you should definitely try to get there before they’re gone. Plus, with banana as the first ingredient, they’re basically breakfast cookies. I’ve been at work for about a week and a half now, and still haven’t brought in any baked goods. It’s very unlike me, really. So hopefully this recipe makes up for it. They’re gooey, chocolatey, crunchy, and just a little banana-y, which is a combination I’ve never really thought of putting in cookie form. Fortunately, Ottolenghi did think of it, and

Sourdough Bagels

If you’ve been following my blog for awhile, you know that I have a sourdough starter that I like to bake with fairly often. Anytime I have a bread-type thing I want to make, I look to see if there’s a sourdough version. This is partly because every time I open my fridge it stares at me, wanting to be fed or used, and I feel bad letting it sit in there too long without doing something useful. (Even yeast cultures deserve to have a purpose in their lives.) But it is also because I despise using dry yeast for

Cheddar Scones

I just got back from New Haven, where, after spending last week celebrating my graduation from law school, I spent this weekend celebrating at my five year reunion from college. And next week I get to celebrate my birthday! So many reasons to make baked goods, so little time. If you’ve been reading this blog for any amount of time, you’ll know that my favorite cake of all time is Claire’s Lithuanian Coffee Cake with extra buttercream frosting, which is something you can order at Claire’s Cornercopia, a New Haven bakery. But since I’ve made that before, I decided to

Old Fashioned Doughnuts

I think I’m losing my touch. When I first started law school, bringing in treats to class was a surefire way to make them disappear quickly. A short post on my section’s Facebook page, and I could get more people than cookies to come and take said cookies off my hands. It didn’t seem to matter what I baked; I had a willing audience.

Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies

I don’t think anything wears you out like hiking up a mountain in the snow. Getting up early, layering up, climbing, and slide-walking back down really take it out of you. Though I do think I’m officially a winter hiking convert.

Pumpkin Donuts

As promised, the pumpkin trend continues. It almost feels like cheating to make pumpkin bread, pumpkin bundt cake, and pumpkin donuts as separate posts, since for me they all serve the same general function: putting pumpkin in some kind of carb-heavy vessel. But hey, when you’ve been blogging for 3 years, you’re going to have to eventually do some stuff that’s kinda similar.

Chocolate Chili Cupcakes

I am solidly back into procrastination cooking mode. As tends to happen when my work picks up, I convince myself to make increasingly elaborate recipes in an effort to justify not doing that work. This week, I did this both with my baking AND my regular cooking.

Mini Key Lime Pies

My only complaint about blog-life is that I feel like I can never repeat recipes. When I’m going to bake something new every week, there doesn’t seem to be time. And when I know that my dad’s favorite thing I’ve made is Lemon Meringue Pie, but I need to make something new, it’s kind of frustrating to have to say no.

Apple Cider Donuts

I think the only good thing that comes out of the Patriots not being in the Super Bowl is that while the game is on, I’ll be able to get work done. Which means I was able to spend a good amount of the afternoon baking. And, more importantly, baking a recipe my roommate sent me probably in October: Apple Cider Donuts.