SMiLes by Meg

Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble Cake

This week we went to Cate and Jonathan’s house for the first time since moving to DC! It’s wild that the pandemic has meant that I’ve been here for 9 months without getting to just have dinner inside with friends, but now that we’re all vaccinated, we’re making up for lost time. When Cate tasked me with dessert, I wanted to make something a bit more elaborate than I’ve been making recently, and I wanted that thing to be out of an Ottolenghi book, since Cate is the one who introduced me to his restaurants/recipes. I picked three options and

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

Small Batch Magic Bars

If you’ve known me at any point in my life, you know that a constant is my all time favorite dessert: magic bars. I’ve shared my favorite recipe for them before, and even tried some seasonal variations, but I haven’t made any since COVID started because I know myself and my complete lack of self control. If I made a full pan of magic bars, I would eat a full pan of magic bars. Then, this weekend, Alexandra sent me a recipe for a salted caramel pretzel version that looked great, and reminded me that I was really missing a

Buttered Marshmallows

This is the last recipe from my cookie boxes! And just in time, honestly – I’m finally back to the point where I miss baking and want to try to make something fun again. Maybe some mini Bundt cakes? Gruyere thyme crackers? The peanut butter miso cookies I’ve been meaning to make for months? The possibilities are endless! These may seem like a weird concept (buttered marshmallows), but hear me out. I made marshmallows before, and became obsessed with homemade marshmallows. These ones are a bit different. Less gelatin, no cornstarch, more vanilla, and butter. The result is a unique

Peppermint Oreos

Looking back over the years, I’ve tried to make Oreos a few times. When I first moved into my apartment in Boston after law school, I gave them a go with this recipe. Then, a couple months later, I tried to recreate the Trader Joe’s candy cane Oreos with this recipe for my Christmas cookie boxes. Both seem to have been successes at the time, but they also both pale in comparison to the ones I made for my cookie boxes this year, a much more impressive looking and subtly peppermint variety out of BraveTart’s cookbook, of course. Christmas for

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

Blueberry Cheesecake Bars

It’s a rainy day in DC today, and I’m very happy about. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the weeks on end of perfect Fall days, but sometimes you just need an excuse to curl up in cozy clothes all day, drink coffee out of your biggest mug and refuse to leave the apartment. This will be that day. Yesterday was not that day – it was mid-70s, and we had some friends over for pre-dinner roof drinks. After last week’s experiment in keeping the blog post’s baked good for ourselves all week, I was more than ready to

Nilla Wafers

Washington, DC Fall is really winning me over. Boston Fall is decidedly the prettiest thing in the world, but that unbelievably perfect day where the leaves are changing and the sky is blue and the air is crisp and the brownstones look particularly lovely happens like two times total in Boston Fall. DC Fall has been that perfect temperature for two weeks now, and it’s not getting old. This weekend, we biked all around and just enjoyed being outside. And tomorrow we’ll head out to Shenandoah National Park to do some hiking and backpacking. I don’t know that I could

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