SMiLes by Meg

Tag: coconut

Coconut Popsicles

Guys, I don’t know if I’m ready for DC summer. It’s June 6 (the official kickoff of my birthday week) and over 90° out. It’s already too hot for me. So I obviously wanted to make popsicles this weekend. And the popsicles I wanted to make were cucumber elderflower tequila popsicles, because that sounded like the most refreshing thing I could have in this weather. Unfortunately, no one sells elderflower syrup around here, or at least I couldn’t get my hands on any fast enough to make popsicles this weekend. I have now ordered some on amazon, but that means …

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 …

Gluten Free Coconut Cookies

Snuck up to Duxbury for the weekend, which of course means my mom and I baked something coconut. Her birthday is this week, and Mother’s Day was two weeks ago ish, and I’m now officially fully vaccinated, so visiting this weekend made a lot of sense. We had a great time and laughed a lot and generally enjoyed what felt like a return to almost normal. Plus, we made some cookies that “are a cross between coconut macaroons and oatmeal cookies and SO GOOD.” (Quote from my mom.) Start by mixing together the coconut oil, brown sugar and egg in …

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 …

Cowboy Cookies

Happy Mother’s Day! Some years I would be spending this whole weekend down in Duxbury, helping my mom get her garden going and baking all the coconut things. This year, though, social distancing is making that unwise, so we’re making do. I am still making coconut treats, though! Liz Bone messaged me a couple weeks ago asking if I could make some cookies for her clients for Mother’s Day. I thought the best way to do this would be one chunky drop cookie (with coconut) and one pretty spring sugar cookie. For the sugar cookie, you’ve seen my recipe before, …

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 …

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 …

Coconut Ice Cream

Today, I made coconut ice cream! My mom’s comment: are you trying to torture me or lure me into the city? The answer was lure, but she didn’t come, so now I have a tub of fresh ice cream in my freezer. Not a bad outcome. First, toast the coconut. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, toss the coconut for about five minutes. transfer half into a small dish and set aside. To the medium saucepan, add the sugar, salt, milk, heavy cream and coconut milk. Heat over medium low heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves. About 5 …

Flourless Coconut Cake

This post is going to be a buzzer-beater. I made it yesterday, finally at home in Duxbury enjoying summer vacation, and then spent today moving into a new apartment with my mom’s help. There is nothing like moving into a new place – full of fresh starts and exciting decorating opportunities. And, of course, a new kitchen! But in all my excitement, I definitely was a bit rushed in baking this last night. And maybe had a pretty catastrophic baking fail. I do not blame the recipe – this one was all me. So if you do try this post, …

Coconut Lime Popsicles

In this week’s baking adventure, I learned two things: (1) A popsicle mold would be a really great investment for the summer. (2) Popsicles are a hard thing to take flattering pictures of. Fortunately, though this may not be my best food photography, the end product is still a refreshing summer treat.