SMiLes by Meg

Honeycomb and Chocolate Cookie Cake

So this weekend was a baking adventure x 100. I was out in Duxbury, hanging out with all of Team Muncey, and gave my mom the task of picking the dessert I should make for a dinner party we were hosting. She pulled out the Farmhouse Cookbook, which I like a lot, and picked the honeycomb and chocolate cookie cake, which I’ve had my eye on for awhile, so obviously I agreed immediately. My mom went out to buy ingredients, and when she came back, I started the process. And then I stopped, because she “didn’t even think we might

White Chocolate, Toffee, and Pecan Brownies

I’m posting this from Alaska, but not on an Alaskan trip where I anticipated to have time to bake. So instead, I baked on Tuesday, and after already bringing Irish Soda Bread Scones to work on Monday, brought these brownies on Wednesday. I feel like maybe I’m bringing too many baked goods to work – but also Lent, so it’s not like I can eat them. Regardless, people don’t seem to mind. Turns out, offices are a place you can ALWAYS get rid of baked goods. Now, midweek baking means I had to pick something that wouldn’t be too time

Baklava

Baklava is one of those recipes where you think it must be super complex (there are so many layers!), but when you actually make it, you realize there aren’t that many ingredients, and the process is fairly simple. I wouldn’t have believed any of this, but Sandy, whose recipes have appeared on my blog in the past (Trout Farm Apple Pie, Mud Pie, Oh Henry Bars), gave me a pan and her recipe for Christmas. So obviously I had to give it a try. Now, to be honest, this was actually my second attempt at Baklava. When she first gave

Nutter Butters

I’m not really sure why I decided I needed to make Nutter Butters this week, but I decided it was my recipe on like Tuesday and became fixated on the idea. Maybe it’s because it’s Girl Scout cookie season, and I was getting nostalgic for cookies of youth. (I have, kid you not, 5 boxes of Girl Scout cookies in my office right now.) Maybe it’s because Marj had me watching videos of how to make homemade versions of other treats I think are best when you buy the processed version (Cheetos, Twizzlers, etc.) Maybe it’s just because I like

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

Orange Spritz Cookies

For my last in this year’s Christmas cookie series, I bring you something a little fruity to round out your cookie boxes: orange spritz cookies. Everything in my box so far had been either chocolate or butter or ginger or some other traditional warm flavor and I wanted a fruit counterpoint. Usually you can do this with some thumbprints, but I really am not a huge fan of jam cookies (other than hamantaschen). I prefer cookies that rely on the zest of a fruit. I also prefer cookies that let me use my cookie press. These checked both boxes. First,

Candy Cane Oreos

In my third installment of Christmas cookies, I bring you a twist on a classic: candy cane Oreos. I’ve made a similar dessert as a gluten free whoopie pie, but I think these are much better. Crispy cookie, fluffy buttercream, and some chopped candy canes for good measure. These cookies were inspired by Erik, who called me a couple of weeks ago to tell me about the amazing cookies his neighbor had made – fudgy chocolate with chocolate frosting and candy canes on top. For my cookie boxes this year, I wanted at least one sandwich cookie, so I thought

Tahini Shortbread Cookies

So. Many. Cookies. Every year, I make cookie tins for friends and colleagues, and usually spend an entire weekend in my kitchen making the cookies. This was that weekend. Since yesterday at noon, I’ve made 6 different types of cookies, 3 of which are new recipes, and I’m not even done yet (I still have to ice the sugar cookies).  Making cookie tins is a bit of an art. You want to have a cookie to make everyone happy, and different levels of effort/impressiveness. When designing my boxes this year, I decided I needed a couple classics (sugar cookies with

Cate’s Biscotti

This week, I joined the ranks of employed, productive members of society for the first time in a long time, and, even though I had lots of time this weekend, I decided to post a recipe from my visit down to see Cate in DC! These biscotti are her recipe, and she really took the lead on this/told me what to do. Very anise heavy, nice and crisp, and perfect dunked in a cup of coffee, these are exactly the biscotti you need this fall.

Reese’s Pieces Cookies

I had such a baking-ful week! In addition to making these cookies, I also made pumpkin bread (which I’ll post next week), sourdough bread (which I’ll post at some point), and Trout Farm Apple Pie! Having this blog, I don’t often get to make a recipe more than once, since I always need something new for the weekend and a girl can only make so many recipes in a week. But when some friends invited us over for dinner, and I’d already made plenty of new stuff, I realized I had a chance to make one of my favorite recipes