SMiLes by Meg

Brioche

I feel like I’ve been holding out on you. The past couple of months, I’ve been making a LOT of sourdough bread, using a recipe I haven’t posted here. It’s perfect and easy and we don’t buy bread anymore (except when I’m too busy to bake bread and we find our bread box empty mid week). But this will not be the week I share that recipe. Instead, I’m sharing a different sourdough recipe from the same book – one for sourdough brioche. This bread doesn’t taste sour or anything. Sourdough starter just serves as the leavening agent. It tastes

Danish Puff

Last week, my mom suggested I try a recipe of Grammy’s that I hadn’t tried yet – Danish Puff. My aunt sent me the recipe, confirming that it was always a treat when Grammy would make it on Sundays. I’d never heard of it, but decided to give it a go this Sunday, since we all deserve a treat to keep celebrating yesterday. I love getting recipes of Grammy’s, because they often come to me like this: No nonsense, easy to find ingredients, minimal instructions assuming you know what you’re doing in the kitchen. And at this point in my

Buttermilk Ice Cream

I’m having just the most lovely weekend. Our new apartment is starting to feel slightly more put together. I went for a long walk in my new neighborhood yesterday. Today I’ve been sitting on my balcony reading a book most of the day. I’ve cooked a bunch of good food for the week. Things are looking up! And maybe I have just slightly too much time on my hands, as evidenced by this week’s recipe. On Wednesday I was really craving ice cream. When I’m slammed at work, my response to that is to go to an ice cream shop

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

Nutmeg Tart

Another rainy weekend, another baking adventure. Since I’m still thoroughly enjoying funemployment, I spent the weekend in Duxbury with my parents. I love being able to hop on a train and be with my family in about an hour, and nothing beats running to the beach and back, even if its pouring rain while you do it. Plus, I’m very into the series of books I’m reading right now (The Wheel of Time – no spoilers, please!), and my favorite place to read is the wood paneled room in their home, snuggled up on the recliner with a big fluffy

Hamantaschen

These were really fun. If you don’t know by now, I give up sweets for Lent every year. Which means I try to find people to bake for each week so that I won’t have the temptation around me. This year, Erik made it easy. He wanted to make hamantaschen for Purim so that we could send cookies to a long list of people, all over the country, that he stays in touch with. Sending cookies by mail far from Boston fits in well with my Lenten promise to not eat said cookies. A win-win all around.

Crustless Pecan Pie

Things you probably wanted before Thursday: a solid traditional dessert recipe for your Thanksgiving meal. Things I didn’t make this year: a solid traditional dessert recipe for my Thanksgiving meal.

Flan

First day of Spring, and we’re due for a snow storm tonight. If that doesn’t perfectly capture New England weather, I don’t know what does. But that’s not going to stop me from moving forward with my lighter, more summery desserts – a week in sunny Florida definitely has me in the desserts-I-can-eat-with-a-spoon mood.