SMiLes by Meg

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

Pecan Sticky Buns

Sundays are a lot better when they start with brunch treats. And today started with some pretty awesome ones – Pecan Sticky Buns. I’ve had my eye on this recipe from Hummingbird High for awhile. She calls them small-batch, though, which is what drew me to them. The idea of being able to make just a few pastries for me and Erik was appealing, mostly so I didn’t end up eating sticky buns for breakfast all week. However, I think calling these small-batch is misleading. I thought I was going to get to use my cute little 1/8-size baking sheet,

Triple Chocolate Cookies

This is it. It’s cookie baking weekend. And it has been a GREAT cookie baking weekend. I made my standards (Sugar Cookies and Gingerbread Men), but also made some new ones. This week I’m sharing with you the triple chocolate cookies, because they should 100% be the cookie you bring to parties for the next couple weeks. I also made some crystallized ginger sugar cookies and homemade pocky, but you’ll hear more about those later. Other than baking cookies, I surprisingly fit a lot in. My mom and I went to a craft fair, and then had wine and cheese

Pumpkin Flan

This Thanksgiving, Erik’s sister, Sarah, hosted us in San Francisco, which is weirdly basically halfway between Boston and Anchorage. We got to spend the weekend with Erik’s family, which was lovely, and meant lots of good eating. For Thanksgiving itself, Sarah let Erik and I help out with dessert, which was pumpkin flan and blackberry pie. Erik is the flan expert in our relationship, so pumpkin flan was an obvious choice as our contribution. It was a team effort, with Sarah and Trevor staying up to take it out of the oven when the time difference finally caught up to

Gingerbread Snickerdoodles

Big soft ginger cookies and snickerdoodles have always felt like related cookies to me. It’s probably the cinnamon and the texture and the sugar on the outside. But because I think of them as similar, I’m kind of upset that I never thought to combine them before. Alas, the New York Times beat me to it, and rubbed it in my face by including the recipe in a compilation of Fall recipes I was looking at to find something to make for dinner. Cookies can be dinner, right? So start by whisking together the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar,

Chocolate Molasses Cookies

I haven’t written a blog post from my iPad in a long time, and I’m not entirely confident this is going to work, but here goes nothing. I’ve been in Alaska for the last week, experiencing Anchorage in winter, which is decidedly snowier and colder than Anchorage in summer. But, since Boston has not been delivering on the snow this year, it’s a welcome change of scenery, and brings with it some pretty cool stuff. For example, on the day I flew in, there had been a frozen fog over the city, which left trees and signs and just about

Cranberry Lemon Scones

Last week, I told you’d I’d give you a recipe to use with your leftover fresh cranberries. This week, I’m delivering! These scones are quick, foolproof, and wonderfully crumbly. Eat these fresh from the oven, with coffee, or for dessert with a scoop of ice cream. You really can’t go wrong.

Harvest Pie

Imagine this: you’ve been assigned “dessert” for Thanksgiving dinner. You ask around and get a recommendation for a good fall pie (Thanks, Michelle!). You send the recipe to your mom so she can have all the ingredients ready for you when you get to the house. You should have plenty of time – the train gets in at 8:15am and guests don’t arrive until 11am. And then, the night before Thanksgiving, you double check the train schedule… And the train doesn’t leave Boston until 8:30am.

Hot Cocoa Cookies

Week three of Christmas cookies. After this, I’ve only got one more recipe to post. But you may have to wait for it – I’m beginning to really miss my weekly baking adventures, and think I’ll have to try something new this week. Not that I haven’t been baking. I made a couple loaves of sourdough bread this morning. I just haven’t made anything new in awhile. But this week’s recipe is fitting for the ridiculously cold weather we’ve been having the past couple of days. Because if you don’t already have a box of hot chocolate on hand, you

Snowball Cookies

In Part Two of my 2017 Christmas Cookie Extravaganza, I’ve got a recipe that is seasonal for the entire winter, not just Christmas, and, under other names, can be made all year long: Snowball Cookies! I’m posting this one today for two reasons. One, it seemed particularly fitting to post about snowballs when I’ve spent the past couple of days in Wyoming doing snow-related activities (largely cross country skiing). Two, as I hit “post”, I’m hanging out with my best friend from college, Cate, who was the first person to make me a variation of these back in college, though