SMiLes by Meg

M&M Cookies

Happy almost Valentine’s Day! In an effort to be festive, I decided to do a themed post before the holiday this week in case you’re not ridiculously busy in the next two days. I realized that I have a bad habit of posting my holiday recipes after the point when they’re useful, so this year I’m pledging to be more proactive.

Beer Profiteroles

Super Bowl can be a tricky thing to bake for. It’s a day of gluttony, with more warm, cheesy appetizers, heavy sports food, and beer than you actually want to consume in one sitting, but you do anyways because it’s always placed directly in front of the TV you can’t walk away from.

Dark Chocolate Truffles

Baking is amazingly therapeutic. If I’m stressed out, it calms me down. If I’m upset, it cheers me up. If I need some time with friends, it has a way of bringing them together. I can tailor the recipes I choose to the mood I’m in. Day already going pretty well? A short recipe with a quick result makes it even better. Day going pretty rough? I turn to something more involved that I can get lost in.

Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies

I don’t think anything wears you out like hiking up a mountain in the snow. Getting up early, layering up, climbing, and slide-walking back down really take it out of you. Though I do think I’m officially a winter hiking convert.

Black and White Russian Cookies

You know you’ve found some great friends when they show up at your apartment, start rooting around in your cabinets, and ask if there’s enough time for them to bake a batch of cookies before taking off on a 6 day vacation sure to be full of kitchen time. That’s what happened on Wednesday when a couple friends from college showed up (Happy Birthday, Marj!).

Kahlua Brownies

When your first stop picking up ingredients for baking is the liquor store, you know it’s going to be a good week. And when the recipe calls for a pound of butter (that’s an entire 4 stick box), you know it’s going to be that much better.