SMiLes by Meg

Tag: dark

S’mores Blondies

November might be a weird time to make s’mores-themed things, but I think campfires carry into the fall. Also, my running offer is that any first year (or I guess we’re now second years?) in the corporate group at work can request whatever they want for their birthday. Taylor wanted something s’mores, and these blondies looked like the best way to accomplish that. Start by pulsing the graham crackers in a food processor until they are finely ground. Add the flour, baking powder and salt and pulse a couple more times to combine. In a stand mixer fitted with the …

Homemade Reese’s Cups

My Instagram followers were very excited about this recipe, so I wanted to get it up early enough in your Sunday that you would still have time to make them before the weekend was over! Also, if you don’t follow me on Instagram, but are interested in sneak peeks of what I’m making and gratuitous pictures of my cat sitting at the counter, you can find me as @smilesbymeg. Basically this came about through some mindless scrolling of my NY Times Cooking app, which I was really on to find a dinner recipe (I settled on pumpkin coconut curry). Then …

Elwynn Cookies

Guess what? Thursday is Elwynn’s adoption day! One year ago this Thursday (October 17), I brought Elwynn home from the Animal Rescue League of Boston, and I cannot imagine a better companion for the past year. He has brought me nothing but joy. He cuddles. He loves when I come home from work (mostly because I feed him). He is adorable. He meows back to me when I meow at him. He is pure perfection. So obviously I wanted to make something this week to celebrate him. I came across a recipe for chocolate shaped cookies last year, and, paired …

Devil Dogs

One of my favorite places to look for inspiration for this blog is my mom’s recipe box. She has all of these cards from her mom and family, handwritten and passed down. A lot of things I’ve made for the blog come from those cards. This week, I started thinking I was going to make apple crisp. My mom said Grammy had a good recipe, so I opened up the box. I found an apple pie recipe, but then I found something even more exciting: devil dogs. Devil dogs are kind of like whoopie pies, but longer and with a …

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Calling this a “bread” feels kind of like lying. Sure, the base of this is a zucchini bread, and there is definitely a LOT of zucchini. Which makes you feel like it’s healthy. But then it’s moist, full of chocolate chips, and seems like a better pair for ice cream than coffee. Which makes you feel like it can’t possibly be healthy. However, I’m not one to make such decisions for you, so if you want to call it a vegetable bread, and therefore basically a salad, I’m not going to stop you. If you want to call it more …

Kitchen Sink Cookies

I was shocked that I hadn’t baked kitchen sink cookies for SMiLes by Meg yet. I feel like all I make is cookies, and that I must have already covered all of the standards. Chocolate chip, snickerdoodle, gingerbread, sugar cookies… I seriously thought I’d hit them all. Then, I was sitting in Alaska trying to decide what to bake that would be a good treat to bring hiking, and was thinking about how nice it would be to have a big chunky cookie full of fun stuff. Which, obviously, made me think of kitchen sink cookies. I searched it quick …

Simple Chocolate Cake

I know that today is National Ice Cream Day. And that it’s ridiculously hot up and down the east coast, and no one wants to turn on their oven. But I have ignored both of those things, and today I bring you something that you should start just keeping all of the ingredients on hand for: Simple Chocolate Cake. I’ve made other chocolate cakes in the past, but this one has fewer than 10 ingredients, can be made in one bowl, and can be dressed up as much as you want, or left alone without any fuss. It is, of …

Mint Chocolate Pistachio Fridge Cake

The best-tasting treats are not necessarily the prettiest things I make, even if that rainbow cake was pretty delicious. No, they’re the dump-everything-into-a-bowl-and-hold-it-together-with-chocolate recipes. They’re quick to make, clean out your pantry, and give you just the right amount a sweet and crunchy. Take this Mint Chocolate Pistachio Fridge Cake. Maybe you have chili chocolate, or salted chocolate in your kitchen. That’s fine – use that instead! Or maybe pistachios aren’t your thing, but you’ve got pecans and walnuts. Perfect! And maybe you’re someone that just doesn’t like rum-soaked raisins (I can’t imagine why). Try whiskey-soaked dried cherries. This recipe …

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 …

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 …