Peach Cobbler

When I think of cobbler, peach cobbler is what instantly comes to mind.  When I think of peaches, I think of Georgia.  When I think of Georgia, I think of REM.  But, alas, REM has never published a peach cobbler recipe.  So, when I think of food and Georgia, I think of Alton Brown.  However, AB doesn't have peach cobbler recipe that uses just peaches (that's another post).  So, when I think of food and Georgia and eliminate the AB variable, I think of Paula Deen. 

Of course she has a peach cobbler recipe, in fact, it's the first thing that comes up in a 'peach cobbler' Google search.  I have been making this cobbler for a long time, mainly taking it to summer family pitch-ins.  It is always a hit, and I rarely take home any leftovers.  The dough is buttery, light and fluffy, and the peaches work in perfect harmony to bring the dish together.

I always use fresh peaches when making this cobbler, and I usually use about five or six cups instead of the recommended four.  Otherwise, I follow the instructions as they are written.  For me, it is nice to have another use for self-rising flour, which I tend to have on hand for biscuits.  I use a 9x13 baking dish for the cobbler and mine tend to bake for about 40-45 minutes.  I also prefer to eat my peach cobbler without any whipped cream or ice cream, though I am sure they would be a delicious addition. 

Peach Cobbler
Recipe courtesy Paula Deen
Printable Recipe

Ingredients
4 cups peeled, sliced peaches
2 cups sugar, divided
1/2 cup water
8 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
1 1/2 cups milk

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine the peaches, 1 cup sugar, and water in a saucepan and mix well. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Put the butter in a 3-quart baking dish and place in oven to melt.

Mix remaining 1 cup sugar, flour, and milk slowly to prevent clumping. Pour mixture over melted butter. Do not stir. Spoon fruit on top, gently pouring in syrup.  Batter will rise to top during baking. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes.

To serve, scoop onto a plate and serve with your choice of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

The Item Block

So, Ari walked into his room the other day to find an item block hovering in the air.

Naturally, he did what any red-blooded American boy would do when faced with the same situation.

He punched the bottom of it.  I mean, who wouldn't punch the bottom of it?  There could be so many amazing things inside.  Would it be a coin?  A super mushroom?  A 1-Up?  A star?  As it turns out, it wasn't any of those things, but he was quite pleased regardless.

It was our latest reward from Club Nintendo!  A figurine featuring Mario, Luigi, Toad, Peach, Yoshi, Bowser, and a Goomba.  We registered enough games last year to reach platinum status with the club, which will probably never happen again since we registered four years worth of games to get there.  They sent this to us for free, and we didn't even have to use any of our reward "coins" to get it.  What a sweet deal, huh?  I can't think of a nicer reward, especially since Ari has it proudly displayed in his bedroom.