Georgia on My Mind: Ginger-Peach Shortbread Cobbler Recipe

While I was on vacation in Melbourne, I came across one of my aunt's Southern Living magazines. I was instantly in love. Even though my love of the Northeast is no secret, being from Louisiana means I'm basically a southern belle, right? Despite the heat and humidity, there's so much to love about the South! Magnolia trees, sugar cane, sweet tea, Cajun food, and oak trees covered with Spanish moss are my Louisiana favorites, but after trying this recipe, I might have a bit of a crush on the Peach State. 

Anything that starts out with two sticks of butter is bound to be a tasty recipe, right? 

This is what the picture looked like. I may have attempted this semi-challenging dish solely because the picture in the magazine was gorgeous. You can see the full recipe at the bottom of this post with my notes, or you can follow this link to the website.

Mine actually turned out a lot like the picture (food photography is really hard to do well with an iPhone). I was so proud because it tasted amazing, too! 

Here are some super cute kitchen accessories (I love my pink KitchenAid mixer and I'm a sucker for a cute apron). That peach gadget from Williams-Sonoma would have made this endeavor much easier! 

Ginger-Peach Shortbread Cobbler
via Southern Living Magazine

Ingredients: 

1 cup butter, softened 

1/2 cup loosely packed light brown sugar 

1/8 teaspoon kosher salt 

2 1/4 cups plus 3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour, divided 

1 (1/2-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled (The fresh ginger makes it AH-MAZING, trust me, don't skimp)

3/4 cup turbinado sugar, divided (aka Sugar in the Raw. I used more light brown sugar)

7 to 9 medium-size peaches, halved (and peeled, it makes serving much easier)

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 

1 large egg white, lightly beaten 

2 teaspoons granulated sugar

Preparation: 

1. Preheat oven to 400°. Beat first 3 ingredients and 2 1/4 cups flour at medium speed with a heavy-duty electric stand mixer just until combined.(My dough was very crumbly. I rolled with it and squished it together as I went. It worked out fine).  Place dough on a lightly floured surface; roll to 1/4-inch thickness (full water bottles work well if you can't find your rolling pin). Cut about 14 rounds with a 2 1/2-inch fluted round cutter (I used a plastic cup because we don't have cookie cutters). Place rounds in a single layer on a baking sheet; cover and chill (Emphasis on chill, so they keep their shape) until ready to use.

2. Pulse ginger and 1/4 cup turbinado (brown) sugar in a food processor 5 to 6 times or until well combined. Stir together ginger mixture and remaining 1/2 cup turbinado sugar in a large bowl. Add lemon juice, peaches, and remaining 3 Tbsp. flour; toss to coat. Place peach halves, slightly overlapping, in a greased (with butter) 10-inch cast-iron skillet (or casserole dish), and pour any remaining juice over peaches.

3. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes. Remove from oven, and nestle shortbread dough rounds among peaches. Brush rounds with egg white, and sprinkle with granulated sugar. Bake 17 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. 

If you try this recipe out, be sure to tag me @sydneylandry on Instagram or Twitter and let me know how it goes! 

Fourth of July + Florida Picture Party

I've been on the go for what seems like all of summer, so I've decided to wait to post recaps of my different trips. I'm planning on going in reverse order starting with this most recent trip: Florida. 

My aunt and uncle live in Melbourne Beach, aka one of the cutest Florida beach towns ever. We go every few years because it's a solid thirteen hour drive from home. (For reference, their house is about an hour or so southeast from Disney World). 

Because this was a family trip, it was pretty chill. We mostly just visited with our family and didn't go on many "adventures" besides to the beach or on the boat. 

We went to the beach almost every day. It's a little different from the beaches here (I don't know if Grand Isle, LA is really the grandest of beaches). 

Currently reading The Cuckoo's Calling. It's a little slow-moving for my taste, but it's okay. 

Under normal circumstances, I would have just stopped reading and switched to another book by now, but anything by J.K. Rowling deserves to be finished. 

(Side note, is anyone else really excited for Harper Lee's new book?)

On the Fourth of July we went out on the boat and set up next to a little island in the river. 

My festive headband is from @OhHeyItsSarahJean on Instagram! She has an Etsy shop! 

Paddle boarding isn't really as hard as I thought it would be, but boy did I feel it in my legs after! They were like jello! I guess it's time to get back to the gym. 

Even mom did a great job on the paddle boards! 

We only stayed out on the boat for a few hours before the rain came. Once we were back on land, mom and I ventured to an adorable little shop called Mica and Molly's. 

It was full of Lilly Pulitzer, Vineyard Vines, Jack Rogers, KJP, Lauren James, and pretty much every other preppy brand you could imagine! Basically my favorite store ever. 

My souvenirs from this trip included one of these pearl bracelets along with some Lilly wine glasses (because birthday number twenty-one will be here oh so soon). 

I wanted to buy all the Lilly shorts, but settled on trying them on to get my size for the After Party Sale that's coming up! 

Still wishing I could wrap my own Jeep in Lilly prints! (Flashback to the Nantucket Lilly Jeep!) 

Maybe not the most flattering picture, but this was such a great day so I don't really care ;)

This was probably the most relaxing trip I've taken all summer. Lots of sand, sun, and salty sea air! And, perhaps the best part: I finally have a tan! (And I didn't even get a little bit burnt! Winning!)

Here are some of my favorite pieces that my credit card wouldn't let me get at Mica and Molly's 

Coffee Catch-Up Session

Sure, it's almost 10pm, but in my house any time is a good time for a cup of coffee.

So, maybe you're asking yourself, "Where has Sydney been over the last month?" or "Didn't she say she was going to start blogging again?" or "I wonder if she's still writing." 

{I mean, you probably aren't really asking any of those questions. Why would you really care that I've been holed up in my bed catching up on recorded episodes of Dance Moms and the new season of Orange is the New Black for the last three days?}

But just in case you are, pull up a chair, pour yourself your own cup of coffee, and read on, friends. 

June marked the first trip of the summer! 

Please ignore my ghostly legs. I promise it was the filter. I'm mostly Italian with olive skin, I swear. 

Niagara Falls is officially off the bucket list! This trip desperately deserves its own post because it was full of exploring, wine tastings, and lots and lots of walking ("Finishing a half marathon" coincidentally also jumped off the bucket list on this trip). 

#ThrowWhatYouKnow!

My toes matched the flowers! 

I totally plan on writing about the whole trip, but just incase life gets in the way, make sure you visit the little town of Niagara-on-the-Lake when you visit the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. Too quaint. So many flowers, bakeries, and ice cream shops. My favorite kind of town. 

The next adventure was Blessings on the Bayou, which has been one of my summer highlights for the last five years. It's so funny how even though we only see each other a few times a year, everyone picks up right where we left off. 

These are the amazing mentors of 2015. They are all such beautiful people. 

And that leads me to the latest trip: Washington, DC!

DC is seriously one of my favorite places. This was my fourth trip there, but my first time in the summer. It was quite a change seeing the city with sweat dripping down my neck instead of through frozen eyelashes.

My aunt spent the trip meeting with legislators at the capitol, so I got to "babysit" my little cousin and explore the great museums. 

My favorite day was spent in Georgetown (shopping, eating, etc.). More on that adventure along with my tour of Georgetown Law, aka the new dream school, when I do a more thorough DC post. 

Gotta love that #navyornothing action happening in Vineyard Vines. 

Because every day should feel this good. 

Now I know I always say I'm going to write and update y'all, but this time I really mean it (mostly because the next few posts describing the trips in greater detail are already written). Since I've been back, I've caught up with friends, read a new book, and actually caught up a little for my summer class #winning! 

If you haven't read Paper Towns yet, run to your local library!


I hope you all enjoyed our coffee date as much as I did! Keep checking up on the blog, new posts are coming soon, pinky swear! 

A Very Nola Day

Hey, howdy, hello! Welcome back to my abandoned blog. I've missed you, too!

I haven't been up to a whole lot besides reading books and watching movies. Gotta love summer.

However, last Saturday my mom and I drove into the city to spend a little quality time together. What we forgot was that Memorial Day weekend brings A LOT of people to the cool places. 

After driving around the French Quarter for almost 45 minutes, we were able to find a parking spot and we were hangry (you know, so hungry that you get angry and not much fun). We ran to the first restaurant we saw and split a shrimp po-boy -- I know, how very cajun of us? 

I'd give Mulate's a 7/10 for food and a 9.5/10 for atmosphere. I loved their sweet tea and all the Blue Dog paintings they had on the walls! The french bread was a little too crunchy for my taste. 

After eating and drinking enough sweet tea to revive our spirits, we walked into the French Quarter, where we spent most of our time strolling around Jackson Square picking out our favorite pieces of art. 

Mom and I are suckers for art, so when we saw a man doing portraits, we were like "ooh, that's pretty cool!" Naturally, we decided it was worth the time to sit and have my picture drawn. 

Please excuse the odd soft-smile happening here. 

One thing that we couldn't miss was Cafe Du Monde! Beignets and iced cafe au lait were worth waiting in the line (for over 45 minutes *monkey-covering-his-eyes-emoji*). But my mom, never a fan of lines, was hangry again by the time we made it to the front. 

Take note if you're going to play tourist: Waiting in the to-go line is not a smarter move than the actual line. I'm pretty sure we would have gotten a table sooner than we made it to the counter. 

But the sweet coffee milk and sugary french doughnuts were worth it. (Isn't the sugar always worth it?)

{Outfit details}

Seersucker Dress: Old Navy

Shoes: Jack Rogers

Monogram Necklace: Lee Michaels 

Sunglasses: Ray Ban (mine are old, these are similar)

Purse: Antonio Melani, old (this & this are similar)

Summer Updates

Isn't it funny how even though the blog stays quiet for so long, life keeps going? Spring semester has been an absolute whirlwind: writing for the paper, school, and Phi Mu have kept me super busy. Since this is my own little slice of internet, I'm choosing to start blogging again, at least for the summer because I've got some fun adventures planned and want to be able to keep the memories in one place. 

But a couple of life updates since my Valentine's Day freak out of my last post: 

• I'm officially a freelance writer! I got a job writing for a local magazine and couldn't have been more excited about it. You can read my article here! 
• I'm more sure about going to law school than I've ever been before. I've also watched Legally Blonde wayyy too many times since it's been available to stream on Netflix. 
• I racked up on Lilly for Target! 
• I'm still on tinder, but like I said on the Valentine's post, I probably should've stayed off. Guys are jerks, 'nuff said. #stillsingle
• I'm running/walking my first half marathon in a little over two weeks! I'm so excited! 
• I went to Hangout Fest in Gulf Shores, AL! I'll definitely write in more detail soon because it definitely deserves its own post, but it was such a fun experience. Until I can post again, please enjoy this sunny picture of me twirling at the beach. 

Some dresses were just made for twirling.