When Paul and I first started dating, Christmas was only two months into our relationship. Can you say awkward? I had no idea what to buy him and ended up getting him some gift certificates to somewhere I don’t even remember. It was a total cop-out, but I didn’t know him well enough to get him something more personal.
During that first Christmas, I tried my first Italian Peach Cookie. It was amazing! When Italians get together, there is never a shortage of food. Never. A dessert tray is no different from a main course or the third, or the fifth- there is always a ton of food. The cookie platter that held the peach cookies, had a bunch of other pastries and sweets as well, so I’ve got a lot of cookies to replicate in the years to come.
Finally last year, I tried to replicate the peach cookies on my own, without help (my stubbornness shining through!) and didn’t succeed. This year, with my Mother In Law in better spirits (she has had some heart problems in the past), I approached her about teaching me, and then teaching everyone in a YouTube tutorial. Being that she is 80 years old, she has no idea what YouTube is, and barely understands a computer. But, being the strong, confident woman that she is, she was willing to do something that she didn’t really understand the purpose behind. She has been wanting to help us for years in our business, and she was so happy to finally be able to do so.
Paul and I will cherish this video for many years to come, and we are so lucky to have been able to include Pina in our tutorial.
Italian Peach Cookie (Pesche Dolci)
Cookie Ingredients:
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 lemon- zest only
- 1/2 an orange- zest only
- 3 1/2 cups flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons whiskey or milk (optional)
- walnut shell halves (for molding)
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- In a large bowl, whisk eggs and sugar together until the mixture is fluffy and thick. You can use a hand held, or stand mixer.
- Soften the butter in the microwave for 10 seconds and add to the bowl and continue to whip until it is fully incorporated.
- Add the lemon and orange zests and mix.
- Add the salt, and a half of a cup of flour at a time into the cookie dough until the batter is smooth. If the dough is too dry, you can add the liquor if needed.
- Taking a small amount of dough (tablespoon worth) and mold over an oiled walnut shell. Place on to a parchment lined baking tray.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. When the 20 minutes are up, switch the oven to a low Broil, and gently brown the tops of the cookies (about 2 minutes)
- Allow to cool completely, and trim edges if necessary using a sharp knife.
- Pair up similar sized halves and set aside until ready to assemble.
- Peach Schnapps
- Sambuca
- granulated sugar
- red and yellow food colouring
- Chocolate and vanilla pudding
- In a small bowl, fill it up the the Peach Schnapps, and add yellow colouring. In a separate small bowl, fill it up with Sambuca and mix in red colouring. In a third bowl, fill it with granulated sugar.
- Fill once half (one cookie) with vanilla pudding, and the other half with chocolate pudding. Press them together to form a peach.
- Dip half of the peach into the red colouring, and then the other half into the yellow colouring. Roll entire cookie in sugar, and then place cookie into a cupcake liner.
- Serve when desired. These are best consumed within 2-3 days.
I was hoping to see you try to measure everything with your hand, as my Italian grandma used to do: it was hilarious trying to learn her recipes! My hands were not the same size as hers, quantities were adjusted for the weather, and the end result had to “feel like this”. That’s right, she mixed everything with her hand, or at most with a wooden spoon! Your video brings back good memories.
Okay, so I just went out and bought the Peach Schnapps for this recipe 😀 I’m SO excited to make them!
I was just wondering about how many cookies you get from one batch? Thanks!
You’re going to LOVE these cookies! I can’t remember exactly how many they make…around 20-24 I think.
My grandmother made these for special occasions. They were much bigger and no walnut shells were used. She filled with Italian pastry crime and a walnut to simulate the pit. They were the size of a real peach. She also used green dye I miss those peaches. We have her recipe but they never taste the same.
There is just something about a Grandma’s baking that makes the recipe so much better. I have the same problem.
How sticky is the dough? I don’t eat walnuts and don’t want to waste them and instead use little balls of tinfoil. I want to Make them for mothersday the sound yummie and we are italian too 😀
Love your videos… I really want to try these. Do you have a tutorial on getting the walnut shells cut in half perfectly
Hi! No, I don’t have a video, but it’s really quite simple if you go slow. Some will break- just the nature of what you’re doing. Have fun!
yo really brought back memories. My Mom would make these for every special occasions. I have made them a couple of times but I am glad to see the recipe again. Thanks
Thanks so much for commenting! I’m happy to hear that this brought back memories! I’ve grown to love them!
I love this video! Typical Italian mother and so sweet!
Since these cookies are filled w/ pudding, will they need to be refrigerated? do you think I could use buttercream so they would be safe to leave out?
Thanks so much for all your videos.
They are best filled with pudding, as they soften the cookies. I always keep my cookies, cakes and cupcakes in the fridge- it’s better to be safe than sorry IMO. Thanks so much for watching.