Pesche Dolci – Italian Peach Cookies

Italian Peach Cookies/ Pesche Docli

It looks intimidating, but it is two vanilla cookies pressed together with a yummy filling, then tye-dyed effect in grenadine and apple juice, rolled in sugar!

What You’ll Need:

Tools:

Parchment paper

2 baking sheets

Stand Mixer/ hand mixer

several bowls

paring knife

 

For Dough:

• 3 3/4 cups cake and pastry flour
• 3/4 cup cane sugar
• 1/2 cup softened butter
• 3/4 cup milk
• 3 eggs (room temperature)
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 zest of a whole lemon
• 2 tsp peach schnapps liqueur

For Almond Filling:

• 1/2 cup ground almonds
• 4 tablespoons of apricot /peach preserves (jam)

For Ricotta Filling:

• 1/2 cup ricotta (smooth)
• 1 zest of an orange
• 4 tablespoons of apricot /peach preserves (jam)
• pinch of cane sugar

For Colour/Sugar dusting:

• 1 cup of cane sugar in a bowl
• 1/2 cup of peach schnapps liqueur
• 1/2 cup of grenadine
• 1/2 cup of apple juice

 

Recipe:

1. Cookie Dough: In a stand mixer with whisk attachment, whisk eggs, then sugar, then milk, butter, then lemon zest, vanilla, peach schnapps. In a separate bowl whisk flour and baking powder. Then slowly incorporate bit by bit into the wet mix.
2. Preheat the oven 350F & line baking sheets with Parchment paper
3. Flour a flat surface, like your countertop, remove the dough, flour your hands before you touch the dough, and roll out the dough into a log. It should feel light and fluffy like pizza dough. Cut the log in half. Use the first half and section and roll walnut sized balls in the palm of your floured hands & place on parchment paper lined baking sheet.
4. Very Important, Gently press each round ball so its a flatter round circle on the baking tray. Then put into the oven 350F for 10-15 mins depending on how hot your oven is. You will see the sides very light golden color. You do not want dark brown!
5. Let the cookies cool completely.
6. Ricotta/Almond Filling: While the cookies are cooling, in a small bowl combine your ingredients and mix around until fully incorporated.  Note**If you have whole almonds use a food processor to ground the almonds up first before adding the apricot/peach preserves.
7. Use a paring knife to cut out small hole in the center of the cookie. Add in the filling of your choice with a small spoon.
8. Press matching shaped and sized cookies together.
9. Tye-Dye & Sugar: Use 3 cereal bowls, from left to right, fill one with apple juice and half of the peach schnapps, one with grenadine and the other half of peach schnapps, and bowl 3 with cane sugar.
10. With the center line of the cookie vertical, douse the bottom 1/4 of the cookie in apple juice mix, then flip over and douse the remaining 3/4s of the cookie in the grenadine mix for 10-15 seconds, then quickly roll around in the sugar mix you will see the colour pop!
11. Garnish with mint leaf, refrigerate in an airtight container!