Description
Peach Italian Cookies are soft, delicate cookies filled with a luscious peach curd, dipped in a peach-flavored syrup, and coated in sugar to mimic the natural fuzz of real peaches. Inspired by the classic Italian Peschi Dolci, these charming cookies offer an irresistible blend of fruity sweetness and tender crumb, perfect for a unique dessert or special occasion treat.
Ingredients
Scale
Cookie Dough
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs (room temperature)
- ½ cup olive oil (extra virgin for more flavor or light for less flavor)
- 3 tablespoons milk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 3 cups all purpose flour (360g)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
Peach Syrup
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 ½ cups water
- 1 lemon (juiced and zested)
- ¼ cup peach liquor or peach soju
- yellow food coloring (as needed)
- red and/or pink food coloring (as needed)
Filling and Decoration
- 1 cup peach curd (or jam)
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 12 fresh basil leaves (or mint leaves)
Instructions
- Prepare the Dough: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar, eggs, olive oil, milk, vanilla extract, and sea salt until smooth and well combined.
- Combine Dry Ingredients: Sift the all-purpose flour and baking powder together. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing gently until a soft dough forms. Do not overmix.
- Shape the Cookies: Roll the dough into small balls about the size of large walnuts. Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, spacing them evenly to allow for expansion.
- Bake the Cookies: Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Bake the cookies for 15 minutes or until lightly golden and cooked through. Allow them to cool completely on a wire rack.
- Make the Peach Syrup: In a saucepan, combine sugar, water, lemon juice, lemon zest, and peach liquor. Bring to a gentle boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and add yellow and red/pink food coloring drop by drop until a peach hue is achieved. Let syrup cool to room temperature.
- Assemble the Cookies: Carefully slice each cookie in half horizontally. Spoon about a teaspoon of peach curd onto the bottom half and sandwich with the top half.
- Dip in Syrup: Dip each assembled cookie into the peach syrup, ensuring they are well coated, then let excess syrup drip off.
- Coat with Sugar: Immediately roll or sprinkle the dipped cookies in granulated sugar to create a fuzzy peach-like texture.
- Add Finishing Touch: Attach a fresh basil or mint leaf on top of each cookie for a leaf effect, completing the peach look.
Notes
- Use extra virgin olive oil for a more pronounced fruity flavor, or light olive oil for a subtler taste.
- If peach curd is unavailable, high-quality peach jam works well as a substitute.
- Allow cookies to cool fully before dipping to prevent them from falling apart.
- Adjust food coloring gradually for a natural peach shade without overpowering the syrup flavor.
- Fresh basil or mint leaves add a beautiful and aromatic garnish but can be omitted if unavailable.
- Store the finished cookies in an airtight container to keep them fresh for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 419 kcal
- Sugar: 49 g
- Sodium: 71 mg
- Fat: 12 g
- Saturated Fat: 3 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 8 g
- Trans Fat: 0.04 g
- Carbohydrates: 74 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 5 g
- Cholesterol: 28 mg
