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These delicious Italian peach cookies are soft cookie sandwiches filled with peach jam. You won’t need Alchermes liqueur to make these pretty peaches.

Italian peach cookies

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Combine art and food with these surprisingly easy Italian peach cookies.

These pretty peach pink cookies are also filled with luscious peach jam, making them easier to make than other recipes that use Italian pastry cream as filling. 

You don’t even need to be on the hunt for Alchermes liqueur!

The beautiful peach-pink hue of these Pinterest-worthy cookies is from red food coloring so you can make these desserts anytime, anywhere.  

What Are Italian Peach Cookies?

Italian peach cookies are cookie sandwiches assembled to look like adorable little peaches.

The cookie itself is made from simple soft cookie dough, and the delicious filling can be anything from Italian pastry cream, peach jam, chocolate, custard, dulce de leche with cookie crumbs and crushed walnuts, or even ricotta! (This dessert is definitely a sweet tooth’s dream, don’t you agree?)

I know that because they look like peaches, it’s easy to assume that decorating these Italian cookies or Pesche Dolci will be hard.

What Are Italian Peach Cookies

Well, I have good news for you: the impressive treats are actually super simple to make!

Don’t believe me? Here’s a quick breakdown of the process:

After making the dough, you’ll roll it into balls, bake them for around 12 minutes, then hollow out the cookies.

This is where the fun part begins: Stuff the cookies with your choice of filling, then sandwich them together.

To give them the chic peach look, dip the cookies in red coloring (you can use liqueur or milk and red food coloring) and roll them in sugar for the “peach fuzz.” Continue reading below for delicious ideas on what you can use for peach pits and peach leaves. 🍑

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

  • Beautiful Little Treats: I think anyone will agree that these Italian cookies are one of the prettiest sandwich cookies out there. But despite their impressive appearance, assembling them turns out to be as easy as 1-2-3!
  • Endless Filling Options: You can make different variations of these peach cookies! Try this Italian peach cookie recipe with various fillings like jam, custard, ricotta, or chocolate.
  • Make-Ahead Desserts: These Italian peach cookies are perfect for parties and celebrations, not just because they’re guaranteed to make your dessert table the center of attention. You can also make the cookies in advance and assemble the treats the day before serving!

What Do Peach Cookies Taste Like?

Italian cookies or Pesche Dolci are as fun to eat as they are to make.

Not only do they look like peaches, but they also have that rich, sweet peach flavor because we are filling them with peach jam. 🤤

You can also stuff your finished cookies with Italian pastry cream, ricotta, or chocolate. I suggest making different types to get a delightful surprise with every piece you pick.

You can even keep the cookie crumbs you removed in the center of each cookie and use them to make a yummy “peach pit.” Just combine the crumbs with cocoa spread and use this chocolatey filling in the center of the peach cookies! 

What Do Peach Cookies Taste Like

The soft cookies themselves are also delicious. They’re not overly sweet, and the vanilla extract really adds another layer of flavor.

And while we dip these Italian peach cookies in milk with food coloring to give them a pretty peach-pink hue, you can also use red liqueur and make your gorgeous cookies taste more like traditional Pesche Dolci.

Remember earlier when I said these cookies are perfect make-ahead desserts for any special occasion? I suggest refrigerating them for at least 24 hours, then taking them out of the fridge an hour before serving.

Doing this gives the cookies time to absorb the filling and liqueur (or, in this recipe, milk.) The reward? Soft, decadent treats that are indeed worth the wait. 🤤

Are Italian Peach Cookies Healthy?

Italian peach cookies are essentially vanilla cookies sandwiched together with a sweet filling in the center before being dipped in liqueur or colored milk and then rolled in sugar.

That being said, these gorgeous peach cookies can be sugary and high in calories.

I mean, if you think about it, we don’t really have a saying that says, “A cookie a day keeps the doctor away,” right? 😅

Just enjoy your peach cookies in moderation, like with any sweet dessert.

But if you want cookies with less guilt, try our chewy vanilla chai spiced sugar cookies recipe or viral TikTok blueberry cookies recipe

What Are The Benefits Of This Italian Peach Cookie Recipe?

These Italian peach cookies are one of those desserts that look good but also taste good.

I’m sure you’ve experienced eating something pretty for the Instagram feed only to discover that it tastes terrible. 😣

Well, even though these peach cookies are almost too pretty to eat, you won’t regret taking the first bite. They even have the same soft, moist texture of the summer fruit after absorbing the filling and milk!

What Are The Benefits Of This Italian Peach Cookie Recipe

Rolling them in granulated sugar is also a nice touch!

But my favorite thing about these fabulous peach cookies? They’re super fun to make!

Get creative with their colors, add fun little details like leaves and pits, and pick an indulgent filling that will make your sweet tooth happy!

Ingredients For Italian Peach Cookies

  • Eggs – Use room temperature eggs for easier incorporation with the other ingredients.
  • Granulated sugar – To sweeten the Italian cookies.
  • Unsalted butter – Makes the cookies tender and imparts a delicious, rich flavor. 😋
  • Vanilla extract – Adds depth to our sweet Italian peach cookies.
  • All-purpose flour – Don’t forget to measure your flour correctly by weighing it!
  • Baking powder – To help the cookies rise.
  • Salt – To balance the sweetness of our peach cookies.
  • Milk – We also need extra milk for mixing with food coloring. 
  • Peach jam – You can use other fillings, but who can refuse jam-filled cookies that taste and look like peaches?
  • Red food coloring gel – To color our delicious cookies. 
  • Mint leaves – Use mint leaves as adorable little peach leaves!

Tools Needed To Prepare Italian Peach Cookies

Ingredient Additions & Substitutions For Peach Cookies

Italian pastry cream

Want your Italian peach cookies to taste more traditional? Fill them with Italian pastry cream made from milk, heavy cream, egg yolks, sugar, all-purpose flour, and vanilla extract!

Pro tip: Chill your pastry cream for an hour or two before assembling the cookies. 😉

Red coloring

We used red food coloring gel mixed with milk to color the peach cookies because it can be hard to get your hands on the Italian liqueur Alchermes.

Dolceterra Alchermes Premium Elisir is out of stock on Amazon as of this writing. But if you really want to use Alchermes, I found American Alchermes Liqueur on Total Wine.

Alternatively, since these are peach cookies, you can also use peach schnapps!

Almonds

I’ve mentioned earlier that you can simulate a peach pit by mixing the extra cookie crumbs with some cocoa spread.

But another creative way to give these “peaches” pits is to just place a whole almond in the center of the cookie! This is also perfect with peach jam. 😋

How to Make Italian Peach Cookies

Ingredients:

Tools you need:

Instructions:

STEP 1: Gather and measure the ingredients for your Italian peach cookies.

step 1 italian peach cookies

STEP 2: Preheat the oven to 350°F and line your baking tray with parchment paper.

STEP 3: Beat eggs and sugar for about 10 minutes. Whisk in melted butter and vanilla extract until creamy.

step 3a italian peach cookies
step 3b italian peach cookies

STEP 4: Sift the dry ingredients together. Stir them into the egg mixture.

step 4 italian peach cookies

STEP 5: Add a tablespoon of milk at a time and combine everything to form a soft dough.

step 5 italian peach cookies

STEP 6: Scoop out the dough and form small balls.

STEP 7: Arrange the cookie dough balls on the baking tray, ensuring they’re evenly spaced.

step 7 italian peach cookies

STEP 8: Bake the Italian peach cookies for 12 minutes.

step 8 italian peach cookies

STEP 9: While the cookies are still warm, carefully scoop out the middle of the cookies with a knife.

step 9 italian peach cookies

STEP 10: Fill the cookies with peach jam. Press one cookie over another and repeat the process with all the filled cookies to assemble the cookie sandwiches.

step 10a italian peach cookies
step 10b italian peach cookies

STEP 11: To make these cookie sandwiches look more like peaches, dip them in milk mixed with red food coloring. Drain them on the wire rack before rolling them in granulated sugar. You can also use mint leaves for the “leaves” of these peach cookies.

step 11a italian peach cookies
step 11b italian peach cookies

What To Serve With Italian Peach Cookies

Enjoy these lovely peach Italian cookies with a cozy, warm drink.

Each piece is already luscious, so a simple cup of coffee or tea is enough to savor these delights. 

What To Serve With Italian Peach Cookies

Bored of your usual cup of joe? Try our pumpkin spice Vietnamese iced coffee!

And for tea lovers, these beautiful cookies deserve our equally beautiful cup of blue matcha latte

As mentioned earlier, you can also make your Italian peach cookies with different fillings.

Perhaps you prefer a simple ricotta in the middle or a more indulgent custard in the center of the peach treats. 🤤

Tips About Making Peach Cookies

  • The cookie dough for these Italian peach cookies will be a bit sticky. If it feels dry, just add some milk.
  • Don’t forget to keep the scooped-out cookie centers! You can use them as toppings for ice cream or turn them into truffles. 
  • These peach cookies are already Pinterest-worthy, but you can get super creative coloring them. For example, color half of the cookie sandwich in milk mixed with yellow food coloring and the other in red to get the perfect shade of peach. Then, insert mint leaves into the side for a fun additional detail.

How To Store Italian Peach Cookies

  • Fridge: Transfer your Italian peach cookies into an airtight container. They will keep well for up to 5 days in the fridge.
  • Freezer: You can keep these peach cookies in the freezer for one month! Just use a freezer-safe container and arrange the treats in a single layer. 

Want to prepare these Italian cookies in advance? You can bake and carve out the cookies 2 to 3 days ahead!

Then, fill and decorate each cookie pair a day before serving.

Try this sample timeline if making these peach cookies for gatherings!

How To Store Italian Peach Cookies

What Are Italian Cookies Made Of?

Italian peach cookies are made from a simple dough of eggs, sugar, butter, flour, baking powder, milk, and peach liqueur.

Then, the filling can be Italian pastry cream, chocolate, jam, or custard.

What Makes Italian Cookies Different?

According to Francine Segan, the Italian-American author of Dolci: Italy’s Sweets, Italians typically prefer their cookies with less butter and sugar.

Compared to American cookies that are soft, chewy, or gooey, Italian cookies are often cakey.

Some are even dense enough that they can hurt when thrown at you! 😅

Italian cookies also taste pretty straightforward, perfect with a cup of coffee.

FAQ About Italian Peach Cookies

What is another name for Italian cookies?

These Italian peach cookies are also called Pesche Dolci. 

How long do Italian cookies stay fresh?

These particular Italian peach cookies will stay fresh in the fridge for up to 5 days. If unfilled, they can keep for 2 to 3 days at room temperature. 

Should Italian cookies be refrigerated?

It’s recommended to refrigerate Italian peach cookies so they have enough time to absorb the filling and liqueur. After refrigerating for hours, the peach cookies will turn soft, which, interestingly enough, makes them more like ripe peaches!

Can you freeze Italian peach cookies?

These peach cookies are fantastic make-ahead desserts. You can freeze the unfilled cookies for up to 3 months. Once you’re ready to use them, just thaw the cookies before assembly.

Where to buy Italian peach cookies?

You can browse Etsy for Italian peach cookies! However, this is a fun recipe anyway, so I highly encourage you to try making these beautiful peach cookies yourself. 

Italian Peach Cookies Recipe

Italian Peach Cookies

Yield: 12
Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 12 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 12 minutes

These delicious Italian peach cookies are soft cookie sandwiches filled with peach jam. You won't need Alchermes liqueur to make these pretty peaches.

Instructions

  1. Gather and measure the ingredients for your Italian peach cookies. 
  2. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line your baking tray with parchment paper.
  3. Beat eggs and sugar for about 10 minutes. Whisk in melted butter and vanilla extract until creamy.
  4. Sift the dry ingredients together. Stir them into the egg mixture. 
  5. Add a tablespoon of milk at a time and combine everything to form a soft dough. 
  6. Scoop out the dough and form small balls. 
  7. Arrange the cookie dough balls on the baking tray, ensuring they're evenly spaced.
  8. Bake the Italian peach cookies for 12 minutes. 
  9. While the cookies are still warm, carefully scoop out the middle of the cookies with a knife.
  10. Fill the cookies with peach jam. Press one cookie over another and repeat the process with all the filled cookies to assemble the cookie sandwiches. 
  11. To make these cookie sandwiches look more like peaches, dip them in milk mixed with red food coloring. Drain them on the wire rack before rolling them in granulated sugar. You can also use mint leaves for the "leaves" of these peach cookies.

Notes

  • The consistency you want for the cookie dough is slightly sticky. If it's too dry, add a bit more milk. 
  • It's easier to scoop out the middle of the cookies while they're still warm. You can also collect the scooped-out portions of the cookies and use them on other recipes like truffles or as cookie crumble toppings on desserts.
  • Make these Italian peach cookies look more like cute little peaches by using red and yellow-colored milk. Color half of the cookie sandwich in red and the other in yellow. Then insert mint leaves into the side for a fun additional detail. 

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 26 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 286Total Fat: 29gSaturated Fat: 18gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 82mgSodium: 7mgCarbohydrates: 8gFiber: 0gSugar: 8gProtein: 1g

* Please note that all nutrition information are just estimates. Values will vary among brands, so we encourage you to calculate these on your own for the most accurate results.

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Conclusion

Step up your cookie game with these adorable Italian peach cookies that look like real peaches!

Despite the chic look, the Italian dessert is actually super easy to make. But the best part?

They taste as good as they look!

Italian cookies

Imagine soft vanilla cookies filled with luscious peach jam.

You can also soak the finished peach cookies in liqueur before rolling them in sugar or use Italian pastry cream for a more authentic flavor on your homemade Pesche Dolci.

If these peach cookies got you craving more treats that feature the sweet summer fruit, you’ll love these recipes:

And if you want an impressive cookie dessert table for your summer party, check out these 30+ Best Summer Cookie Recipes That Are Irresistibly Good!

PIN FOR LATER!

italian peach cookies 2
italian peach cookies 3

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