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These Italian Peach Cookies are a work of art! Delicious soft cookies filled with a chocolate walnut filling, dipped in milk with food coloring to look like real peaches, then finally rolled through sugar! A beautiful little dessert perfect for any special occasion!
Italian Peach Cookies
These cookies sure have the wow factor. But not only are they gorgeous, they are incredibly delicious and that chocolate walnut filling is to die for! Needless to say, if you want to impress your guests, this is the way to do it. Trust me, bragging rights is totally worth making these cookies.
This is one of those cookies I always get when I go to the Italian market because they’re so pretty. But don’t be intimidated by how these look. If you follow my step by step instructions, and with the help of all the photos, you will succeed.
What You Need To Make Italian Peach Cookies
Cookies
- Butter – I always like to use unsalted butter, however if you use salted, then don’t add any more additional salt to the cookie dough.
- Sugar – We just need some plain granulated sugar.
- Eggs – What’s a cookie dough without eggs? We need eggs to help with gluten development and make the cookies airy, and puffy.
- Vanilla Extract – A good vanilla extract is a must in any cookies because it brings out the flavors of all the other ingredients.
- Salt – Salt like vanilla is needed to bring out the flavors of your baked cookie. As mentioned if using salted butter, you can omit this extra salt.
- Milk – I used a 2% milk. You can also use lactose free milk. Milk is what gives our cookies a soft crumb texture.
- Flour – All purpose flour is needed.
- Baking Powder – This is what’s going to encourage our cookies to spread out a bit and it also helps create a soft and fluffy cookie.
Filling
- Walnuts – You’ll want these walnuts ground. Pecans can also be used instead.
- Powdered Sugar – Same as icing sugar or confectioners sugar.
- Butter – I used unsalted butter but salted butter works as well.
- Peach Preserves – Or peach jam. You can also use any other type of jam you have.
- Vanilla Extract – A bit of vanilla will bring out all the flavors of the other ingredients in our filling.
- Cocoa Powder – Use a good cocoa powder such as Hershey’s Cocoa or Ghirardelli’s.
Decorations
- Milk – I used 2% milk. You’ll need 2 bowls with equal amounts of milk.
- Food Coloring – You’ll need red and yellow food color. I prefer food color gel because I find that it gives me the perfect colors. Use as much as needed until you receive the desired color.
- Sugar – Granulated sugar in a shallow plate that is used for rolling the cookies in.
- Mint Leaves – These are optional but these leaves are what’s going to finish the peach look for our cookies.
How To Make Italian Peach Cookies
Cookies
- Prep the oven: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Make cookie dough: To a large bowl or the bowl of your mixer, add the butter, sugar and mix until light and creamy. Add the eggs, salt, vanilla extract and mix until well combined. Add the milk, flour and baking powder to the bowl and mix until incorporated.
- Form into cookies: Use a small cookie scoop to scoop out equal amounts of dough, then roll into balls, you should get 32 balls. Place the cookie balls on the prepared baking sheets.
- Bake: Transfer the baking sheets to the oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the bottom of the cookies are golden brown. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheets for a couple minutes then transfer to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
- Scoop out middle of cookies: Once the cookies have cooled, use a teaspoon to scoop out some of the middle of the cookies from the flat bottom. Crumble up the scooped out part of the cookie using a fork or a food processor.
Filling And Decorations
- Make filling: Add all the filling ingredients together plus the scooped out cookie crumbs in a medium size bowl and mix until well combined.
- Prep milk and sugar: Pour ⅔ of the milk in a small bowl and mix it with red food coloring. Pour the other ⅔ of the milk in another small bowl and mix it well with the yellow food coloring. Place the cup of sugar in a shallow plate.
Assembly
- Fill cookies: Fill out the hole of each cookie with the filling mixture and spread some of it over the bottom of the cookie. Press one filled cookie over another filled cookie, to sandwich them together. Repeat with all the cookies.
- Color cookies: Dip half of a sandwich cookie in the red colored milk and the other half in the yellow colored milk. Roll the cookie through sugar. Repeat with remaining cookies.
- Finish cookies with mint leaves: Insert 1 or 2 mint leaves into the side of each cookie, if preferred.
- Chill before serving: Refrigerate in an airtight container for a couple hours before serving.
FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
Can these cookies be made without food coloring?
Sure! You can use a red Alkermes liqueur to dip the cookies in for a red color. This liqueur has a cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and vanilla flavor. Other types of liqueur you can use are Peach Schnapps, Campari or Red Vermouth.
Can I serve these cookies right away?
Sure, you can. However, chilling them allows the cookies to soften from being dipped in milk, also resulting in the correct texture for the cookies.
Tips
- The cookie dough should be soft and slightly sticky. If too dry, add a bit more milk.
- If you don’t have a cookie scoop to form the cookies, use a spoon to grab equal amount of cookie dough and roll them between your fingers until round.
- Don’t over bake the cookies, they will continue to bake a bit longer as they are cooling on the baking sheet.
- If you don’t want to use food coloring use alcohol instead like Alkermes, Peach Schnapps, Campari or Red Vermouth to dip the cookies in. Place them on a cooling rack, allowing them to soak the liqueur before rolling them through sugar.
How To Store Italian Peach Cookies
Store these cookies in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Freezing
These Italian peach cookies are perfect for freezing as well. Place them in a single layer in an airtight container and freeze for up to a month. You can also flash freeze them first by placing them in a single layer on a baking sheet in the freezer for a couple hours until frozen. Transfer them to a freezer bag or an airtight container and freeze for up to a month.
Defrost at room temperature about an hour before serving.
More Delicious Recipes To Try
Italian Peach Cookies
These Italian Peach Cookies are a work of art! Delicious soft cookies filled with a chocolate walnut filling, dipped in milk with food coloring to look like real peaches, then finally rolled through sugar! A beautiful little dessert perfect for any special occasion!
Prep: 1 hour
Cook: 15 minutes
Total: 1 hour 15 minutes
Ingredients
Cookies
- ½ cup butter softened
- ⅔ cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup milk
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
Filling
- 1 cup walnuts ground
- ½ cup powdered sugar same as icing sugar or confectioners sugar
- ½ cup butter softened
- ½ cup peach preserves or jam
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup cocoa powder
Decorations
- ⅔ cup milk
- ⅔ cup milk
- 1 cup sugar
- red and yellow food coloring
- mint leaves
Instructions
Cookies
- Prep the oven: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Make cookie dough: To a large bowl or the bowl of your mixer, add the butter, sugar and mix until light and creamy. Add the eggs, salt, vanilla extract and mix until well combined. Add the milk, flour and baking powder to the bowl and mix until incorporated.
- Form into cookies: Use a small cookie scoop to scoop out equal amounts of dough, then roll into balls, you should get 32 balls. Place the cookie balls on the prepared baking sheets.
- Bake: Transfer the baking sheets to the oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the bottom of the cookies are golden brown. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheets for a couple minutes then transfer to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
- Scoop out middle of cookies: Once the cookies have cooled, use a teaspoon to scoop out some of the middle of the cookies from the flat bottom. Crumble up the scooped out part of the cookie using a fork or a food processor.
Filling and Decorations
- Make filling: Add all the filling ingredients together plus the scooped out cookie crumbs in a medium size bowl and mix until well combined.
- Prep milk and sugar: Pour ⅔ of the milk in a small bowl and mix it with red food coloring. Pour the other ⅔ of the milk in another small bowl and mix it well with the yellow food coloring. Place the cup of sugar in a shallow plate.
Assembly
- Fill cookies: Fill out the hole of each cookie with the filling mixture and spread some of it over the bottom of the cookie. Press one filled cookie over another filled cookie, to sandwich them together. Repeat with all the cookies.
- Color cookies: Dip half of a sandwich cookie in the red colored milk and the other half in the yellow colored milk. Roll the cookie through sugar. Repeat with remaining cookies.
- Finish cookies with mint leaves: Insert 1 or 2 mint leaves into the side of each cookie, if preferred.
- Chill before serving: Refrigerate in an airtight container for a couple hours before serving.
Tips & Notes:
- The cookie dough should be soft and slightly sticky. If too dry, add a bit more milk.
- If you don’t have a cookie scoop to form the cookies, use a spoon to grab equal amount of cookie dough and roll them between your fingers until round.
- Don’t over bake the cookies, they will continue to bake a bit longer as they are cooling on the baking sheet.
- If you don’t want to use food coloring use alcohol instead like Alkermes, Peach Schnapps, Campari or Red Vermouth to dip the cookies in. Place them on a cooling rack, allowing them to soak the liqueur before rolling them through sugar.
- Store these cookies in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- These Italian peach cookies are perfect for freezing as well. Place them in a single layer in an airtight container and freeze for up to a month. You can also flash freeze them first by placing them in a single layer on a baking sheet in the freezer for a couple hours until frozen. Transfer them to a freezer bag or an airtight container and freeze for up to a month.
- Defrost at room temperature about an hour before serving.
nutrition facts
Serving: 1cookie Calories: 420kcal (21%) Carbohydrates: 59g (20%) Protein: 7g (14%) Fat: 18g (28%) Saturated Fat: 9g (56%) Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g Monounsaturated Fat: 4g Trans Fat: 1g Cholesterol: 57mg (19%) Sodium: 164mg (7%) Potassium: 202mg (6%) Fiber: 2g (8%) Sugar: 31g (34%) Vitamin A: 435IU (9%) Vitamin C: 1mg (1%) Calcium: 77mg (8%) Iron: 2mg (11%)
