Posted on Friday, 22nd July 2011 by Grace Massa Langlois
Last weekend my sisters, Connie and Anna, came over for a visit and a day of baking. What did we bake? Italian cookies - trays and trays of them. How many are left? Not too many! The Italian Cookie (well in my opinion more of an Italian Pastry) I’m sharing with you today is a very special one, Pesche Dolci – Italian Peach Cookies.
These cookies are generally saved and baked for special occasions, Bridal Showers, Weddings and Religious Holidays. They take a little more effort than your average batch of cookies but the end result is definitely worth the extra effort.
Baking these cookies was a first for me. Why you ask? Well I’ve never been a fan of jam unless of course it’s a berry jam. Traditionally (in our region) these peach cookies are filled with plum jam. I love plums! – Dislike plum jam.
Plum jam? Peach cookies? What? That’s a question I’ve been asking myself for years. I’ve been told the only reason this cookie is called a Peach is because it looks like a peach.
The fillings vary from region to region and family to family. You’ll see the cookies filled with Nutella; various jam fillings, lemon fillings, and Crema Pasticcera. (I love Crema Pasticcera!)
My inquisitive mind had me hunting for the history of the cookie. I wanted to know why they referred to the cookie as a peach. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to find much information. Originally the colour of the cookie was achieved by dipping the cookie in a special Italian liqueur, Alchermes (“Bagna per Dolci” – A bath for sweets).
I did find a bit of information regarding the Alchermes that I almost wish I hadn’t. Alchermes is scarlet red in colour. A very special ingredient, “Kermes”, was added to the liqueur, which in turn provided not only the liqueur’s name but also the striking colour.
What is Kermes? – A small parasitic insect. Hmm…No thanks! In fact I am not the only one that feels that way, when people discovered the colour of Alchermes was achieved by adding the special ingredient the ever-popular Alchermes lost its appeal. I did try to locate a bottle before finding this information but did not have any luck. I think the liqueur may only be available in Italy.
I did notice that Italians continue to use the Alchermes but you will also find many recipes for the cookie in which the Alchermes has been substituted with Rum, Marsala and other spirits. Food colouring is then added to the liqueur to achieve the colouring for the cookie.
I am assuming the cookie received its name because when the cookie is dipped in Alchermes the colour achieved is very similar to the natural colour of a peach. And when the cookie is assembled and decorated it also looks like a peach. I am very happy using White Vermouth and food colouring for my “bagna per dolci”.
I decided to make small peaches and larger peaches. But I didn’t fill my small peaches with plum jam (the usual) I went for a peach jam flavoured mildly with rum instead. Combining the peach jam with a hint of rum was a good choice, very flavourful. Please don’t let my dislike for plum jam put you off using it for a filling; the flavour and texture of the filling is a family favourite.
For the large cookies, in my opinion, there was only one choice – Crema Pasticcera. Let me tell you this – that first bite into “le pesche con la crema pasticcera” was to die for – insanely delicious! I think I may have a new favourite Italian Cookie. Move over Amaretti there’s a new cookie in town.
Filling the cookie with Crema Pasticcera changed the texture of the cookie, it was softer and the natural vanilla flavour combined with that creamy goodness was heaven on earth.
I do hope you’ll give these cookies a try especially if you’re looking for an extra special Italian treat. Coming soon…Bocconetti.
Pesche Dolci {Italian Peach Cookies}
- Pesche Dolci {Italian Peach Cookies}
- Crema Pasticcera {Italian Pastry Cream}
- Ripieni di Marmellata di Pesche {Peach Jam Cookie Filling}
**Please note - I prepared two fillings; in our region the jam filling is traditional and so is the smaller cookie. I decided to make the larger “Pesche” as well and they are traditionally filled with the Crema Pasticcera (I love Crema Pasticcera!). If you’ve never tried the “Pesche” I hope you will try both fillings and sizes the first time you make the cookies and then you can decide which you prefer. Believe it or not in our region the traditional jam used in the filling is plum (doesn’t make a lot of sense to me that is why I settled on a peach jam but the plum is a delicious alternative).
If you are making the larger cookies with Crema Pasticcera it is best to prepare the filling first. This will ensure the crema is cooled and ready for filling when you’ve completed the baking of the cookies.
Pesche Dolci {Italian Peach Cookies}
Makes 5-dozen small cookies & about 3-dozen large cookies
- 3 large eggs
- 450 g (2 cups) caster (superfine granules) sugar
- 237 ml (1 cup) vegetable oil
- 18 g (2 packages) Dr. Oetker Vanilla Sugar
- 21 g (1½ packages) Dr. Oetker Baking Powder
- 237 ml (1 cup) whole milk
- 750 g (6 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
- Line baking trays with non-stick baking paper or silicone baking mats, set-aside.
- In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment beat sugar and eggs on medium speed, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Gradually add the oil; continue to beat on medium speed.
- Add vanilla sugar and beat to combine.
- Dissolve baking powder in milk and then add milk to batter; continue to beat on medium speed until combined.
- Reduce mixer speed to low and gradually add the flour; beat to just combine.
- Let batter stand for 2 hours before proceeding.
- Preheat oven to 180° C (350° F).
- To roll cookie dough, wet hands with a little bit of vegetable oil. For small cookies, spoon about 1 teaspoon of cookie dough. For large cookies spoon 2 teaspoons of cookie dough. Roll into balls and place on cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining dough ensuring balls are all the same size. (If you are making small and large cookies as I have do not bake on the same tray because the larger cookies will need a few minutes longer baking time.) (Please keep in mind you will need two cookies for each “Pesche“.)
- Bake on middle rack just until starting to turn colour (you do not want them to turn golden), 15 to 25 minutes. (Smaller cookies usually 15 to 17 minutes and larger cookies 20 to 25 minutes. Make sure to watch both small and large cookies at the 14-minute mark to determine baking time for your oven and your size cookie.)
- Remove baking sheet from oven and immediately remove cookies from baking sheet and transfer to wire rack.
- Immediately begin carving out cookies. Using a sharp paring knife, starting in centre of cookie, carve small holes (about the size of a dime for small cookies and the size of a quarter for larger cookies, making sure you do not carve the holes too deep). Place hollowed out cookie bits and crumbs into a bowl for use in your jam cookie filling. Return cookies to wire rack to cool completely prior to filling.
- When all cookies are baked and centres hollowed take a few minutes to prepare cookies to be filled. Match cookies by size and set two aside for each “Pesche“.
Crema Pasticcera {Italian Pastry Cream}
- 500 ml (2cups) whole milk
- 1 vanilla bean, split and seeded
- 6 large egg yolks
- 180 g (¾ cup + 2½ teaspoons) caster (superfine granules) sugar
- 40 g (1/3 cup or 5 tablespoons) plain (all-purpose) flour, sifted
- In a small saucepan bring milk, vanilla bean, and vanilla bean seeds just to the boil over medium heat. Remove from heat, cover and let steep 10 to 12 minutes.
- In a large bowl, using a large hand whisk, cream together egg yolks and sugar until thick and pale.
- Add the flour and whisk to well combine.
- Gradually, in a steady stream, add the hot milk mixture to the egg mixture; whisking constantly until well combined.
- Return the milk-egg mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until thickened, about 3 to 5 minutes.
- Remove from heat and strain Crema Pasticcera through a fine mesh sieve into a 20-cm (8 inch) square dish or 23 X 33 cm (9 X13 inch) rectangular dish. Discard solids. (A little tip for you – I remove the vanilla bean; give it a quick rinse and then allow it to dry and use it when I am making syrups or compotes (gives the compote or syrup a hint of vanilla taste) or I also place the vanilla bean in a mason jar (a large one because I continue to add beans and top with more sugar as I go along) with sugar and make my own vanilla sugar (make sure the vanilla bean is completely dry before storing with sugar.) (This time I saved the vanilla bean and used it to make my stems for decorating the completed Pesche.) Place a sheet of plastic wrap directly onto Crema Pasticcera to prevent a skin from forming while cooling. When Crema Pasticcera has completely cooled place in refrigerator to chill until ready to fill cookies.
Ripieni di Marmellata di Pesche (Peach Jam Cookie Filling}
- Cookie crumbs and bits
- 500 ml (2 cups) peach jam (if the jam is chunky process in a food processor until almost smooth)
- 7.5 ml (¼-ounce or ½-tablespoon) Rum (You can add more or less Rum to suit your taste.)
- Place cookie crumbs and bits into a food processor; pulse to a fine crumb.
- In a small bowl stir together the cookie crumbs and peach jam.
- Add the rum and stir to combine.
- Cover and chill in refrigerator until ready to fill cookies.
Assembling Pesche Dolci
- 59 ml (2 ounces) White Vermouth
- Yellow liquid food colouring
- Red liquid food colouring
- Caster sugar (superfine granules), for rolling cookies
- Vanilla bean, seeds removed (save seeds for another use), cut into thin pieces resembling stems, for decorating cookies
- Fresh mint leaves, for decorating cookies
- Place 1-ounce White Martini into a small (deep bowl). Place the other ounce of Martini in another small (deep) bowl. Add yellow food colouring to one bowl and red food colouring to the other bowl. Add enough food colouring to achieve a bright yellow and a bright red. Transfer filling (Peach Jam Filling or Crema Pasticcera) to a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip. Tip some caster sugar onto a flat plate (for rolling cookies), set-aside.
- Pipe a small dollop of filling into each hollowed cavity and then pipe a little more filling on one cookie half. Join both halves to form “Pesche”. Run your clean finger around filling to remove any excess when sandwiched together. Repeat until all cookies are filled and formed.
- To colour Pesche, dip top half of joined cookie in yellow food colouring (pat cookie on a sheet of paper towel to remove any excess before dipping the other half). Dip bottom half of cookie in red food colouring making sure it meets and covers the yellow half just a tad. (To get the colouring correct, stand the joined cookie up so that one cookie half is on the left and one cookie half is on the right with the filling in between, you want to dip the top half of the joined cookie in yellow and the bottom half in red.)
- Make sure to dab off any excess colouring; roll cookie in sugar. Stand cookie upright.
- To decorate add a sprig of mint and a vanilla stem.
- Buon Appetito!
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Tags: after school treat, afternoon tea, crema pasticcera, dessert, desserts, food, food photography, food photos, fruit, gourmet cookies, individual dessert, individual desserts, Italian cookie, Italian cookies, Italian dessert, Italian desserts, Italian sweet, pastry cream
Posted in Baking & Pastry, Baking Mise en Place, Custards, Creams & Mousses, Eggs, Pastry Doughs & Batter, Recipes
Comments (57)
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July 22nd, 2011 at 1:58 pm
Wow- beautiful! What an appropriate cookie for this time of year.
July 22nd, 2011 at 2:01 pm
How absolutely gorgeous those look. They do look like peaches, glamorous peaches. The recipe sounds delicious, too.
July 22nd, 2011 at 2:12 pm
I’m in love with these!!! So adorable and I bet incredibly delicious, great job!
July 22nd, 2011 at 2:34 pm
omgoodness I would love to try them with the crema filling!!! Delicious! These are Ricardo’s favourite cookies on the Italian Cookie Tray
I called them “burger cookies” when we first started dating – the first time I saw them, I thought they looked like mini burgers (when held horizantally and the filling was peeking through the edges).
July 22nd, 2011 at 4:08 pm
What beautiful cookes! Thank you for sharing that interesting history with us. I think I’d also prefer the peach jam to the plum.
July 22nd, 2011 at 4:09 pm
I had to do a doubletake. These look incredible.
July 22nd, 2011 at 4:13 pm
These are awesome looking!! I would love to try them.
July 22nd, 2011 at 5:24 pm
Leave it to you and your sisters to make these beautiful cookies. Gorgeous & I bet very tasty
July 22nd, 2011 at 5:53 pm
Your pesche dolci are absolutely gorgeous! I blogged about them some time ago using nutella and crema pasticcera as the filling. I use cherry brandy instead of alchermes. Your recipe is slightly different so I will try yours. You have decorated them so beautifully!!! How long do you think they would keep?
July 22nd, 2011 at 6:17 pm
OMG these are jaw droppers! They are beautiful! No wonder they are made for special occasions. I want to try these so bad…but it looks very complicating. So I will wait for a special occasion to make these. Tomorrow would be good =)
July 22nd, 2011 at 6:44 pm
Marcellina I would like to try adding the nutella next time, did you fill with both or did you do some with nutella and some with crema? Marcellina I decided to try freezing them with the crema and to my astonishment they are just as tasty after thawing in the fridge, I couldn’t believe it. I know my sister freezes the ones with jam all the time and they taste just like if she baked them that day. I made the crema after my sisters left and I filled. I wanted them to try it but knew I wouldn’t be seeing them until this weekend and I wanted the cookies to keep, it was a very nice surprise when they tasted just as good as when I filled them the day they were baked. I would like test and see how long the crema will keep in the freezer. I indulged in one today, 5 days later and the crema is still holding up fine. I spoke with my sister today and mentioned I placed them in the fridge and she too thought it wouldn’t work and was just as surprised as I was. If it works it will be nice for weddings and showers, being able to prepare ahead of time would be wonderful rather than filling day of the event. Funny you should mention the decorating. I had quite the time with the food colouring. I started with a gel paste food colouring and it did not work, for some reason it would not dissolve in the liquor, odd don’t you think? I prefer gel paste and very rarely do I have the liquid on hand, I had to run out for colouring that day.
July 22nd, 2011 at 6:49 pm
Thanks Marla, it was a great day.
July 22nd, 2011 at 6:53 pm
Thank you Evan, they were fun to make.
July 23rd, 2011 at 10:18 am
Nothing can beat these cookies for presentation. They are beautiful — gorgeous on a dessert table. Had them at an Italian wedding two years ago. Was determined to learn how to make them. Surfed the internet for a week. Read recipe after recipe and tried 7 and finally arrived at my favorite “peachesrevisited.” After all those tries, love to pass along some tips. To ensure balls are uniform so that they fit together perfectly when sandwiched, take two sheets of 8 1/2 x 11 bond paper. Trace circles leaving 1 inch apart for cookies to spread. I use the base of a mini tupper ware container to do this — 1 1/4 circle. 9 circles per sheet. Place these two sheets on a large baking tray. Top with parchment paper. Place the round balls of dough on the circles. Lightly tap, yes lightly — do not flatten as cookies shouldn’t be flat when sandwiched together — must be round like a peach. To form balls: Use a small cookie scoup to scoup balls of dough. Seems to go faster if you scoup out a whole bunch of balls of dough. Dump them on a parchment paper. Cover them with a damp cloth to prevent dough from drying. Form round balls. Place the round balls of dough on the traced circles and tap balls of dough till the perfectly fit the circles. To hollow centers: I use a melon baller, the larger end. Works perfectly; however timing is important. The cookies should be slightly warm, not hot or not cold when you scoup. Filling: Ganache, some cookie crumbs, toasted chopped hazelnuts — NOT NUTELLA — TOO SWEET. Alternatively, jam or pastry cream. To color: Mix red and yellow for a perfect orangey/peachy color. I use liquid color mixed in vodka. I paint the peaches with a wide pastry brush. Rosetta of MyCalabria demonstrated these cookies on the Martha Stewart Christmas Show — not sure if the video is still available. Have seen these made up like pears, and always wondered how they shaped them! These are the most beautiful cookies in the world and when filled with Ganache they aren’t sweet at all. Got to try your recipe Grace.
July 23rd, 2011 at 11:22 am
Grace
those cookies are simply magnificent! You need to have your own Italian cooking show!
Cheers
Dennis
July 23rd, 2011 at 12:38 pm
These are very cute.
July 23rd, 2011 at 1:22 pm
I know I say this every time, but I think this is my new favorite dessert of yours! Beautiful, just beautiful! Great job, as usual!
July 23rd, 2011 at 1:33 pm
You are so sweet Dennis – that would be so much fun!
July 23rd, 2011 at 2:31 pm
Beautiful cookies! I’ve got to ask though, what is ‘white martini’? I’ve been googling and can’t quite figure out what you’re using here. Thx!
July 23rd, 2011 at 3:07 pm
Okay feeling a little foolish on this end, I keep all my liquor in the cold room in the basement and whenever I’m baking and preparing my mise en place it’s the one thing I always forget to prepare. Inevitably I am calling out to the kids to get me the different types of liqueur and alcohol. “It’s not here Mom” “yes it is, if you look on the bottle you will see White Martini” – I always refer to the vermouth as white martini because that’s what you can see in big lock letters on the bottle – can’t believe I wrote that not once but twice. Martini is a brand name for an Italian company that produces “White Vermouth”.
July 23rd, 2011 at 4:44 pm
Those are sooo cute! I love them!
July 24th, 2011 at 6:50 pm
Gorgeous cookies! They really do look like peaches…and I like that you’ve provided two yummy filling options~
July 25th, 2011 at 3:32 am
question, how do you take your pictures with a black background? is that just a special place u take them or is it edited to look like a pure black background?
July 25th, 2011 at 11:38 am
My sister was nice enough to sew me a sweep. I picked up the fabric from a local fabric store (made sure it wasn’t a shiny fabric) and she stitched it up and she attached velcro to one side which makes it very easy for me to attach to my light box. I’m having a hard time switching back to other sweeps because I love the look of the black drop.
July 25th, 2011 at 7:33 pm
These are so beautiful, Grace!
July 26th, 2011 at 4:36 am
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July 26th, 2011 at 7:47 am
These are gorgeous! Beautiful job.. I’ve never had these so I’ll have to try out both fillings!
July 26th, 2011 at 8:48 pm
Lovely peach cookies ..which dont have any peach
They look great but I would skip the “special agent” as well!
July 29th, 2011 at 2:12 am
These are absolutely fabulous!
July 30th, 2011 at 6:41 pm
Absolutely Delightful. The concept, the presentation -everything. Especially like the sugar on the outside to make the Pesche “fuzzie”.
Cheers,
Mr Foodicle.
August 5th, 2011 at 7:35 pm
[...] Pastry Cream}**Please follow recipe below but reduce sugar to 150 g (½-cup + 2 tablespoons).Crema Pasticcera RecipeRelated posts:Cannoncini alla Crema Pasticcera (Pastry Horns with Italian Pastry Cream)Pesche Dolci [...]
August 25th, 2011 at 10:36 am
Wow, it’s delicious, I’m hungry now !
September 9th, 2011 at 9:05 am
OMG! They look beautifull!
September 9th, 2011 at 10:29 am
Thank you Corina
October 11th, 2011 at 2:36 pm
hello, i was wonderings if these cookies freeze well.
October 13th, 2011 at 9:39 pm
Hi Sonya
The cookies with the jam filling freeze very well up to a few months. I was concerned about freezing the cookies with the crema pasticcera but I was pleasantly surprised, I’ve had a batch in the freezer since I made these and I enjoyed one the other day and it was delicious, the crema held up very well. I freeze in an airtight container a few layers deep with baking paper in between the layers and I transfer to the fridge to thaw. p.s. so sorry for the late reply I’ve been hit with quite a bit of spam and I didn’t see your comment amongst all of the junk mail.
October 24th, 2011 at 6:47 pm
such happy colorful cookies! Love them
. I am certainly keeping this recipe. Thanks for sharing, Grace!
November 23rd, 2011 at 4:33 pm
Hi Grace, I just love your photography. I also love the recipes. I first made the peach cookies 43 years ago with 2 cousins in preparation for my wedding sweet table. I’ve only made them about a dozen times since, just for family weddings. My old recipe was rather vague, no real measurements especially for the flour, everything was done according to how it felt. Now I can leave a proper recipe (yours) for my daughter, granddaughters etc. I’ve just made a batch for my niece’s 50th birthday this week-end. I used a 2 tsp. scoop for measurement and my cookies baked in 15 minutes. I’ve filled, and put them together but haven’t done the dipping yet, which is why I’m writing. Have you refrigerated them after completion? and have you ever made a batch and frozen them?
November 24th, 2011 at 10:49 am
Thank you so much Elaine. I completely understand the vagueness of recipes. I’ve been working away with my sisters trying to get all the recipes perfected and in written form. Most of our recipes leave the flour out, “whatever it takes” is usually what is written. Or for every egg use two tablespoons of sugar etc. I felt the same as you wanting to hand down the recipes. I think our generation will easily try to perfect the recipes but I’m not so sure our children would take the time but if they have a recipe I think the traditions will continue. We freeze the jam filled cookies all the time, for months at a time and they freeze beautifully. I did try freezing the custard filled cookies and they were fine for a few weeks but only yesterday I removed the last of them from the freezer and placed them in the fridge to thaw, they didn’t hold up well after the first few weeks. They were quite soft and wet. I think in the future if I want to make the cream filled I will make the cookies and freeze them before filling leaving me only to fill and colour when I want to enjoy. All the best Elaine.
November 26th, 2011 at 1:54 pm
Hi Grace, Elaine again. Further to my earlier e-mail, I only used the scoop for the first few cookies just to get an idea of the size to roll into balls. The dough is quite sticky so a scoop doesn’t work. Also for coloring, I tried dipping but got some colour on my fingers and found this messing the cookies, so I used my cake decorating brushes and actually painted the cookies, thus avoiding the line. It was easier, not as messy and I thought they looked quite real, so did guests at a birthday party today. I would state for anyone trying this for the first time, it is rather labour intensive for one person, so best to solicit someone’s help, at least one more person. I also froze some and they were fine. In the past we also made smaller ones and colored them red and purple to resemble plums.
December 1st, 2011 at 9:08 pm
Yes the scoop is difficult to work with. Did you notice my tip about oiling your hands? Oiling your hands, although messy, makes it much easier to roll the dough. Elaine I can’t believe you had the patience to paint each cookie, I tip my hat to you! I will have to try the plums. I noticed one my visitors used my amaretti cookies and sandwiched them together and coloured them to resemble pomegranates, they looked fantastic, I want to make some of those too.
December 1st, 2011 at 9:14 pm
Hi Elaine I just noticed my return comment never published. Yes I find the scoop is too difficult to work with. Did you notice my tip about oiling you hands. I find oiling my hands makes it much easier to roll the dough, a little messy but it helps. I can’t wait to try the plums I bet they look amazing. I can’t believe you painted every cookie Elaine, I tip my hat to you! One of my visitors used a cross between my amaretti cookies and the pesche method and they used the amaretti and sandwiched the cookies with a filling and then coloured them to resemble pomegranates, they looked amazing. I can’t wait to try them. Here’s the link if you’re curious – http://www.sugarflowerscreations.com/ If you put this link in the search bar it will list the post and you can access the translator, I think the site is in the Greek language. And you are so right about getting a few people together to make the cookies, turn on the music, chat and have fun. I usually make them with my sisters and my Mom.
December 3rd, 2011 at 1:53 pm
Hi Grace, yes I oiled my hands and this does help. Can you tell me what peach jam you used? I tried the new President’s Choice Peach but found it really thick and not much flavour. I make my own spiced peach jam but didn’t have any on hand, I’ll make some for the next batch of cookies. For the plums I use plum jam, usually bought at a European market, and I find it has good flavour and isn’t too thick. Next I’m going to try your chocolate ones. Love your site. I’ve told all the sister’s, sister-in-laws, nieces and the girl’s at Golda’s Kitchen about it.
December 3rd, 2011 at 2:42 pm
Hi Elaine I usually can my own jams and jelly too but unfortunately this year with the book I didn’t have the time. I’m lucky because I have a small specialized market about a block from my house and they sell homemade jam and jellies and for this particular batch I purchased the jam there. It doesn’t have a name brand. I love Golda’s, I get to the store every once in a while. Unfortunately I’m at my sister’s mercy and when they can make the trip, I can only drive 20 minutes before pain sets in. I buy a really great product from them for pie filling, clearjel. And I order quite a few things from them online. Thank you so much for the support Elaine! I can’t wait to get back to posting regularly, hopefully in the new year. There’s a bunch of things I want to share.
December 22nd, 2011 at 10:29 am
Our family tradition is to fill one side of the cookie with lemon pie filling and one side with chocolate pudding “to look like the peach stone”. The outside is “painted” with coloured peach schnapps. Its great to read about these cookies as my Italian family always wondered where they came from.
December 23rd, 2011 at 7:47 pm
OMG Teresa they sound amazing! My niece was asking me for a lemon treat just last night, I am going to have to try your variation and I’m liking the Peach Scnapps too. Happy Holidays!
January 7th, 2012 at 2:57 pm
Hi Grace I came to know about your Blog from January 4th’s Globe and mail.And what I saw was simply stunning. These peach cookies really look like actual peaches. I am speechless how wonderful they are.
It will take me long time to check each and every recipe. Do you have anything that is gluten free.
January 7th, 2012 at 9:53 pm
Welcome Neetu! Neetu it’s one of my goals this year to learn more about gluten free treats, gluten free in general really because my daughter suffers terribly from migraines and she removed gluten from her diet for about 2 months and we found it helped to reduce the severity of the migraines. I must say it was very difficult for me in the kitchen because I don’t know enough about gluten free in general and I am hoping to change that this year. I notice your site is gluten free and I’m looking forward to perusing your posts and learning as much as I can from you, hope you don’t mind. All the best to you and your family in 2012.
March 13th, 2012 at 11:45 am
Hi there –
tried a recipe that is identical to yours, and the dough was SO sticky, wet, melty, etc. I let it sit for an hour (it was already 1130pm) and tried to roll with oiled hands. It wouldn’t even hold a roll shape and by the time I got to the bottom of the bowl, it was just wet. Any ideas as to what went wrong? should i have let rest in the refrigerator? they came out “ok” but not nearly as round as I had hoped…
March 13th, 2012 at 4:19 pm
B I’m not sure where the differences are from my batter to the one you’re using but I’m wondering if you didn’t let the batter rest long enough. With my batter I let it stand for 2 hours. Could you email me (grace at gracessweetlife dot com) the recipe you have? Once I see it I will be able to better help you. The dough is sticky hence the oiled hands but after resting for a couple of hours it should be much easier to work with. You’ll notice mine aren’t as round this time because I was so busy the day I made this batch that I didn’t let the batter rest. And although I didn’t let it rest it still wasn’t wet like you’re describing, wondering if the difference is with the amount of flour. One thing I would really like to point out, most European recipes are based on weighing ingredients and it can really make a huge difference in a recipe. I couldn’t believe how much better my baking became after I bought a scale. Recipes I’d made for years were coming out beautifully.
April 20th, 2012 at 4:19 pm
They are the best looking pesche that I have ever seen. I have never made them myself but you have seriously put temptation in my way. I am going to get a recipe out and give them a go. The ones that I did buy in Italy were very sweet and I really didn’t like them at all.
One note on Alchermes — it has a very distinctive flavour that rum cannot offer. I would try it if it is possible. I small about goes a long way and you will like it.
April 20th, 2012 at 4:37 pm
Yvonne I do want to try it but unfortunately not available here but I am definitely going to bring a bottle home on my next trip to Italy.
July 29th, 2012 at 9:30 pm
[...] most about that day was the smell of the ready to eat peaches at the farmer’s market. Grace at gracessweetlife.com offers some juicy peach recipes that take me back to that wonderful day in Niagara Falls, NY. [...]
August 6th, 2012 at 12:01 am
[...] Glaze by White on Rice Couple 12. Herbed Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Peaches by Simply Recipes 13. Italian Peach Cookies by La Mia Vita Dolce 14. Mini Peach Pies by Poor Girl Eats Well 15. Peach and Blueberry Crumbles by [...]
December 27th, 2012 at 9:33 am
[...] Pesche-Italian Cookies-Italian Pastry-Italian Dessert-Crema Pasticcera [...]
April 12th, 2013 at 1:15 pm
Grace, these look lovely! We’ve adapted our recipe to exclude the Alkermes (also not available here) but did bring back a small bottle of ‘zuppa inglese’ exract last time we were in Italy. Not exact but a good substitute. I’ve posted about them but would like to update with a link to your site to share this if that is ok.
Thank you,
April 12th, 2013 at 3:23 pm
Absolutely and thank you Mary. The flavouring sounds wonderful, wonder if we can get that here? My brother was just in Italy and I didn’t think to ask him to bring me a few goodies.