Peach Cookies
Soft, buttery sandwich cookies filled with peach jam and painted with tinted milk to look just like real peaches, then rolled in sparkling sugar and garnished with fresh mint. A stunning Italian-inspired dessert that makes approximately 17 beautiful finished cookies.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 10 1/2 tablespoons butter softened
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons sour cream
- 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Peach jam or preserves for filling
- 6 tablespoons milk divided into two portions of 3 tablespoons each
- Red food coloring
- Yellow food coloring
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar for rolling
- Fresh mint leaves for garnish (optional)
- A clean paintbrush
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter, granulated sugar, and light brown sugar on medium-low for about 1 minute until creamy. Mix in the egg and vanilla. Add sour cream and mix until smooth.
- With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture and mix until just combined.
- Scoop dough one level tablespoon at a time. With buttered hands, roll each portion into a smooth ball. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 14 to 15 minutes until the bottoms are lightly golden. Cool completely on a wire rack.
- Spread about 1 teaspoon of peach jam across the flat bottom of one cookie. Press a second cookie over the jam to form a sandwich. Repeat with remaining cookies.
- Pour 3 tablespoons of milk into each of two small bowls. Tint one with red food coloring until vibrant pink and the other with yellow food coloring until bright yellow.
- Using a clean paintbrush, lightly paint yellow milk across each cookie, leaving some areas bare. Then paint red milk across unpainted areas, blending where the colors meet. Use as little milk as possible.
- Immediately roll each painted cookie in granulated sugar to coat all over. Tuck fresh mint leaves into the side of each cookie as a peach leaf garnish if desired.
- Store in an airtight container.
Notes
Use as little tinted milk as possible during painting — too much will make the cookies soggy.
Roll in sugar immediately after painting while the surface is still slightly damp so the sugar adheres.
Work one or two cookies at a time through the paint-and-roll process.
Butter your hands before rolling the dough to prevent sticking.
Cool cookies completely before filling or the jam will run.
Store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days, or refrigerate for up to 5 days.
Unfilled, undecorated cookie halves can be frozen for up to 2 months.
Roll in sugar immediately after painting while the surface is still slightly damp so the sugar adheres.
Work one or two cookies at a time through the paint-and-roll process.
Butter your hands before rolling the dough to prevent sticking.
Cool cookies completely before filling or the jam will run.
Store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days, or refrigerate for up to 5 days.
Unfilled, undecorated cookie halves can be frozen for up to 2 months.