Peach Cookies {Pesche Con Crema / Persiki}

May 3, 2013

Peach Cookies are soft cookie halves, hollowed out, filled with dulce de leche cream, pressed into pairs, then tinted and rolled in sanding sugar until they look like small ripe peaches. Not a single peach in them. And that is the fun of it.

If you love this kind of old-school cookie, my Oreshki and Plum Butter Cookies belong on the same tray.

Peach cookies that look like real peaches filled with dulce de leche in a white bowl

I grew up with persiki (russian word for peaches) at weddings, birthdays, or any table set for a crowd. Then I found out Italians have been making their own version (pesche dolci or “sweet peaches,” in Italy) just as long, and I have been a little obsessed with the overlap ever since.

Why you’ll love these peach cookies

Every one of these is a reason readers keep coming back to this recipe:

They look like REAL peaches that look so whimsical on a dessert platter.
Dulce de leche cream filling – rich caramel against a mild, tender cookie. No pasty, tastes-like-nothing bite anywhere.
No crumbs in the filling – not traditional, but the only way to go! Most recipes tell you to add the crumbs into the filling, which makes the whole thing go “blah”.
Sparkling sanding sugar coat – each cookie glitters, and the sugar does not melt away as they sit.
A make-ahead party dessert – they get better overnight, not worse.

How’s this recipe different?

Three deliberate upgrades over the versions I grew up eating:

The filling is cream, not paste. Most recipes mix the scooped-out crumbs into the cream. That thickens it into a paste and buries the flavor. I leave the crumbs out. The filling is dulce de leche whipped with butter, nothing else – the bite shot at the bottom shows exactly what I mean.
Coarse sanding sugar instead of fine. Fine sugar dissolves into the wet coloring and disappears. Coarse sugar sparkles and survives.
An uncovered stand before storing. A cookie left out on the counter taught me this one – the open air dries the outside into a thin crisp shell while the filling keeps the inside soft. Details in the tips below.

Slavic persiki vs Italian pesche dolci

Same fool-the-eye trick, two kitchens that never compared notes. The idea is very close to the Italian Pesche all’Alchermes. The real differences are two:

The filling. Italians fill theirs with pastry cream or sweetened ricotta. Slavic kitchens use dulce de leche, and in my opinion, that wins.
The color. Italian recipes dip the cookies in alchermes, a red spiced Italian liqueur that colors and flavors at once. I use tinted water instead- alcohol-free, costs nothing, and alchermes is hard to find in most American stores anyway.

Ingredients for peach cookies

Everything here is a pantry staple except the dulce de leche and the sanding sugar. Exact amounts are in the recipe card at the bottom – here is what each one brings:

Peach Cookie

Eggs – room temperature. They whip up with more volume than cold ones.
Sugar – sets the tender, sandy texture, so do not reduce it.
Vanilla sugar – plain vanilla extract works too.
Butter – gives the dough its rich, tender bite.
Flour – added in two stages. Add a little to the batter; add the rest after an hour of resting. The split matters – see step 1.
Baking powder – enough lift to dome the balls without cracking them.

Dulce de Leche Cream

Butter – room temperature, not soft. The one ingredient people get wrong – see the check in step 4.
Dulce de leche – jarred, or cooked from sweetened condensed milk.
Nutella – optional, and very good here.

Coating

Food coloring – yellow and red, dissolved in water. Use liquid or gel, not powder – see the tips.
Coarse sanding sugar – not granulated. Granulated melts into the coloring and vanishes.

How to make peach cookies (Step-by-Step)

The whole thing is seven steps, and only the last one takes patience. Photos sit under the steps they belong to.

Make the dough
- Beat the eggs, sugar, and vanilla sugar until combined. Mix in the butter.
- Mix in the smaller portion of the flour with the baking powder – the split is in the recipe card.
- Rest 1 hour – skip the rest and the cookies crack heavily in the oven.
- Work in the remaining flour.
Bake the halves
- Roll the dough into small, even balls. A cookie scoop keeps them uniform.
- Flatten each ball slightly. Leave about an inch between them.
- Bake until pale on top with lightly golden bottoms. Browned reads as cookie; pale reads as peach.
- Let them cool just slightly – the next step needs them warm.
Hollow them while warm
- Scoop a cavity in each half with a melon baller.
- Work straight off the sheet – warm cookies carve clean, cooled ones crack. Cup the cookie in your hand, then use a melon baller or a teaspoon to carve out the center.
- Set the crumbs aside. They do not go in the filling – see below for what to do with them.
Make the dulce de leche cream
- Whip the butter until fluffy and pale.
- Add the dulce de leche and the Nutella if using, then whip until smooth.
- Butter check: press it with a finger. It should take the fingerprint and hold its shape. If your finger sinks straight in, it is too warm.
Sandwich the halves
- Fill both cavities generously.
- Press two halves together into one peach.
- Match halves by size, or the peach comes out lopsided.
Blush and sparkle
- Dissolve yellow food coloring in a small bowl of water, and red in a second bowl.
- Dip one second per side – yellow, then red. Any longer and the cookies fall apart.
- Let the excess drip off, or dab it against a paper towel to collect excess liquid, then roll in sanding sugar while the surface is still damp. And just like that – peaches!
Let them stand
- Leave them uncovered for a few hours – overnight is even better.
- Straight out of the filling, the halves still slide apart. Standing glues them into one solid cookie.
- The outside dries to a thin crisp shell while the filling softens the inside.

Marina’s Pro Tips for
the Best Peach Cookies

Nine small things separate convincing peaches from lumpy pink cookies:

Don’t skip the rest – the cookie batter is allowed to rest for an hour before adding the remaining ingredients. Do not skip it, or the cookies will crack as they bake.
Take the butter out of the fridge at the start – by filling time it lands at that press-but-holds stage on its own.
Use a cookie scoop to measure out the batter for each cookie. Mismatched halves make lopsided peaches.
Hollow while warm – cooled cookies crack under the scoop.
Pull them pale, not browned – and if your bakes always run ahead of the recipe, an oven thermometer will tell you why. Most home ovens run off their dial.
Dip fast, never soak – a one-second dunk per side gives the blush.
Coarse sanding sugar only – fine sugar melts into the coating and vanishes.
The uncovered stand IS the recipe – it glues the halves, crisps the shell, and softens the middle. Skip it, and you get soggy cookies.
Liquid or gel coloring, never powder – powder will not dissolve fully in the water, so the blush comes out patchy instead of vibrant and even.
Make them a day early – the flavor deepens overnight, and the texture peaks on day two.

This is what a few hours of open air does – the coating sets into a shell that holds its shine:

Ways to serve them

These are built for a table, not a cookie jar. A few ways I actually use them:

Piled in a bowl like real fruit – half the fun is watching someone reach for a “peach.”
On a holiday cookie tray – next to Oreshki and Trubochki, they carry the whole dulce de leche theme.
As edible favors – two in a little box for showers and weddings.
And the leftover crumbs: stir them into softened ice cream, roll them with a spoonful of dulce de leche into truffles, or scatter over yogurt like a crumble. They keep in a jar for a week.

How to Store Peach Cookies

First few hours: uncovered at room temperature – the drying stage is a feature, not a step to skip.
Room temperature: loosely covered, up to 2 days.
Fridge: up to 5 days, covered. The butter filling firms up cold, so let them sit out a bit before serving.
Freezer: filled but uncoated, up to a month. Thaw, then color and sugar them fresh.

Make It Ahead

These are happiest made the day before the event – bake, fill, color, and let them stand overnight. The shell sets and the cookie drinks in the dulce de leche, so day two beats day one every time. On party morning, you just arrange the bowl.

Peach Cookies FAQ

Why did my peach cookies turn out soggy?

They were sealed in a container straight after dipping. The coloring adds surface moisture that needs a few hours of open air to dry into a shell. Stand them uncovered first, then store loosely covered.

Why are my cookies cracking when I hollow them?

They cooled too far. Hollow them warm, in batches straight off the sheet. Warm crumb carves like butter, cold crumb shatters.

Why won’t my sanding sugar stick?

The cookies dripped too long, or the coloring dried before you added the sugar. Work one cookie at a time: dip, shake off the excess, roll in sugar while the surface is still damp.

Do I have to wait before serving them?

At least a few hours; overnight is better. Before that, the halves still slide apart, and the shell has not set. The wait is what turns two cookies into one peach.

Do peach cookies taste like peaches?

No – the peach is a costume. The cookie is mild and buttery, and the filling is dulce de leche cream. Some Italian versions add peach jam, but the Slavic classic is all dulce de leche.

Are peach cookies Russian or Italian?

Both, independently. Slavic kitchens make persiki with dulce de leche. Italians make pesche dolci with pastry cream or ricotta, dipped in alchermes liqueur. Same idea, two traditions.

Can I make them without alcohol?

Mine already are – I color with tinted water, not liqueur, so these are fine for kids. If you want the traditional Italian flavor, alchermes is the classic dip.

Can you freeze peach cookies?

Yes – filled but uncoated. Thaw in the fridge, then dip and sugar them fresh. Freezing after coloring makes the sugar weep as it thaws.

What can I use instead of dulce de leche?

Thick pastry cream or peach jam both work – the Italian route – though they make a softer, wetter filling. Cooked sweetened condensed milk is the classic homemade stand-in.

How many cookies does this recipe make?

That depends on the size you roll – the exact portion is in the recipe card. What matters more is consistency: uneven halves will not pair up into a peach.

More Slavic cookies to try

If the dulce de leche filling is your favorite part, you are in the right corner of this site:

Oreshki – walnut-shaped cookies with the same dulce de leche filling.
Plum Butter Cookies – shortbread with plum butter and buttercream.
Trubochki – crispy wafer rolls with dulce de leche.
Dulce de Leche Buttercream – the same filling idea, in frosting form.
Amaretti Cookies – gluten- and dairy-free almond cookies.

Make a bowl of peaches, set it on the table, and count the double takes. Then let the baking begin!

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Peach Cookies

4.67 from 9 votes

Peach Cookies look like a peach, but really are two halves of soft cookie dough baked, then hollowed and stuffed with delicious Dulce de Leche filling.

Author: Marina | Let the Baking Begin

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Russian, Ukrainian

Keyword: peach cookies

Calories: 170 kcal

Prep Time: 2 hours

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 7 hours

Servings: 40 cookies

Ingredients

Peach Cookies

4 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup unsalted butter melted and cooled
4 Tbsp all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
3 ½ cups all-purpose flour fluffed, gently scooped, leveled (1 cup=150g)

Dulce de Leche Filling

8 oz unsalted butter room temperature
1 can Dulce de Leche / cooked sweetened condensed milk room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
40 whole roasted hazelnuts (optional)

Decorating

1 cup sanding sugar
Yellow Food Coloring
Red
2 cups water (divided)
Mint Leaves

Tools

1 ziplock or pastry bag
melon baller

Instructions

How to make Peach Cookie Shells

Mix together 4 large eggs, 1 cup granulated sugar, and 1 tsp vanilla extract until combined.
Add 1 cup unsalted butter, stir to combine. Add 4 Tbsp all-purpose flour & 2 tsp baking powder. Mix thoroughly to combine. Rest covered for 1 hour.
Meanwhile, line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
After 1 hour - Preheat oven to 350F with the rack centered.
Add 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour into the runny dough we prepared earlier and mix thoroughly.
Shape: Pinch away a piece of dough the size of a large cherry, or use a #60 scoop to scoop 15 g of dough and roll it into a ball.
Flatten slightly on the tray and leave about 1 inch (2-3 cm) between each ball. You can oil or water your hands to prevent sticking.
Bake for 10-12 minutes at 350F. The cookies should remain fairly pale on top, with the bottoms lightly golden.
Continue shaping the rest of the dough while the first batch is baking. Then bake the second batch when the first one is out of the oven.
Cool the cookies until you can hold them in your hand.
Cup the cookie in the palm of your hand, bottom up. Using a melon baller or a teaspoon, hollow out the center to make room for the filling. Scoop until the shell is about 1/4 inch thick.
Keep the cookie scraps for something else, we won't need them for this recipe.

How to make the Dulce de Leche Filling

Whip butter: With a mixer fitted with a whip attachment, whip 8 oz unsalted butteruntil white and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Make sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl throughout the process.
Add 1 can Dulce de Leche / cooked sweetened condensed milk & 1 tsp vanilla extract,and whip again, until well combined, about 1 minute.
Fill a ziplock bag with the filling & snip the end.

Assembling the Peach Cookies

Fill the cookies:
Pair the cookies by size.
Fill each half with the filling, slightly overfilling so the two halves stick together. Add 1 hazlenut to one of the halves. Press the two filled halves together. Wipe off any extra cream.
Prepare the sugar: Add 1 cup sanding sugar to a bowl.
Make the colors: You'll need 2 small bowls, each filled with 1 cup of water, to dip the prepared cookies into.
Add 1 cup of water into each bowl. Add Yellow Food Coloringto one bowl and Red to the other. Stir to dissolve...
Dip: Quickly dip the whole cookie into the yellow ‘cup’ and then only half of the cookie into the red. They should now resemble a peach in color. Dab lightly against a folded paper towel to absorb any extra liquid.
Roll in the sparkling sugar. Place on the tray.
Leave at room temperature for a couple of hours. This lets the moisture redistribute evenly throughout the cookie while the outside dries. Do not leave in a closed container, or the cookies will become soggy.
Then refrigerate - line a container with a paper towel and add the cookies in a single layer. Cover with a lid and refrigerate.
Garnish: Right before you serve the cookies, insert the hearts of Mint Leaves to make them look like real leaves from peach trees.

Nutrition Facts

Peach Cookies

Amount Per Serving (1 cookie)

Calories 170 Calories from Fat 90

% Daily Value*

Fat 10g15%

Saturated Fat 6g38%

Trans Fat 0.4g

Polyunsaturated Fat 0.5g

Monounsaturated Fat 3g

Cholesterol 43mg14%

Sodium 9mg0%

Potassium 43mg1%

Carbohydrates 19g6%

Fiber 0.3g1%

Sugar 10g11%

Protein 2g4%

Vitamin A 311IU6%

Calcium 16mg2%

Iron 1mg6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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I first published this recipe in 2013, back when these were simply the cookies my family made for every celebration. I updated it in August 2026 with the crumb-free dulce de leche cream filling, the uncovered standing trick that keeps the shell crisp, new step-by-step photos, and answers to the questions readers kept sending me.pu

Russian / Ukrainian, Christmas, Easter, Holiday, Make ahead, Special Diet, Sweet, Thanksgiving, Valentine's Day, Butter, Dulce de Leche, Milk, Peaches

Marina | Let the Baking Begin

Welcome to Let the Baking Begin! I'm Marina and my love and passion for eating only the most delicious foods drive me to share that love here on Let the Baking Begin (since 2009). With over 20 years of experience in the kitchen, you know the recipes are tested and retested until perfect. I'm so happy to have you here. Enjoy! Read more...

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4.67 from 9 votes (6 ratings without comment)

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Peach Cookies {Pesche Con Crema / Persiki}

Why you’ll love these peach cookies

How’s this recipe different?

Slavic persiki vs Italian pesche dolci

Ingredients for peach cookies

How to make peach cookies (Step-by-Step)

Marina’s Pro Tips for
the Best Peach Cookies

Ways to serve them

How to Store Peach Cookies

Make It Ahead