20 Days of Christmas Cookies - Day 6

The Italian Peach Cookie

Originally a celebratory cookie from Italy and typically baked for Easter and Christmas, these cookies are now found in Italian bakeries all year. There is a pastry that looks like a peach, which originated in Tuscany. They are similar in appearance, but the pastry is made of dough and is larger than the cookie I will show you today. This cookie is easy to make, tasty, and will delight everyone who gets one. It basically is 2 cookies sandwiched together, rolled in a liqueur and granulated sugar. The filling in the peach cookie is the pit of the peach, the liqueur gives the peach cookies their color, and rolling them in the sugar mimics the peach fuzz.

The Italian Peach cookie looks like a real peach will make a beautiful addition to any Christmas cookie tray or a cherished food gift.

Ingredients

½ prepared Basic Cookie Dough

½ cup raspberry preserves

¼ cup good quality chocolate broken into pieces

1 TBSP shortening

2 cups Alize Liqueur

¼ cup maraschino cherry juice

1 ½ cups granulated sugar

Mint leaves or green buttercream frosting leaves for garnish

 Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Using your greased medium-sized cookie scoop, scoop the cookies onto an 11x15 inch cookie/jelly roll pan

3. Roll each cookie between your hands to smooth out.

4. Bake for 10 - 12 minutes, or just until set.

5. Slightly loosen the cookies using a small thin spatula, and let them cool slightly.

6. Using the small side of a melon baller, take a bit out of each cookie, leaving enough of an edge, and place it in a bowl and crush them to a crumb.

7. Melt the chocolate and shortening together until the chocolate is smooth.

8. Melt the raspberry preserves in a microwave for 20 seconds.

9. Add the melted chocolate and melted raspberry preserves to the cookie crumbs.

10. Fill each cookie with the crumb mixture and sandwich them together. It’s ok if a small bit of the filling oozes out.

11.      Pour the Alize and maraschino cherry juice together in one small bowl.

12. Pour the granulated sugar into a separate small bowl.

13. Roll each cookie in the Ailze mixture, then the granulated sugar.

14. Place the cookie on its seam and let dry.

15. Place 2 mint leaves on each cookie seam, or pipe 2 buttercream frosting leaves on each cookie seam.

16. When completely dry, the cookies will have a slight crust.