Peach Cookies with Dulce de Leche Filling (persiki): elegant yet tender cookies filled with dulce de leche and finished with carrot and beet juices. Perfect for holidays and special occasions.
Peach Cookies Recipe:
These charming Peach Pastries are often made for major holidays like Christmas and Easter, as well as for celebrations such as weddings. Their visual appeal makes them a standout on any dessert table, though they are delightful any time of year. Despite their peach-like appearance and name, they don’t taste like fresh peaches — they offer a richer, more indulgent flavor thanks to the dulce de leche filling.
They take a bit of time to prepare, mainly because of the decoration, but the method is straightforward. The cookies bake with a slightly firm exterior that gives way to a tender interior. The dulce de leche filling mixed with cookie crumbs adds a creamy, irresistible center. The final touch — tapping on carrot and beet juice to create a peach-like hue and dipping in sugar — makes these pastries elegant and eye-catching.
If you’re preparing multiple servings, mixing each batch separately helps ensure consistent texture and results.
Peach Cookies Ingredients:
- 2 large eggs (room temperature)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature (1/4 cup)
- 2 tablespoons sour cream
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
- 3 cups all-purpose flour (you may need up to 3 1/4 cups)
Dulce de Leche Filling Ingredients:
- 1 can dulce de leche
- 1/4 stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature
- Cookie crumbs saved from the baked cookies
Peach Cookies Decorating Ingredients:
- 1 medium raw carrot
- 1 medium raw beet
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 drops vanilla extract
How to Make Peach Cookies:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly oil a nonstick cookie sheet and set aside. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs and sugar on high for 1 1/2–2 minutes until the sugar begins to dissolve. Add the butter, sour cream, and vanilla and continue beating on high about 1 minute until combined. Small butter bits are fine.
2. In a small bowl, mix the baking soda and vinegar to create a fizz, then pour into the batter and blend well. Sift about 1 cup of flour into the bowl and beat on low until incorporated. As the mixture thickens, sift in the remaining flour (total 3–3 1/4 cups) and finish forming the dough by hand.
Forming Peach Cookies Before Baking:
3. Lightly oil a large cutting board and a thin knife (wipe a paper towel dipped in oil across the blade). Shape the dough into balls about 1 1/2 inches in diameter — you should have roughly 25–26. Use the oiled knife to cut each ball in half; wipe the knife with an oiled towel every 5–6 cuts to prevent dragging. Place the halved dough pieces on the baking sheet 1–2 inches apart and press the edges gently to round them if needed. Bake 13–15 minutes, until the bottoms show a light golden color.
Remove the cookies from the baking sheet immediately to prevent overbaking. Using a small knife, carefully scoop a shallow circle from the center of the bottom of each cookie, leaving a border around the edge. Save the scooped crumbs in a bowl for the filling.
How to Make Dulce de Leche Filling:
4. In a medium bowl, beat the dulce de leche with the room-temperature butter until smooth and free of butter lumps. Crumble the reserved cookie scraps by hand and mix about half of them into the dulce de leche until the mixture holds together without becoming runny.
Pair up cookie halves before filling. Use a dull-tipped knife or similar tool to spread plain dulce de leche into each hollowed cookie, filling halfway and ensuring the sides are covered. Top with the dulce de leche and crumb mixture until the cookie is flat. Press two filled halves together, filling sides facing, to form each peach pastry.
How to Decorate Peach Cookies:
5. Grate the carrot and beet finely. Place each grated vegetable onto a paper towel, gather the towel and squeeze to extract the juice into separate small bowls — you should get about a tablespoon from each. Stir a tiny amount of vanilla into each juice (a drop or so).
Prepare 6–8 small paper towel squares. Lightly dip a towel corner into carrot juice and gently tap the cookie surface to apply color where you want it. Use a second towel corner dipped in beet juice to add deeper accents, creating a peach-like gradient. Do not dip the entire cookie into the juices or it will become soggy.
Immediately roll or dip the decorated cookies in granulated sugar before the juices dry to achieve a sugared finish. Place the cookies on a plate or in a serving bowl and let them sit at room temperature a few hours so they soften as they absorb the filling. They can be stored at room temperature for a couple of days or refrigerated if preferred. Enjoy!
Peach Cookies with Dulce de Leche Filling (persiki)
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Ingredients
COOKIES INGREDIENTS:
- 2 large eggs, room temp
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter – room temp
- 2 tablespoons sour cream
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
- 3–3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
PEACH FILLING INGREDIENTS:
- 1 can dulce de leche
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- cookie crumbs, from baked cookies
PEACH DECOR INGREDIENTS:
- 1 raw medium carrot
- 1 raw medium beet
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 drops vanilla extract
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly oil a nonstick cookie sheet. In a medium bowl, beat eggs and sugar 1 1/2–2 minutes until slightly dissolved. Add butter, sour cream and vanilla; beat about 1 minute until combined.
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Mix baking soda and vinegar and add to the batter. Sift in about 1 cup flour and mix on low. Add the remaining flour as needed to form a soft dough and finish by hand.
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Oil a cutting board and knife. Form 1 1/2″ dough balls (about 25–26), cut each in half, place on a baking sheet and bake 13–15 minutes until lightly golden on the bottom. Remove cookies and gently scoop a small circle from the bottom of each, saving the crumbs for filling.
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To make the filling: Beat dulce de leche with butter until smooth. Mix in half of the cookie crumbs until the mixture holds together. Fill the scooped cookies first with plain dulce de leche, then top with the crumb mixture, and press pairs together to form each peach.
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Decorating: Grate carrot and beet and squeeze out the juices. Add a drop of vanilla to each juice. Lightly tap cookie surfaces with paper towel corners dipped in carrot and beet juices to create color accents; do not soak the cookies. Roll or dip the finished cookies in sugar while the juices are still wet. Let sit at room temperature a few hours so they soften, or store refrigerated if preferred. Enjoy!