These Peach Italian cookies are two soft cookies filled with peach curd, that resemble a real peach. They're dipped in a peach flavored syrup and are full of peach flavor! The cookies are coated in sugar to resemble the fuzzy peach coating on real peaches. Inspired by a popular Italian cookie called Peschi Dolci - these peach look-alike cookies are beloved all over the world.
You'll also love my Italian lemon cookies which are shaped like lemons, inspired by these classic Italian peach cookies.

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🍑 Why you'll LOVE this recipe
- Soft & moist cookies: They're soft and tender with a moist filling, more reminiscent to filled pastries than crunchy cookies.
- Olive oil cookie dough: Olive oil gives the cookies a subtle earthy flavor while keeping them soft.
- Peach curd filling: They're filled with a tangy, creamy peach curd that's packed full of peach flavor.
- Peach shaped: Dipped in vibrant lemon peach flavored syrup to resemble real peaches, they're the perfect centerpiece for summer celebrations, parties, and weddings.

📝 Key ingredients
Read through for all the tips you will need for success!
Full steps and ingredients in recipe card below.

Olive oil: I love using an extra virgin olive oil for a touch of earthy olive oil flavor. You can use a light olive oil if you don't like the flavor of olive oil. Vegetable oil will also work really well.
All purpose flour: Weigh the flour to get the most accurate results. If you don’t have a scale, measure properly by stirring the bag and spooning gently into a measuring cup. Scrape the excess off the top with the flat edge off a knife without packing it into the cup.
Peach curd: I used a batch of tangy and rich homemade peach curd to fill these cookies. You can also fill them with peach jam, custard, or dulce de leche. Or even nutella!
Peach liquor or soju: This adds a delightful peach flavor to the syrup and keeps the cookies soft and moist. It adds a touch of alcohol but not enough to make these cookies boozy since they only get a quick dunk into the spiked syrup. You can omit this if you prefer no alcohol.
Basil or mint leaves: Poke fresh herb leaves into the cookie tops to make the peach cookies appear as though they'd just been picked.
👩🍳 How to make Italian peach cookies
Olive oil cookie dough step by step

Step 1: In a large bowl or stand mixer, combine sugar and eggs. Whip them together with an electric mixer until thick, creamy, and lightened in color - for about 5 minutes.

Step 2: Add olive oil, milk, vanilla extract, and salt into the egg mixture and mix to combine.

Step 3: Sift the flour and baking powder into the wet ingredients and fold the cookie dough with a spatula until it forms a soft cookie dough.
Pop the cookie dough into the fridge for 1-2 hours, to give the flour plenty of time to hydrate. Once the dough is almost done chilling, preheat the oven to 355F (180C), and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Step 4: Use a 2 tablespoon scoop to portion the cookie dough into about 24 cookies.
Then, roll the portioned cookie dough into smooth balls between your palms. The dough might be a bit sticky - if it sticks to your hands, moisten your hands lightly with a bit of water.

Step 5: Place the cookie dough balls onto a parchment lined baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches of space between each cookie.
Bake the cookies on the parchment lined baking sheet, leaving 2 inches of space between each cookie, for 11-12 minutes. The cookies are ready when the bottoms are golden brown on the bottoms. Don't under bake them or they will fall apart during assembly.

Step 6: As soon as the cookies are cool enough to touch, use a small sharp knife to cut out the centers of the cookies from the bottom. You want to do this while they're still warm or else the cookies can break apart. This creates space for filling them with peach curd.
Lemon peach syrup step by step

Step 1: Combine sugar and water in a medium saucepan.
Peel just the zest off the lemon, avoiding the white pith, and add it into the saucepan. Cut the lemon in half and add the juice as well.

Step 2: Heat the syrup on medium heat until it comes to a boil and remove from heat, letting the lemon zest steep in the syrup.

Step 3: Once the syrup comes to room temperature, remove the lemon zest. Add the peach liquor or peach soju and mix to combine.

Step 4: Divide the syrup in half between two bowls. Add red and pink food coloring into one bowl, and yellow food coloring into the second bowl. You want the syrup to be very brightly colored so that the color shows up on the cookies.
Assembling peach shaped cookies step by step

Step 1: Add peach curd into each peach half. Sandwich the halves together. Repeat with all of the cookie halves.

Step 2: Quickly dip half the sandwiched cookie into the red syrup, and the second half into the yellow syrup. You want to do this really quickly to prevent the cookie from getting soggy.

Step 3: Place the cookie into a tray and sprinkle it with granulated sugar on all sides. For a sweeter cookie, roll it in granulated sugar.

Step 4: Place a leaf of basil or mint into the top of each cookie right before serving and enjoy! These peach cookies can be enjoyed immediately but are best after chilling for a few hours.
✔️ Expert peach shaped cookie tips
- Scoop and bake the chilled cookie dough: Ensuring that the cookie dough is chilled helps ensure that the cookies bake up taller, creating a rounder peach shape.
- Don't under bake the cookies: You want the cookies on the drier side so that they can soak up the syrup without falling apart.
- Color the syrups brightly: In order for the color to show up on the cookies, you need to add a lot of food coloring into the syrup. You can test a cookie to see if you added enough food coloring by dunking it and checking if the color shows up.
- The filled and assembled cookies hold their shape the best if they sit in the fridge for a few hours before serving. This allows the syrup to soak into the cookie and the filling to "glue" the cookie halves together.
🥄 Make ahead and storage
Store these Italian peach cookies in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days.
These cookies are great to make ahead because they taste even better the next day. The cookie has a chance to soak up the syrup and get soft all the way through. Plus, the flavor becomes stronger the longer it sits.
You can make and assemble the cookies a day or two ahead of serving. Just make sure you add the leaf right before serving or else it will wilt and look sad.
You can also mix the cookie dough together the day before baking, it stores really well in the fridge and bakes up taller the next day. Additionally, you can bake and carve out the cookies the day before filling and dipping them.

🌰 Peach cookie filling ideas
You can fill these cookies with a variety of delicious fillings! I love filling them with peach curd because it's like a cross between peach jam and custard. Here are some other ideas:
- custard
- peach jam
- dulce de leche
- walnuts and honey
- nutella
- lemon curd - try making my Italian lemon cookies for a lemon version of these cookies filled with lemon curd!

📖 Recipe FAQs
Traditionally, they're filled with a nut mixture, a thick custard, or a peach jam. I went with a peach curd, which is like a cross between custard and peach jam. It works like the perfect, delicious, rich and peach-ey filling.
Yes you can! You can add peach flavor or syrup into the lemon syrup instead of adding peach flavored liquor. Alternatively, add in a few tablespoons of peach jello mix into the red syrup to get more peach flavor.
I've stored these peach cookies in the fridge in an airtight container for a few days and they stored really well. I actually preferred their flavor and texture the next day after making them! Just make sure you add the leaf on top right before serving because it will wilt quickly due to contact with sugar.
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📖 Recipe

Peach Italian Cookies
Equipment
- saucepan
Ingredients
Olive Oil Cookie Dough
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- ½ cup olive oil extra virgin for more flavor or light for less flavor
- 3 tablespoons milk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 3 cups all purpose flour 360g
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
Lemon Peach Syrup
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 ½ cups water
- 1 lemon juiced and zested
- ¼ cup peach liquor or peach soju
- yellow food coloring as needed
- red and/or pink food coloring as needed
Filling and assembly
- 1 cup peach curd or jam
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 12 fresh basil leaves or mint leaves
Instructions
Olive Oil Cookie Dough
- In a large bowl or stand mixer, combine sugar and eggs. Whip them together with an electric mixer until thick, creamy, and lightened in color - for about 5 minutes.1 cup granulated sugar, 2 large eggs
- Add olive oil, milk, vanilla extract, and salt into the egg mixture and mix to combine.½ cup olive oil, 3 tablespoons milk, ¼ teaspoon sea salt, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- Sift the flour and baking powder into the wet ingredients and fold the cookie dough with a spatula until it forms a soft cookie dough.3 cups all purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder
- Pop the cookie dough into the fridge for 1-2 hours, to give the flour plenty of time to hydrate. Once the dough is almost done chilling, preheat the oven to 355°F (180°C), and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Use a 2 tablespoon scoop to portion the cookie dough into about 24 cookies.
- Then, roll the portioned cookie dough into smooth balls between your palms. The dough might be a bit sticky - if it sticks to your hands, moisten your hands lightly with a bit of water.
- Place the cookie dough balls onto a parchment lined baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches of space between each cookie.
- Bake the cookies on the parchment lined baking sheet, leaving 2 inches of space between each cookie, for 11-12 minutes. The cookies are ready when the bottoms are golden brown on the bottoms. Don't underbake them or they will fall apart during assembly.
- As soon as the cookies are cool enough to touch, use a small sharp knife to cut out the centers of the cookies from the bottom. You want to do this while they're still warm or else the cookies can break apart. This creates space for filling them with peach curd.
Lemon Peach Syrup
- Combine sugar and water in a medium saucepan.¾ cup sugar, 1 ½ cups water
- Peel just the zest off the lemon, avoiding the white pith, and add it into the saucepan. Cut the lemon in half and add the juice as well.1 lemon
- Heat the syrup on medium heat until it comes to a boil and remove from heat, letting the lemon zest steep in the syrup.
- Once the syrup comes to room temperature, remove the lemon zest. Add the peach liquor or peach soju and mix to combine.¼ cup peach liquor or peach soju
- Divide the syrup in half between two bowls. Add red and pink food coloring into one bowl, and yellow food coloring into the second bowl. You want the syrup to be very brightly colored so that the color shows up on the cookies.yellow food coloring, red and/or pink food coloring
Assembly
- Add peach curd into each peach half. Sandwich the halves together. Repeat with all of the cookie halves.1 cup peach curd
- Quickly dip half the sandwiched cookie into the red syrup, and the second half into the yellow syrup. You want to do this really quickly to prevent the cookie from getting soggy.
- Place the cookie into a tray and sprinkle it with granulated sugar on all sides. For a sweeter cookie, roll it in granulated sugar.½ cup granulated sugar
- Place a leaf of basil or mint into the top of each cookie right before serving and enjoy!12 fresh basil leaves
Notes
- You can also mix the cookie dough together the day before baking, it stores really well in the fridge and bakes up taller the next day.
- You can bake and carve out the cookies the day before filling and dipping them.
- You can make and assemble the cookies a day or two ahead of serving.
- Scoop and bake the chilled cookie dough for taller, rounder cookies.
- Don't underbake the cookies or they can fall apart.
- Color the syrups brightly in order for the color to show up on the cookies. You need more food coloring than you think.
- The filled and assembled cookies hold their shape the best if they sit in the fridge for a few hours before serving.
E
These were delicous! My family and friends loved them! Instead of using soju I replaced it with syrup from canned peaches (I used 1/2 cup). These are the perfect summer recipe and cant wait to make them again!