Pesche (Italian Peach Cookies) ___

Pesche (Italian Peach Cookies)

Ingredients

For the Cookies:

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 4 large eggs
  • 4 cups all purpose flour

For the Filling:

  • 1 small jar of peach or apricot preserve
  • 25 shelled almonds with skin on

For the Frosting:

  • 1 cup sugar, as needed
  • 1 cup grenadine, as needed
  • 1 cup peach or apricot brandy
  • leaves and cloves to garnish (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Lightly grease cookie sheets or use parchment paper

Mix together sugar, eggs and oil. Add flour and baking powder. Form 1" balls (cookies should be "flat" on the bottom where they rest on the cookie sheet) and bake about 10-15 minutes (until lightly browned on the bottom).

while cookies are baking, prepare filling by combining the preserves and brandy.

while cookies are baking, prepare icing by placing cup of sugar in a small deep bowl, the grenadine in a small deep bowl, and the brandy in a small deep bowl.

When cookies come out of the oven, let cool for a few minutes. Take the cookies and use a knife to scoop out some cookie to form an indentation for the filling.

Place some filling in the indentation and place the almond in the middle (the pit of the peach)

Take another cookie and just put in the filling (no pit) this will be the other half. Put the two cookies together to look like a peach.

Dip the peach to get it complete wet on the outside in the brandy, dip again in the grenadine for the red coloring. Roll peach in sugar and place in muffin cups.

Before serving, garnish with leaves and or a clove in the middle.