Dulce de Leche Filled Peach Cookies Recipe

Peach Cookies with Dulce de Leche Filling (persiki): elegant, tender sandwich cookies filled with dulce de leche and decorated with carrot and beet juices. Perfect for holidays and special occasions.

Peach Cookies Recipe

These peach cookies—also known as persiki—are classic festive treats often served at Christmas, Easter, weddings, and other celebrations. They look like small peaches but are actually delicate cookie sandwiches filled with dulce de leche. The dough bakes to a slightly crisp exterior and a tender interior, and the dulce de leche filling, mixed with cookie crumbs, makes each bite rich and satisfying. The final touch of carrot and beet juice creates a realistic peach blush and gives the pastries an elegant finish.

Although decorating takes the most time, the process is straightforward and rewarding. You can skip decoration if you prefer a quicker dessert, but the colored tap technique is what gives these cookies their signature look. The recipe below yields about 25 finished peach cookies.

Peach Cookies Ingredients

• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature (about 1/4 cup)
• 2 tablespoons sour cream
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
• 3 to 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

Dulce de Leche Filling Ingredients

• 1 can dulce de leche (or about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups if using homemade)
• 1/4 stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature
• Cookie crumbs reserved from scooped-out centers

Decoration Ingredients

• 1 medium raw carrot
• 1 medium raw beet
• 1 cup granulated sugar for dipping
• 2 drops vanilla extract (divided)

How to Make Peach Cookies

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Lightly oil a nonstick cookie sheet and set aside. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs with the sugar on high for 1½–2 minutes, until the sugar starts to dissolve. Add the butter, sour cream, and vanilla and beat for another minute until combined. Small butter specks are fine.
2. In a small bowl, mix the baking soda and vinegar so it fizzes, then pour it into the batter and stir to combine. Sift about 1 cup of flour into the mixture and beat on low until incorporated. When the batter begins to thicken, sift in the remaining flour (total 3 to 3¼ cups) and finish kneading the dough by hand until smooth.
3. Lightly oil a large cutting board and a thin knife (wipe with an oiled paper towel). Shape dough into balls about 1½ inches in diameter—you should have roughly 25–26. Cut each ball in half with the oiled knife and place the halves on the prepared baking sheet 1–2 inches apart. Gently round the edges with your fingers if needed. Bake 13–15 minutes, until the bottoms show a light golden color. Remove cookies from the sheet promptly so they don’t overbake.
4. Using a small knife, carefully hollow out a circle from the center of the bottom of each cookie half, leaving a thin border. Reserve the scooped-out crumbs in a bowl for the filling.

How to Make the Dulce de Leche Filling

1. In a bowl, beat the dulce de leche with the room-temperature butter until smooth and free of lumps. Crumble the reserved cookie scraps by hand and mix about half of them into the dulce de leche until the mixture holds together but is not overly runny.
2. Pair up the cookie halves. Fill each hollowed center first with plain dulce de leche to coat the sides, then add the dulce de leche–crumb mixture to level with the cookie surface. Repeat for the matching half, then press two filled halves together gently to form a single peach cookie.

How to Decorate Peach Cookies

1. Peel and coarsely grate the carrot and the beet separately. Place each grated vegetable in a paper towel, gather the edges, and squeeze to extract the juice into separate small bowls. You should get about 1 tablespoon from each; that quantity is sufficient. Add a tiny drop of vanilla to each juice and whisk.
2. Prepare 6–8 small paper towel squares. Lightly dip a corner of a paper towel into the carrot juice and gently tap it over the cookie surface to add a soft orange tone. Then use a second towel corner with beet juice to add a pinkish blush where desired. Do not dip the cookie itself into the juices—tap the towel lightly to avoid sogginess.
3. While the juices are still moist, lightly press the cookies into granulated sugar so they pick up a sparkling coating. Arrange cookies on a serving plate and let them rest at room temperature for a few hours so the filling softens and flavors meld. Store at room temperature for a couple of days or refrigerate for longer keeping.