HELLO AGAIN, friends! I’m back. Long time no see…right? I’ve got some news.
After a year-long deployment in the Middle East, my husband has finally come back to me. YAY! About a month ago, we finally reunited. He came to Italy to spend some time with my family; then we took a plane to Florida where we retrieved our car to drive all the way up to Northern Virginia. That’s where we live now! The whole thing sounds much easier that it actually was. There was a lot of sorting, packing, sending, cleaning, reorganizing, flying, driving, changing hotels, unpacking, more cleaning, more reorganizing. It wasn’t easy, especially on the emotional end…there were also many goodbye dinners, hugs, and tears.
I spent a beautiful year in Italy, with my family, and I love the fact that all the recipes I posted from there are a tied to a story or a funny anecdote involving my unwavering little helpers (my mom and my cousin). I miss pretty much everything and everybody but I’m also excited for this new beginning. Tom and I are finally together again, in a place we can call our new HOME. We live in a colonial house with a lovely kitchen with lots of storage and plenty of light pouring in — totally perfect for my photography needs! Another great feature of our new place: a beautiful backyard plunging directly into the woods! Did I mention D.C. isn’t too far away? This is pretty much the best I could hope for and I’m excited to start this new chapter of my life, with Tom, in this house.
I’m thrilled to be back at blogging! I missed cooking, having my stuff with me, and sharing my recipes and photos. I’ll celebrate my return to blogging showing you how to make some delicious and colorful treats.
These beautiful, old-fashioned pastries are called Pesche all’Alchermes (peh-skeh, i.e. peaches). They don’t taste like peach, but they sure look like one. They’re actually my mom’s favorite pastries! As soon as somebody brings Pesche up in a conversation, she’d smile and go back with her memory to her childhood, when a late cousin used to make them. Strangely enough, it took me a long time before I could taste one. It’s a kind of pastry that’s not as common in Northeastern Italy as it is in Tuscany and central Italy.
Pesche all’Alchermes are two cookie domes, carved on the inside and paired together to hold a dollop of crema pasticciera (Italian custard). Once assembled, Pesche are dipped in Alchermes – an ancient crimson-colored liqueur infused with spices and herbs that’s also used to make the more famous Zuppa Inglese trifle (and many other Tuscan desserts). Alchermes gives these pastries a vibrant pink hue and a unique, delicious, and light alcohol flavor that beautifully combines with the custard and the cookie. To further enhance the resemblance to the actual fruit, the “peaches” are rolled in sugar and adorned with a small leaf.
If I once didn’t understand all the fuss about this dessert, I now get it. I love every single component of this treat – who doesn’t love chocolate custard or cookies? – but Alchermes is what really brings it all together and adds interest to it. It may sound foreign to you, but it’s absolutely a must-try as it gives a nice and light alcohol kick and a nice aromatic profile to desserts. It’s definitely more available in Italy but, with some luck, you can find it in your local specialty store. You can also try to purchase it online.
I love biting through the thin crust made of sugar crystals, getting to the softer and lightly soaked cookie, and finally reaching the rich heart of luscious chocolate custard. Not only are Pesche all’Alchermes delicious and fun to eat, but they’re also quite beautiful! Just look at them.
- COOKIES
- 500 g (4 cups) all-purpose flour
- 175 g (3/4 cup and 2 Tbsp) granulated sugar
- 100 g (7 Tbsp) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 16 g (1 Tbsp) baking powder
- 3 eggs
- The seeds of half vanilla bean
- A pinch of salt
- 4 Tbsp milk
- CHOCOLATE ITALIAN CUSTARD (CREMA PASTICCERA AL CIOCCOLATO)
- 500 ml (2 and ¼ cups) whole milk
- The seeds of half vanilla bean
- 4 large egg yolks
- 150 g (3/4 cup) sugar
- 40 g (5 Tbsp) all-purpose flour, sifted
- 85 g (3 oz) dark chocolate, chopped
- 30 g (1/3 cup) unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
- SUGAR COATING
- Alchermes, as needed
- Granulated Sugar
- Prepare the cookie dough by mixing flour, sugar, butter, baking powder, eggs, vanilla seeds, salt. You can either do this by hand or using a stand mixer. Once combined, add milk, one tablespoon at a time, until you obtain a soft, yet workable dough.
- Heat the oven to 360 F (180 C).
- Take a small quantity of dough (about 25 grams), form a small ball and place it on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Repeat until you use up all your dough. Make sure leave some space between each dough ball. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the bottom of the cookie is lightly colored. You will obtain about 30 dome-shaped cookies. Let them cool.
- With a small paring knife, carve out a small hole at the bottom of each cookie dome, being careful not to carve too deeply or the cookie will break. The hole should be about the size of a quarter dollar (about an inch or 2.5 cm). Lay each dome hole-side up on a tray.
- Prepare the chocolate custard, by beating the egg yolks with the sugar in a bowl. Add the potato starch (or flour) and mix well. Heat milk and vanilla bean in a saucepan until warm and then pour a little warm milk over the yolk mixtures, to temper them. Add the rest of the milk, whisking constantly. Return mixture to the saucepan, over medium heat and continue to mix until it thickens. Remove from the heat and add sifted cocoa powder and chopped chocolate. Stir well until blended. Remove from the heat and let cool.
- With a piping bag, pipe some chocolate custard inside each hole. Once all cookie halves have been filled, take two domes and put them together applying a gentle pressure, so that the custard will hold them together. Repeat with the rest of the cookies.
- Prepare two bowls: one with some Alchermes liqueur in it, another one with sugar in it. Dip each pastry in Alchermes, making sure all sides have absorbed enough liquid (avoid eccessive soaking). Roll the soaked pastry in sugar, set aside and repeat the process for the rest of the pastries.
- Decorate with a mint leaf. Alternatively, you can make a leave by mixing marzipan with green food coloring. Refrigerate, if not eating right away.
Hi, Your instructions don’t include what to do with the coca and chocolate.
Thanks
Hi! I’m sorry for the inconvenience and thank you for bringing this to my attention! The instructions are now updated. 🙂
They look yummy! My daughter is getting married on October, and I’m looking for cookie recipes for the cookie table. I fondly remember these and the cookies shaped like strawberries from my childhood. I like the idea of the chocolate filling instead of the cream. Thanks for posting!
Thanks for your note, Jan!