These popular Russian pastries are typically made around the holidays. Their cuteness wins them the center of attention.
Even though they look like tiny little peaches, they don’t taste like peaches at all. The cookie itself is a tender and perfectly crumbly when you bite into it. The cream cheese dulce de leche filling is made with a bit of rum for flavor and some cookie crumbs. This combination is absolutely delicious. I would eat it just like that. However, dipping the cookie into dyed milk and sugar transforms this pastry into a dainty, fuzzy peach and a small mint leaf in the center gives it a finished look. Enjoy. I was actually surprised how simple it was to make these pastries, so don’t be afraid to give these a try.
For the cookies:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
Cream the butter and sugar in a bowl with the paddle attachment on a standing mixer or using a hand mixer until fluffy.
Add eggs and vanilla and mix until combined.
Whisk the flour and baking powder in a small bowl until mixed. Add to the cookie batter and mix just until incorporated.
Form balls about 1 Tablespoon each and place about 1 1/2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet.
Bake for about 11 minutes. Cool.
Using a small paring knife or a butter knife, cut out a circle from the center of the bottom of the cookie, leaving a small border on the outside.
Scoop out the center. Be very gentle when doing this since the cookie is very fragile and may break if you’re not careful.
Save the cookie scraps, you will need them later.
For the filling:
Mix the cream cheese and dulce de leche until well mixed.
Add the rum and mix. Crumble the reserved cookie crumbs and scraps with your hands.
Add the cookie crumbs to the filling and mix to combine.
To assemble:
Fill the scooped out center of the cookie with the filling using a small spoon or a butter knife, spreading a thin layer of the filling on the rim of the cookie too.
Place two of the cookies filling side together and gently press together.
Take 3 small bowls and fill one with sugar and the other two with the dyed milk. Use your own judgement as to the color that you want the pastries to be. I counted how many drops of dye I used, but you can make it brighter if you’d like.
If you’d rather use a natural dye, use freshly squeezed carrot juice and beet juice instead of the dyed milk.
Dip half of the pastry in the Orange/Yellow liquid and coat in the sugar.
Dip the other side of the pastry in the Red/Orange liquid and also dip in the sugar.
Place the pastries on an aluminum lined cookie sheet and dry for at least 1 hour. The color will become more bright and pronounced as the pastries dry.
Right before serving, place a mint leaf in the center of some of the pastries.
- 4½ sticks butter, softened
- 1½ cups sugar
- 4 eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 6 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
- 1 can dulce de leche
- ½ Tablespoon rum
- 1½ cups cookie crumbs
- 1-2 cups sugar
- mint, for garnishing
- 1 cup milk
- 50 drops yellow food coloring
- 2 drops red
- 1 cup milk
- 20 drops yellow food coloring
- 60 drops red food coloring
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Cream the butter and sugar in a bowl with the paddle attachment on a standing mixer or using a hand mixer until fluffy.
- Add eggs and vanilla and mix until combined.
- Whisk the flour and baking powder in a small bowl until mixed. Add to the cookie batter and mix just until incorporated.
- Form balls about 1 Tablespoon each and place about 1½ inches apart on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for about 11 minutes. Cool.
- Using a small paring knife or a butter knife, cut out a circle from the center of the bottom of the cookie, leaving a small border on the outside. Scoop out the center. Be very gentle when doing this since the cookie is very fragile and may break if you’re not careful.
- Save the cookie scraps, you will need them later.
- Mix the cream cheese and dulce de leche until well mixed.
- Add the rum and mix. Crumble the reserved cookie crumbs and scraps with your hands. Add the cookie crumbs to the filling and mix to combine.
- Fill the scooped out center of the cookie with the filling using a small spoon or a butter knife, spreading a thin layer of the filling on the rim of the cookie too.
- Place two of the cookies filling side together and gently press together.
- Take 3 small bowls and fill one with sugar and the other two with the dyed milk. Dip half of the pastry in the Orange/Yellow liquid and coat in the sugar.
- Dip the other side of the pastry in the Red/Orange liquid and also dip in the sugar.
- Place the pastries on an aluminum lined cookie sheet and dry for at least 1 hour. Right before serving, place a mint leaf in the center of some of the pastries.
Hi Olga! I’m so excited to read this post. I stumbled upon this type of recipe about a year ago and have been meaning to make it since. I used this site as inspiration and am so glad the recipe is similar to yours. http://cafechocolada.blogspot.com/2008/02/peaches-breskvice.html (I hope you don’t mind me posting a link on your blog
)
Olga, how many days in advance can you make these?
Thanks!
Hi Alla,
I’ve never made them more than a few days in advance, so I can’t say for sure, but you can certainly make them a few days before you’re planning on serving them.
I was jumping when i saw this recipe. My mom makes them but l live in different state and really never learned how to make them. She did send them to me once when i was in college and i passed them around in my girls dorms and they were gone in minutes. I am so excited to learn how to make them with your wonderful instructions and pictures. Thank you so much olga!
Hi Angelina,
I’m so glad you like these pastries and you’ll be able to make them yourself now. I jump when I find a recipe I’ve been looking for too:).
Ohh my these look so pretty
and I’m sure very delicious….Ahh I got something new to make for my kids birthday party’s:). Thanks Olga!
They look perfevt for the holidays:)))))))
This is genius! Well done Olga!
These look so cute. My favorite.
wonderful are
Made these yesterday
They were yummy. Thanks so much for sharing the recipe . GOD BLESS YOU !!
I was super excited to see these pop up on your blog! Thank you for posting them. Finishing them right now, came out really nice looking and super yummy. The only thing is, it took me much longer then 1 hr 45 minutes to make them (you are truly a super cook to make them that fast!) Planning to make them for Thanksgiving! Love your blog, thank you for all the yummy recipes, keep posting more please! God bless you for all the wonderful work you do!
Hi Olga, I grew up with these little peaches, thank you so much for reminding me to make them again. My mom also used to make some walnut-shape cookies but she had a special form to make them. Was a round one and she “baked” them on the gaz stove. No way to get that form here, but I saw some electric forms on-line or in the Russian stores. Do you make walnut cookis as well? If so, I would realy appreciate if you could post them one day.Thank you so much for your blog. It’s one of my favourite food blogs.Adi
Hi Adi,
Thanks so much for your kind words:).
I do have a recipe for the “Oreshki”, walnut shaped cookies. I’ll post it sometime in the future.
hi olga!! Thank you for all your work! I always wanted to know how to make these peaches! You seriously dip the peaches into colored milk?? i never knew that..
Hi Olga,
Yep, you dip the cookies into dyed milk. However, as I wrote in the post, you can use carrot juice and beet juice instead if you want a more natural approach.
if I make these a day before, where do I store them? fridge or on the counter in closed container?
I would just store them at room temperature in a sealed container. If you’d rather store them in the refrigerator, they may become a little damp from the condensation.
Hi Olga,
how long do you boil the condensed milk in water for a recipe like this? If boiling two cans, one can to use later. ??
4 hours in the slow cooker, set on high.
I’m making them as we speak, are the cookies supposed to be soft? I haven’t filled them yet of made the cream. Just wondering if I’m doing the right thing.
Hi Tanya,
Yes, the cookies will be soft. As long as they are baked through, it should be the correct consistency. They are much more tender than any other peach pastries that I’ve tried. We created this recipe specifically to have a softer texture. They are delicate, so be gentle with them when you fill them.
I made them, my bro and sis liked them and said they tasted much better than the ones they’ve tried before. Good thing I checked back because I forgot about the last step of leaving them out to dry. Hope it’s not too late hehe. And I have a feeling they will be gone by the time Thanksgiving comes around. Need to find a better hiding spot
To tell you the truth, I was a bit skeptical at first. All that butter scared me. Then somehow it all turned out. And I tried the cookies on their own, they didn’t even taste buttery. Thank you so much for posting this recipe.
I made half a batch and for some reason they were moist. Even from drying for hours after coloring, they tasted raw.
Hi Olga,
If they tasted moist and raw, then most likely you didn’t bake them through all the way. They shouldn’t taste moist at all. The cookie dough is a type of shortbread, which is dry. Even though for this recipe the cookie is very tender, it shouldn’t be moist at all.
I think I was in a hurry or something too. I had a hard time sticking the sugar on evenly too. =( it was just bad. Though, I will retry again.
When you check the cookies for doneness, press lightly on top with your finger. If there is an indentation and it stays there, the cookies are not ready. If it bounces back and doesn’t indent, the cookies are done. Good luck with the next batch!
Hi Olga,
I have been checking your blog a few times now, and am very excited to make many of your recipes! These cookies I sure do want to make for our thanksgiving dinner. One question, the condensed milk in the cream is raw, not cooked right? Cause the color in your pic made me question whether it was cooked condensed milk..
Hi Oksana,
Dulce de leche IS cooked condensed milk. The color of raw condensed milk is a creamy white, not brown, like I have shown in the picture. We have dulce de leche sold in the stores. If you want to cook raw condensed milk, you can put it in a glass jar, place it in a slow cooker, cover the closed jar with water and cook on high for 4 hours.
Is it okay to make shortbread one evening and make cream next day & put em together?
That will work great, Olga. It will be much easier that way, anyway:).
Hi Olga,
thank you for this yummy recipe! I made these last minute for Thanksgiving dinner. They were easy to make and looked good on the table! Although mine didn’t turn out as perfect as yours, they were still cute
I’m not sure I like the rum flavor in the filling. Maybe it’s because I used Rum imitation and not the real thing. What kind do you use?
Maybe next time I’ll try a different flavor… And maybe use less butter so I don’t feel as guilty eating them
I love your website! I plan to make the “slow cooker beef stroganoff” tomorrow. It looks soooo good, I can’t wait to try it! I love mushrooms, especially creamy!
Blessings and Happy Holidays!
Hi Olga
If I make these like… 5 days before I need them, will they still be good? Or should I put them together like the day before I need them?
I would probably keep them stored in a closed container and fill them a day or two before serving.
OK! Thank you so much!!
hi Olga,
i want to make these for Christmas for the carolers but my question is how do you measure 60drops of dye? do you really count them?
Larisa,
Believe it or not, I actually DID count out 60 drops:). I needed the exact amount to give specific instructions for a recipe. Would I do it if I was doing it for myself and didn’t have to worry about the recipe? Nope. Just eyeball it until you have the color that you want.
Hello Olga,
I really want to make these tomorrow but I don’t have baking powder… Will it work if I use baking soda instead?
Thank you,
Vera
Unfortunately, Vera, the texture of the cookies won’t be the same. I wouldn’t risk it.
I made these yesterday (with baking powder) and they turned out amazingly beautiful. Everyone said they are cute and we liked that they were really soft. Thank you so much for the simple and clear recipe. I’ll look at your other recipes and try them as well. I love cooking and I’m glad that you have Russian recipes in English because it’s easier to find ingredients and measure things. Thank you
Hi Olga
This is my second time making these pastries. The first time they turned out perfect, the second time, they seem a bit undercooked inside, even though the bottom browned a bit and they cracked on top. Do you know what might have went wrong?
I think my oven broke
It bakes at a higher temperature than indicated. Do you think if I was to finish baking the pastries at a lower temperature to finish baking the inside it would help? If so, at what temperature would it be ideal?
That’s too bad, Tatianna,
If you already baked the pastries, it’s too late to finish baking them:(. I’m sorry your pastries didn’t turn out.
Hi Olga i made the peaches they were perfect when i had baked them ,but after the cream they got a bit too soft and started breaking on me. Do u know whats wrong?
Hi lucy,
I’m not sure what you did wrong, since I wasn’t in your kitchen to watch you:). I don’t know if you did the batter correctly, or maybe you added too much filling. As I mentioned in the recipe, the baked pastries are very delicate and you need to be very gentle when you are scooping out the center and when you are filling them.
Yum! Will be trying these! Thank you for sharing the recipe!