Pesche dolci look elaborate, but the hard part is mechanical: equal shells, a tidy hollow, and enough filling to join the halves without splitting them.
We use the tender cookie-shell version, then fill with pastry cream and a thin layer of Gusta apricot preserve. The Alchermes should be diluted enough to tint the cookies, not soak them into cake.
Set servings and units first. You can change them anytime.
Make the pastry cream first. Warm the milk with vanilla. Whisk the yolks, sugar, and cornstarch, then stream in the hot milk and return to the saucepan.
Cook over medium heat, whisking, until thick and glossy. Cover with film touching the surface and chill until cold.
Beat the butter and sugar until smooth. Add the eggs, milk, and lemon zest, then mix in the flour and baking powder just until a soft dough forms.
Heat the oven to 350 F. Roll the dough into 36 equal balls of about 3/4 oz each and set them on lined sheet pans.
Bake 15 to 18 minutes, until the bottoms are lightly golden and the tops stay pale. Cool 10 minutes.
Use a small spoon to hollow the flat side of each shell, leaving a rim thick enough to hold its shape.
Pipe pastry cream into one half, add a thin layer of Gusta apricot preserve to the matching half, and press together gently.
Stir the Alchermes with the water. Dip each cookie quickly on all sides, then roll in sugar. Rest 30 minutes before serving so the shell softens without cracking.
You made Pesche Dolci. Time to eat.
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Hollow while the shells are just warm. Cold shells crack more easily, and hot shells collapse under the spoon.
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Six Italian regions. Nothing reformulated. Imported direct.
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