They say there’s something about writing that makes people want to confess things, to bear their souls as if to a private diary, to admit things they wouldn’t normally say out loud.
So it’s maybe no surprise that I feel I must tell you, dear readers, a rather alarming fact about myself: I am no trendsetter.
In fact, I am rather slow to catch on, to almost anything.
I bought rain boots almost two years after I started seeing people wearing them. I’ve never owned a pair of those very popular, wear-with-a-tunic leggings, save for the pair I think I had in elementary school, which was not at all the same thing.
And for over four winters, I’ve been wearing the same knee-length leather boots, usually with the same skirts I’ve been wearing since college, which is now, I’m sorry to say, more than four years ago.
And these examples are just fashion. I’ll spare you literature, pop culture, current events, and music.
So understand that the following question, which I already know is foolish, comes from that perspective.
I’m not asking to inform you, to say, “Look, readers, at this surprising discovery I’ve made!”, but rather to show you, as if with my arm around your shoulder, that hey, I’m finally in the loop, too.
Did you know Martha Stewart makes cookies?
Martha Stewart’s Cookies available in Paperback and Kindle from Amazon
I know, of course you did. She has magazines, she hosts a TV show, she was a guest judge on Next Food Network Star. Everyone who’s anyone who’s ever left home over the past decade knows about Martha Stewart and knows she bakes things.
But did you know she makes really, really good cookies?
I was a very hard sell on Martha fandom. She led me down the path of a very dismal New Year’s Eve party several years ago, with a bitter, bitter buttermilk cake that I obeyed her recipe for, to a T.
That one experience left me unwilling to try any of her suggestions again, no matter how pretty the pictures or how loud the applause from other cooks.
Thankfully, my brother Adam, who is in every way trendier and more accomplished than I am, who originally planned to go to cooking school, who – STILL – knows more about food than I do, made a batch of Martha’s Earl Grey sables.
The rest is history, and I’m not exaggerating when I say those Earl Grey cookies are pure bliss in cookie form. Now I have come to believe Martha, at least on one point: her cookies are always good.
After making my peach cobbler last week, I still had three peaches left over, which were about to go bad any day and which needed to be used. Martha’s peach cookies, highlighted in one of her Living magazines, were the perfect fit.
As a bonus, you probably won’t have to pick anything up at the store, save for peaches, if you don’t already have them. These peach delights are part cookie, part pastry, best fresh and hot out of the oven.
The next day, they’ll get a little soggy/mushy, so it’s definitely best to eat these immediately or reheat them before serving.
The Recipe
Very slightly adapted from Martha Stewart.
- 2 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking soda.
- In a large bowl, beat butter and granulated sugar with a mixer until pale and fluffy, about four minutes. Reduce speed to low and beat in egg and vanilla. Add the flour mixture to this large bowl, beating until combined. Add peaches and jam; beat until just combined.
- Using a tablespoon, drop rounded balls of dough onto cookie sheets lined with parchment paper or silicone liners, spacing them about two inches apart. If not baking all the dough right away, put remaining dough in refrigerator between batches. Also, dough can be refrigerated for up to two days.
- Dust balls with cinnamon/sugar mixture. Put in oven and bake for 15 to 16 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. Let cool for five minutes, and then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
Nutritional Info*
Cooking by the Numbers…
Step 1 – Prep
Begin by peeling your fruit. I prefer a good quality Y-style veggie peeler for this task, but you can use a paring knife in a pinch.
Dice your peaches up with a light and nimble utility knife or chef’s knife.
Once you have your peaches diced up, gather the rest of your ingredients into one spot to establish your mise en place.
Preheat your oven to 375°F.
Step 2 – Mix
Add the butter and sugar to a large mixing bowl and beat for four minutes until it is light and fluffy. This can be accomplished by hand using a stiff whisk but it’s so much easier to use a top end stand mixer such as the Cuisinart SM-55 that I’m using here.
Add your vanilla and egg and continue mixing until incorporated.
Add the flour, salt, and baking soda.
And finally add the apricot jam and diced peaches. You don’t want to over mix at this point. Just enough to combine everything but not crush the fruit.
The end result will be a light and fluffy better, similar in appearance and texture to whipped cream.
Step 3 – Bake
Line a good quality baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone liner such as a Silpat. Use a medium-sized cookie scoop to measure out approximately 2 tablespoons of batter per cookie. Or you can use a rounded tablespoon to approximate that amount of dough. Place 2 inches apart on the baking sheet.
Cover each dough mound with a bit of a sugar-cinnamon dusting made with two parts sugar to one part cinnamon.
Place the baking sheet on the middle rack of your oven and allow to bake for 15 to 16 minutes.
This recipe will make around 32 to 34 cookies and will fill a 1/2 sized baking sheet at least twice (about 15 per sheet), and you will probably still have enough dough left over for another three or four cookies.
Allow to cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to cooling rack to finish cooling.
These flavorful and ultra moist peach cookies won’t last very long around your house. Each one is like having a mini peach pie or pastry all to yourself.
What about you? Did you try these? If so, let us know your thoughts in the the comments below!
And if amazing cookie recipes are your thing, then check out some of these delectable treats:
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Photos by Mike Quinn, © Foodal / Ask the Experts, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. See our TOS for more details. Originally published August 15th, 2008 by Shanna Mallon. Revised and updated November 15th, 2017, with additional writing by Mike Quinn.
*Nutritional information derived from a database of known generic and branded foods and ingredients and was not compiled by a registered dietitian or submitted for lab testing. It should be viewed as an approximation.
About Shanna Mallon
Shanna Mallon is a freelance writer who holds an MA in writing from DePaul University. Her work has been featured in a variety of media outlets, including The Kitchn, Better Homes & Gardens, Taste of Home, Houzz.com, Foodista, Entrepreneur, and Ragan PR. In 2014, she co-authored The Einkorn Cookbook with her husband, Tim. Today, you can find her digging into food topics and celebrating the everyday grace of eating on her blog, Go Eat Your Bread with Joy. Shanna lives in Nashville, Tennessee, with Tim and their two small kids.
How you do, Martha…how you do.
Cookies were good with vanilla gelato (or ice cream, if you feel so inclined) too.
Oh, yes! The gelato! Whoever is reading this, thinking about making the cookies, while you’re picking peaches at the store, do grab some Ciao Bella, if they have it. Definitely makes these cookies a dessert experience.
peach deliciousness.
Thanks for stopping by, Amy. I was thrilled to find your site today and have added it to my blogroll. Your photos are *amazing*!!