When summer peaches hit the market, Italian home cooks once turned them into pesche ripiene—halved fruit brimming with a sweet almond‑biscuit filling. This recipe appears unchanged in the 1919 edition of Maria Gentile’s The Italian Cook Book, a now public‑domain guide that captured everyday Italian‑American cooking just after World War I.
Gentile keeps the ingredient list refreshingly short: slightly underripe peaches, crushed lady‑fingers, ground almonds, a touch of candied angelica, and sugar. She instructs baking the fruit in a “moderate fire”—culinary shorthand of the era that translates to roughly 350°F today. Plan on about 25 minutes of bake time, or until the peaches are tender when pierced with a fork and the sugary tops look lightly caramelized. The result tastes like peach cobbler got an elegant upgrade—crispy tops, soft fruit, and a perfumed aroma that fills the kitchen.
