Pesche Ripiene — Piedmontese Baked Peaches with Amaretti

Preheat the oven to 180°C / 355°F. Wash and dry the peaches, cut them in half along their natural seams and remove the pits. Use a dessert spoon to widen the hollows, leaving 1 cm of flesh around the edges. Put the scooped-out flesh in a bowl.

Put the amaretti cookies in a bag and crush them with a rolling pin until sandy. Mash the peach flesh with a fork, then work in the cookies, cocoa, sugar, egg yolk and half of the butter without melting it. The filling should be moist and hold together when squeezed; if it seems dry, add another spoonful of peach flesh.

Grease the baking dish with some of the remaining butter and arrange the peach halves cut side up. Mound the filling in the hollows so it rises above the edges. Press an almond into the center of each, then dot the tops with the remaining butter.

Place the dish on the middle oven rack and bake for 30–35 minutes. The peach flesh should be easily pierced with a knife, and the filling should dry on top and form a thin crust; the egg yolk in the filling will cook during this time.

Let the peaches cool in the dish for a few minutes. Spoon the juices collected at the bottom over them and serve warm or at room temperature.