Rainbow cookies! One of my favorite Italian pastries. Also known as seven-layered cookies, I could eat these yummy delicacies for days and days and days. And although rainbow cookies are available for any occasion, I closely associate them with Christmas. They make wonderful holiday presents and are perfect for cookie swaps (this one recipe makes about 4 dozen cookies!)
One Christmas, my girlfriend Betsy surprised me with a trip to Long Island where her soon to be sister-in-law, Jill Feingold taught us exactly how to make these enticing treats. It was one of my favorite Christmas presents from my best friend - not to mention such a valuable learning experience - rainbow cookies are very tedious to make! But the results are so delicious that it makes the whole thing worth it!
My rainbow cookie recipe is a combination adapted from Jill's recipe and from the memories I've had eating dozens of these yummy cookies at Italian family parties. It's also little controversial - I've added chocolate to the sides! (Scandalous!) According to my husband Joe, a real Italian Rainbow Cookie does not have chocolate on the sides - he is correct. But I like to enrobe the chocolate because it locks moisture and preserves the cookies longer - and I like to do my own thing! So whatever! It doesn't matter how you make your rainbow cookie, as long as it tastes delicious and makes you happy then that's all that matters!
Rainbow Cookies (make about 4 dozen)
Ingredients
- 2 sticks of butter, cubed at room temperature
- 2 cups of sugar, divided
- 4 large egg, whites and yolks separated
- 8 oz of almond paste
- 2 cups of flour
- 1/4 cup of raspberry preserves
- 1/4 cup of apricot preserves
- red and green food coloring
- additional 8 oz of almond paste (optional)
- 16 oz bittersweet chocolate wafers, melted
- chocolate sprinkles
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line three baking sheets with tin foil. Lightly grease with cooking spray and set aside. Separate yolk and egg whites. Set yolks aside and pour egg whites into a bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Slowly add 1/4 cup of sugar until stiff peaks form. Cover the large bowl and chill.
2) Roughly chop one 8 oz tube of almond paste. Add the chopped pieces of almond paste to a food processor, gradually add the remaining 1 cup of sugar and pulse until all ingredients are combined. Transfer the mixture into a large bowl. Using the electic mixer, beat in butter, yolks and flour. Next, fold egg whites into the mix.
3) Divide the batter into 3 bowls (it is very important that the batter is divided into equal proportions.) Mix red food coloring into one bowl, green good coloing into the other and leave the third bowl plain. Evenly spread the batter in to a 9x12 rectangle in each baking tray. (Resist the urge to spread the batter to the rim! It will look as if you did not make enough - trust me, you did! These cookies are deceivingly dense and like I said before, you will have at least 4 dozen cookies!)
4) Place the green and plain color trays in the oven first and bake for at least 8-10 minutes. Switch and rotate the pans halfway through so the heat is evenly distributed. Make sure you do not overbake the cookies. (If you see brown spots appear, take the cookies out of the oven and let them continue to cook while they cool in the pan.) Repeat with the red cookie sheet. While the green cookie sheet is cooling off, add the raspberry preserves - this way the jam melts and is fully distributed.
5) Now, I'm about ready to rock your world here. Once the green cookie sheet is completely cooled, cut it in half (Scandal!) This will make the inversion process much easier. Next, cut the plain cookie layer in half and carefully place on top of the green layer, making sure the two sheets line up evenly at the divide. Spread with a layer of apricot preserves. Cut the red cookie layer in half and place on top. Take one half of the cookie sheet and invert on parchment paper. Repeat with the other half (OR wrap it up in cellophane and save for a later date!)
Optional Almond Paste Layer! Add another 8 ounces of chopped almond paste with another 1/4 cup of sugar to the food processor until the mixture is completely blended. Place the mixture onto parchment paper and combine is into a flat disc. Place another parchment paper on top and start to roll the paste into a thin layer. (This is tricky, messy and requires a lot of elbow grease - but that added layer of almond paste is what gives these rainbow cookies its edge. Do the best you can to get that paste to cover the cookie sheet. Trim any edges that hang over and with your finger mold them into any missing gaps. It doesn't have to look perfect - it's gonna get covered by chocolate anyway!)
6) Invert the cake onto parchment paper and spread with a thin layer of melted chocolate. Freeze for 10 minutes. Cover the the chocolate with another sheet of wax paper and flip again. Take a knife and trim the edges. Next, slice the layers into 2"x9" logs.
7) Place a cooling rack on top of a baking sheet covered with wax paper. Transfer the logs onto the rack and enrobe the chocolate with a spoon. Use the back of the spoon to spread the chocolate so it drips evenly on all sides. Decorate with chocolate sprinkles. Once the chocolate is completely dried, slice the logs into 1/2" wide cookies.
those look FANTASTIC!!
Posted by: Nicole @ Treasure Tromp | 12/19/2012 at 07:14 PM
Such lovely colourful cookies! I'd love to try these out. They'd make great presents too when visiting people.
Posted by: Vinita | 12/20/2012 at 05:44 AM
I'm so glad that you included this recipe. These make me nostalgic for my own childhood, but I've never attempted to make them myself. My own kiddos would love these. All the best - Monica
Posted by: Monica | 12/30/2012 at 06:14 AM