Italian Rainbow Cookies

It has been approximately three weeks since I stopped leaving my house for any reason due to COVID-19. I’m a homebody by nature so the desire to leave my house is usually at a minimum. However, even I am getting well, bored. In boredom comes more time consuming recipes like that of Italian Rainbow Cookies.

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I have been cooking and baking a ton of new things. But today I’m busting out a recipe usually reserved for the Christmas holiday in my house. I figure since Easter is coming it would be a perfect reason to make Rainbow Cookies. Rainbow cookies also take me a little longer to make than say a chocolate chip cookie. Since I have nothing but time and a baby to play with, rainbow cookies are making a rare spring debut.

Dave LOVES rainbow cookies. He’s the reason I embarked on a quest to make the best homemade rainbow cookies. You see, like many of our favorite things to eat, they’re hard to come by in the South. We do have an excellent bakery/bagel place (decent bagels I might add), that makes rainbow cookies, sesame seeded Italian bread, and the best cannolis ever. Nothing beats a homemade Italian rainbow cookie though. 

My Aunt Andrea made these cookies one year for Christmas and they were fantastic. She was kind enough to share the recipe she uses. I have never met one of her cookies I did not like!

Italian Rainbow cookies seem like a lot of work but the dough comes together super easy. The recipe only requires one ingredient not frequently stocked in the pantry. Once you invest in the pans, this recipe is so easy you will find yourself making these cookies for every special or not so special occasion. It is after all, a cookie layered in three different colors. When I first made these cookies I only had one pan. I would bake, cool, and clean the pan in between each layer. This definitely extended the overall time it took to make these cookies. I registered for more pans when we got married and now baking these up is no problem.

Ingredients

• 2 cup all-purpose flour
• 12 oz almond paste (most grocery stores carry the Solo brand but you can also get it online if you don’t need it right away)
• 8 oz unsalted butter, softened (I use salted and unsalted, it does not affect the overall taste of the cookie. I rarely have unsalted butter on hand but when I do I use it)
• 4 eggs (separated)
• 1 cup sugar
• Red food coloring
• Green food coloring
• Seedless raspberry jam
• Apricot jam/preserves (I can never find jam in the grocery store so I get preserves. They’re a little trickier to spread but they work fine)
• 12 oz semi-sweet chocolate (I use whatever chocolate chips I have laying around)

Preparation

• 12×8 inch ungreased aluminum baking pan (These are my special rainbow cookie pans. I hand wash them and they have held up very well. My cookies lift right out of the pan no grease no problem)
• Bowls (for separating the colors)
• Food Scale

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375℉
2. Separate egg whites into a bowl and egg yolks into your mixing bowl. Add softened butter to the egg yolks and beat on low until combined. Add sugar to butter and yolks. Beat until combined.
3. Open and cut almond paste into small cubes. This allows the almond paste to incorporate more evenly into the batter. The almond paste I use comes in 8oz packages so I just use a whole one and a half of another. 
4. Add almond paste to the mixer until combined. 
5. Add flour and mix well until combined.
6. Lightly beat the separated egg whites with a fork until they become frothy on top. Add egg whites to the mixer and beat until a soft uniform dough forms. 
7. Separate the dough equally among 3 bowls. I use a food scale for this so I know that my layers will all be even. I do not trust myself to eyeball the amounts so I measure. Measuring is optional. I think rainbow cookies are perfect when they are slightly imperfect. 
8. Leave one bowl uncolored. Add enough food coloring to each of the other bowls respectively until the desired color is achieved. If making for other holidays, you can have some fun and dye them other colors (red, white, and blue anyone?)
9. This is the hard part. Spread each of the doughs into their respective pans. I have the hardest time spreading the dough evenly so my cookies are always a little lopsided or uneven. Do your best, they are still going to taste delicious.
10. Bake each pan for 10-12 minutes. I will only bake 2 trays at one time because I do not like to separate the trays among the racks for fear of uneven baking. Do not overbake or your cookies will be too crunchy. The dough puffs up slightly and evenly and then they are done. If you notice browning then they are definitely done do not hesitate to pull them out. 
11. Allow cookies to cool completely before removing from the pans. 
12. Using a spatula, separate the cookie from the sides of the pan. Carefully turn one of the cookies out onto a tray. I use a cutting board so I can cut them up later. On the first layer, spread a thin layer of the raspberry jam evenly over the whole cookie. A little goes a long way. The more jam you put the more difficult it will be to cut and it will ooze out of the sides. 
13. Turn out your middle layer of cookie on top of the first. Spread a thin layer of the apricot preserves on top of the middle layer. I find preserves to be thicker and harder to spread so do so as thinly as possible. Turn out the final cookie on top of the middle layer.
14. In a microwave safe bowl, melt the chocolate chips until smooth. I use a whole bag of chocolate chips for these cookies but you could certainly use a little less. Pour the chocolate over the cookie and spread evenly over the top and sides. A true seven layer rainbow cookie has you cool this and turn it over to chocolate the bottom. This is far too much work for me and there is plenty of chocolate over the top and sides. Scrape off excess chocolate and discard (or use for fruit or a tasty snack). 
15. Refrigerate the cookies to allow the layers to set and the chocolate to harden. Using a sharp knife, slice the cookies to the desired size and enjoy!