Rainbow Cookie
Ready, set, bake Christmas cookies. The next few weeks are all about preparing and making as many colorful cookies that I can make. I like to give gifts of homemade cookie trays to all those who have helped me during the year. Nothing says, "you're important to me and I appreciate you" then a tray of homemade cookies.
This next statement makes me sad: the rainbow cookie is NOT A COOKIE and NOT ITALIAN. They may have the colors of the Italian flag, but research shows, "the cookies are a common Jewish deli dessert, as they are pareve. As Jewish refugees from Eastern Europe settled in New York en masse at the turn of the 20th century, they often settled in areas that also had an Italian population. It was at this point that Jewish Americans were intrigued to the rainbow cookie. The original rainbow cookie was made with butter and featured an Italian flag-like design in white, red and green. Jewish Americans adapted this cookie to suit their own Kosher dietary needs, substituting margarine for the butter originally used (making them pareve). Jewish Americans have been credited as being the first to change the original Italian flag design to the more commonly found rainbow design seen today, starting with the changing of the white layer of the cookie to yellow." (source: wikipedia) The amount of almond paste in this dessert classifies it as a cake and indeed it is baked in shallow cake pans layered with jam and topped with melted chocolate.
No matter who originated this recipe, it has been a tradition in our family to make these and enjoy them during the holiday season.
(pictured are my Italian Rainbow Cookies - recipe to follow)
Italian Rainbow Cookies 350 degrees bake: 12-15 mins cool: 30 mins.
You'll need:
1 cup sugar
8 oz. fresh almond paste
3 sticks of softened butter
4 eggs - beaten
1/4 c half and half
2 tsp pure almond extract
2 cups sifted all purpose flour
1 tsp red food coloring
1 tsp green food coloring
10 ozs. dark chocolate chips
1/2 tsp veg oil.
1 jar apricot jam
Prepare 3 cake pans (I use disposable 9x12) by spraying with baking spray or grease then flour, shaking off excess flour. Set aside. Take the jam out and allow it to get room temperature.
In a stand mixer, cream the butter and almond paste, add the sugar until the mixture is smooth. Slowly add the beaten eggs and almond extract. Alternate the half and half and flour until you have a creamy beige batter.
Divide the batter into three bowls, leaving one beige. The other one mix the red food coloring and the last bowl of batter with the green food coloring. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until the cake springs back when touched.
Allow to cool completely, approximately 15 mins. Take this time to melt the dark chocolate chips and 1/2 tsp oil.
Spread some jam on top of the red colored cake (still in the pan). Put the beige colored cake on top of the jam and press down. Apply another layer of jam on top of the beige layer. Add the final layer of green on top of the beige layer and push down firmly (still in the pan). Pour the melted dark chocolate over the entire cake and put in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to hard the chocolate.
I found the easiest way is to turn the entire cake (chocolate side towards the board) onto a cutting board, then flip it right side up again (chocolate side up). Take a knife dipped in hot water and cut the cake length wise into 4 pieces. The cross pieces (the size of the final cake) is up to you. I like to make them small enough to pop into your mouth in one bite. Oh wait, that's just my Italian family because we have big mouths!
Putting them on a mini cupcake wrapped makes a nice presentation for a cookie tray.
Buon Natale!