If Italian rainbow cookies always catch your eye when you see them behind the glass counter at bakeries, but they never live up to your expectations, this is the recipe for you. Created by Italian-American immigrants around the turn of the century as a way to honor their home country (the layers mimic the Italian flag), these “cookies” are actually made up of layers of colorful, almond-flavored sponge cakes, all sandwiched together with apricot and raspberry jam and chocolate. They admittedly do take a bit of time to make, but trust us—it’s SO worth it for these gorgeous cookies. Pile them high on your Christmas cookie trays or bring them to your next holiday potluck—you’re about to become more popular than Babbo Natale. 😉
How to make the best Italian rainbow cookies:
Use a stand mixer. You’re going to want to break down the almond paste (not marzipan) as much as you can here so that you don't end up with big chunks in your final cookies, and a stand mixer is the best way to do it. That said, if you don’t have one, a hand mixer will work, just make sure to break it down into pea-sized pieces.
Use quarter sheet pans if you've got 'em. We tested this recipe using both 9"-x-13" and quarter sheet pans and both will work here. Quarter sheet pans are slightly smaller than a 9"-x-13", which will give you thicker cake layers that are easier to get out of the pans. We know most home cooks are more likely to have 9"-x-13" pans, though, so we wrote the recipe using those. Don't worry if you don't have 3 pans either—you can bake in batches as you need to.
Don't overcook your cake layers.
These cake layers are THIN, and it’s easy to over-bake them. To avoid this, look for layers that are no longer shiny and that are still soft when you gently poke them with your finger—that's how you'll know they are done. They might look slightly under-baked, but they will continue to set as they cool. In this case, it’s better to pull them a minute too soon than a minute too late.
Temper your chocolate.
This might be the most complicated step in the whole process, but it's worth it. Tempering your chocolate, or heating and cooling it in such a way that stabilizes it, will give your cookies a nice shiny finish and will enable you to hold them in your hand without the chocolate melting all over your fingers. Here’s how to do it: Melt 3/4 cup of chocolate chips in the microwave, stirring after every 30 seconds. Once the chips are completely melted, start checking the temperature using an instant read thermometer. Aim for somewhere in between 113° and 118°. If you need to, you can microwave in 5 second bursts to help reach the temperature mark.
Once you hit 113° you'll start "seeding" your chocolate. Do this by adding in the remaining half cup of chocolate chips a little at a time. Stir until the chocolate completely melts before adding more and check your temperature after each addition. You’re aiming to get your chocolate down to 89°, so keep adding and stirring until it gets there.
If you don't want to temper your chocolate (or just don’t have a thermometer), you can simply melt all the chocolate chips in the microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring after each until the chocolate is smooth. The chocolate layer on your cookies will melt more quickly in your hands, but will still be every bit as delicious.
Made these? Let us know how it went in the comments below.
Ingredients
Cooking spray
- 7 oz.
almond paste, broken into pieces
- 1 1/4 cups
(2 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
- 1 cup
granulated sugar, divided
- 4
large eggs, seperated
- 1 tsp.
almond extract
- 2 3/4 cups
all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp.
kosher salt
Red food coloring
Green food coloring
- 1/3 cup
apricot preserves, warmed
- 1/3 cup
raspberry preserves, warmed
- 1 1/4 cups
semisweet chocolate chips, divided
Directions
- Step 1Preheat oven to 350°. Grease three 9”-x-13”pans with cooking spray and line with parchment paper leaving a 2” hangover on each side. In a large bowl using a hand mixer, beat almond paste and ¾ cup sugar together until light almond paste is broken into smaller pieces and looks crumbly. Add butter and beat until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks and almond extract and beat until incorporated. Add flour and salt and beat until just combined.
- Step 2In another large bowl, beat egg whites until foamy, then slowly add in remaining ¼ cup sugar while beating and continue beating until stiff peaks. Add about ⅓ of the egg whites to the batter and gently fold in until combined, then add the rest of the egg whites and continue gently folding until fully combined.
- Step 3Divide batter evenly into 3 separate bowls. Dye one bowl of batter red and another bowl green, leaving the third one plain. Add batters to prepared pans and use an offset spatula to spread into an even layer.
- Step 4Bake until no longer shiny and feel just slightly soft when pressed with a finger, 12 minutes. The cakes should be starting to peel from the edges and barely any color will be gained. Let cool 10 minutes in pan, then use the parchment to help lift out and place on cooling racks. Let cool completely.
- Step 5To assemble the cakes, place a piece of parchment paper over the green layer, then invert layer onto a board. Peel off top piece of parchment paper. Spread warmed apricot preserves over green layer.
- Step 6Invert white layer onto another board and peel off parchment paper. Gently slide it on top of green layer. Spread warmed raspberry preserves over white layer. Finally, invert red layer onto another board, peel off parchment and gently slide on top of white layer. Place a piece of parchment paper on top of red layer, then place a baking pan on top of parchment.
- Step 7Weigh down the pan with cans and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to overnight.
- Step 8When ready to coat in chocolate, remove from refrigerator while you temper your chocolate. To temper your chocolate, place ¾ cup chocolate chips into a microwave safe bowl. Microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring after each one, until chocolate is smooth and reaches between 113° and 118°. Microwave in 5 to 10 seconds bursts as needed to hit your desired temperature. Add remaining ½ cup of chocolate chips a little at a time, stirring until completely melted between additions. Keep stirring until your chocolate reaches 88° or 89°. You can add a little more chocolate as needed to help cool your chocolate down, making sure the new chips melt completely before adding any more.
- Step 9Add about half of your tempered chocolate on top of the red layer, and working quickly so it doesn’t set, use an offset spatula to spread into an even layer. Refrigerate until chocolate is completely set, 30 minutes.
- Step 10If your chocolate hardened while the first layer was chilling, microwave in 10 second bursts until smooth and chocolate reaches 89° again. Once chocolate is set, invert onto another board and spread remaining chocolate over the green layer. Refrigerate until chocolate is set or until ready to serve, 30 more minutes.
- Step 11Using a large knife, trim edges of cakes to get clean sides, then cut into 28 pieces.
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