Italian Rainbow Cookies

Name: Italian Rainbow Cookies
Cuisine: European, Italian, Mediterranean
Ingredients: 8 ounces almond paste; 1-1/2 cups butter or margarine, softened; 1 cup granulated sugar; 4 large eggs (separated); 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour; 1 teaspoon almond extract; 1/4 teaspoon salt; red and green food coloring; 1 (12 ounce) jar of apricot jam or jelly; 1 pound semisweet chocolate

7 steps

The colorful layered bar is thought by many to be Italian, but in actuality is an Italian-American creation (see note*, below). Italian immigrants in New York invented them, and while they are a staple in Italian bakeries in the US, they are not a tradition in Italy. They’re created with three layers of green, white, and red almond cake, with jelly separating the cakes and chocolate on the top and bottom. This gives rise to their other name: “7 Layer Cookies”. Several other names know them; see note** below. The colors represent the Italian flag.- From Christmas-cookies.com

Updated at: Thu, 30 Nov 2023 13:49:58 GMT

Nutrition balance score

Unbalanced

Glycemic Index

Moderate

Glycemic Load

Moderate

Nutrition per serving

Calories148.4 kcal (7%)

Total Fat9 g (13%)

Carbs17.7 g (7%)

Sugars11.5 g (13%)

Protein1.9 g (4%)

Sodium19 mg (1%)

Fiber0.9 g (3%)

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Ingredients

56 servings

8 ouncesalmond paste

1 ½ cupbutter

1 cupgranulated sugar

4eggs

large, separated

2 cupsall-purpose flour

sifted

1 teaspoonalmond extract

¼ teaspoonsalt

red food coloring

green food coloring

1 x 12 ounceapricot jam

jar, or jelly

1 poundsemisweet chocolate

Instructions

Step 1

Grease three 9 x 13-inch baking pans (if you don’t have 3 pans, bake them one at a time). Line with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 350 F.

Step 2

Combine macaroon paste, sugar, butter, egg yolks and almond extract. Beat for 5 minutes until light and fluffy. Beat in flour and salt.

Step 3

In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. With a wooden spoon, fold into the almond mixture.

Step 4

Divide dough into three 1-1/2-cup portions. Add red coloring to one of the portions, and green to another, stirring until mixture is evenly colored.

Step 5

Spread the batter in the three separate prepared pans (keeping the colors separate). Bake for 15 minutes, or until edges are golden brown. (Each layer will be 1/4 inch thick). Remove cakes from pan immediately. Cool thoroughly.

Step 6

Stack layers in a 9 x 13 inch pan, spreading apricot jam between layers (no jam on top layer). Place second 9 x 13-inch pan on top and weigh down with two 5 pound bags of sugar or flour. Refrigerate overnight.

Step 7

Melt chocolate over hot water and spread over cake. Allow to set somewhat. While chocolate is mostly set but still soft enough to cut cleanly, trim edges and cut into small squares or bars.

Notes

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