Ohh…Rainbow cookies! This takes me back to my childhood. The sweet smell of Jewish and Italian bakeries in New York, rainbow cookies were bought by the dozen by this one!
However, living in Southern California, it’s hard to find these colorful treats…so what better way to make it happen, than to make them yourself…easy peasy, right?
I do have to add that I am so grateful for blogging about something colorful and and happy right now. Our beautiful town of
Seal Beach has been rocked this week in
recent happenings. I don’t want to go into too much verbiage on this post, but please keep our peaceful beach community if your thoughts!
Now back to the cookies! These little rainbow bites are more like a petite cake bite. And let me tell you, this was no easy task! Three individual layers of almond cake, gently folded with egg whites. Strained apricot preserves snugly smears in between the cozy layers of moist cake and gives you that little bit of sweet fruit finish, that of course blends perfectly with everything else. Finally slowly melted bittersweet chocolate coat the entire masterpiece and harden to a thin shell. Sweet fruit, moist cake, almond and thin chocolate reveal my absolute favorite childhood vice.
Quick Disclaimer: I do HAVE to mention, that if you are planning on making this recipe, allow ample amount of time! These cookies need at least 8 hrs of chilling time before pouring the melted chocolate over, and then another couple of hours of freezing time after chocolate and before cutting.
Ingredients:
4 large eggs, separated
1 cup sugar
1 (8-oz) can almond paste
2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1/2 teaspoon salt
25 drops red food coloring (*I used organic, see notes)
25 drops green food coloring (*I used organic, so it was blue and yellow, see notes)
1 (12-oz) jar apricot preserves, heated and strained
7 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), chopped
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
Method:
1) Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 13- by 9-inch baking pan and line bottom with wax paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on 2 ends, then butter paper.
2) Beat egg whites and cream of tartar in mixer fitted with whisk attachment at medium-high speed until they just hold stiff peaks.
3) Add 1/4 cup sugar a little at a time, beating at high speed until whites hold stiff, slightly glossy peaks. Transfer to another bowl.
4) Switch to paddle attachment, then beat together almond paste and remaining 3/4 cup sugar until well blended, about 3 minutes.
5) Add butter and beat until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add yolks and almond extract and beat until combined well, about 2 minutes.
6) Reduce speed to low, then add flour and salt and mix until just combined.
7)Fold half of egg white mixture into almond mixture to lighten, then fold in remaining whites gently but thoroughly.
8) Divide batter among 3 bowls. Stir red food coloring into one and green food coloring into another, leaving the third batch plain. Set white batter aside.
* I used
organic food coloring this time and this was also the first time I worked with any type of food coloring. I liked how my red/pink turned out, but my green didn’t come out as I hopped. I’m not sure if it was due to it being organic, or maybe I should have condensed it more?
Because it was organic, I had to mix blue and yellow together, so I used 40 drops-blue and 5 drops-yellow.
9) Chill green batter, covered. Pour red batter into prepared pan and spread evenly with offset spatula (layer will be about 1/4 inch thick).
10) Bake red layer 8 to 10 minutes, until just set. (It is important to under-cook.)
11) Using paper overhang, transfer layer to a rack to cool, about 15 minutes. Clean pan, then line with wax paper and butter paper in same manner as above. Bake white layer in prepared pan until just set. As white layer bakes, bring green batter to room temperature. Transfer white layer to a rack. Prepare pan as above, then bake green layer in same manner as before. Transfer to a rack to cool.
12) When all layers are cool, invert green onto a wax-paper-lined large baking sheet. Discard paper from layer and spread with half of preserves. Invert white on top of green layer, discarding paper. Spread with remaining preserves. Invert red layer on top of white layer and discard wax paper.
* I heated a jar of preserves and strained the entire jar through a sieve. Then I weighed the strained amount and divided it in half, so half for each layer.
13) Cover with plastic wrap and weight with a large baking pan. Chill at least 8 hours.
14) Remove weight and plastic wrap. Bring layers to room temperature. Melt chocolate in a double boiler or a metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat. Keep chocolate over water.
15) Trim edges of assembled layers with a long serrated knife. Quickly spread half of chocolate in a thin layer on top of cake.
16) Chill, uncovered, until chocolate is firm, about 15 minutes. Cover with another sheet of wax paper and place another baking sheet on top, then invert cake onto sheet and remove paper. Quickly spread with remaining chocolate. Chill until firm, about 30 minutes.
17) Freeze entire cake for a few hours until everything is firm. Then it is much easier to cut with a sharp knife into squares.
Cut lengthwise into 4 strips. Cut strips crosswise into 3/4-inch-wide cookies
And there you have it! Would I make these again? Definitely! It was so worth all the time and energy! These are my absolute FAVORITE cookies of all time! Next time I may look into different types of food coloring though, can anyone suggest?
Enjoy!
Those look great! I love Rainbow Cookies and like you living in SoCal I cannot find them. Got them from Famighetti Italian Pantry (italianpantry.com) online though and they were the best I have ever had! Really moist and full of that almond flavor. I am def going to try making your recipe though looks great!
thanks for the recipe!