Ingredients: |
Ingredients: 1 can (8 oz.) almond paste
1 cup butter (2 sticks), softened
1 cup sugar
4 eggs, separated
½ tsp. almond extract
2 cups flour
Red, green, and yellow food coloring
½ cup seedless raspberry jam
¼ cup apricot jam
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 tsp. butter
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Directions: |
Directions:Preheat oven to 350˚F.
Break the almond paste into pieces and place in the large bowl of an electric mixer. Add butter, cut into 1-tablespoon pieces. Beat together for 2 minutes. Add sugar, egg yolks, and extract and continue beating until well combined and fluffy. Very gradually, with the machine running, add the flour.
In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form, then fold into the almond mixture. The dough will be sticky.
Divide into 3 equal portions (about 1 ½ cups each), and add food coloring – about 6 drops – to each, so you end up with a minty green, a pink and a light yellow dough.
Line the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan with parchment or wax paper and sides of pan with vegetable oil spray. Pat one colored dough into the bottom, making dough as even as possible. Bake on center rack for 10 to 12 minutes, until the edges just begin to turn a golden color. Invert onto a wire rack, remove the paper, and let cool. Repeat with the 2 remaining dough colors.
Cover work space with plastic wrap that is double the length of the cookie layer. Place green layer on the plastic, then spread the raspberry jam on top. Place yellow layer on top and spread with apricot jam. Top with the pink layer. Pull the plastic wrap tightly over top and sides. Return to the baking pan and refrigerate overnight with a cutting board or similar weight on top of baked cookies.
When layers are thoroughly chilled, melt the chocolate chips with the butter. Spread chocolate on top of pink layer. Allow to harden slightly (do not refrigerate). Slice widthwise into 1-inch strips, then cut each strip into 6 to 8 pieces.
Makes about 8 dozen. |
This recipe for Italian Rainbow Cookies is from