Go Back
+ servings
Rainbow Cookies
Print

Marisa's Rainbow Cookies

Marissa’s Rainbow Cookies are rich almond flavored cakes layered with raspberry preserves and topped with chocolate.
Course Dessert
Cuisine Italian
Keyword Rainbow Cookies
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Total Time 32 minutes
Servings 24
Author Anna

Ingredients

  • 8 oz almond paste such as Solo or homemade
  • 3 sticks unsalted butter (12 oz/330 grams)
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract
  • ½ teaspoon salt decrease to ¼ if using salted butter
  • 4 large eggs separated
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour, makes sure to stir it and fluff before measuring (9 oz/250 grams)
  • Food coloring -- red green and yellow (I recommend the Wilton paste)
  • Raspberry or Aprictot preserves or apricot
  • 1 cup semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips
  • 1 teaspoon shortening or coconut oil

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease three 9x12 inch or 8x12 inch pans and line bottoms with wax paper. Grease the wax paper. Alternatively, you can use nonstick foil.
  • Break up the almond paste in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the butter and beat until well mixed, then add the sugar, almond extract , salt and yolks and beat for about 3 or 4 more minutes with the paddle.
  • By hand or using the lowest speed of the mixer, stir in the flour, scraping bowl often.
  • In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks start to form. Fold them into the batter and stir until well blended. Batter will go from being very thick, to a little looser than chocolate chip cookie dough.
  • Divide batter evenly among 3 mixing bowls, about 1 ½ cups per pan or by weigh, 14 oz in each bowl. Or just eyeball it.
  • Dye the batters red, green and yellow.
  • Spread the batter evenly in each of the pans. This is a chore. Spread first with a knife or spatula, then go back and press lightly with damped fingers right before baking. Keep the layers as even as possible.
  • Bake cakes at 350 F for 12 to 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Note: Time may vary, so check a 12.
  • Let the cakes cool completely in the pan.
  • Lay a large sheet of plastic wrap on a flat surface and transfer one cake to the plastic wrap, leaving a large overhand for wrapping. Spread a thin layer of preserves over the cake.
  • Carefully place the second layer of cake on top of the preserves. Spread the plain cake with a second layer of preserves. Carefully place the third cake on top to make a stack.
  • Bring the plastic wrap up and around the stack of cakes and then freeze for about an hour or until solid.
  • Melt the chocolate and shortening (if using) in a microwave using high heat and stirring every 30 seconds. Spread the melted chips over the frozen cake.
  • When chocolate is set but not quite hard, cut the cake into squares.

Notes

For the pans, I recommend Handifoil brand shallow pans which are about 12x8 inches. The original recipe called for 13x9 inch pans, but I think the layers would be very thin using that size pan. If you do use that size pan, the cakes will be done sooner than 12 minutes.
Also, the yield is approximate. Changing the pan size and how much you end up trimming the edges will affect how many cakes you get.