Make Rainbow Cookies Just Like the Ones at Your Favorite Italian Bakery (2024)

Rainbow cookies originated in Italian immigrant communities of the United States during the 1900s to honor their native country. They are also called "tricolore" because of the resemblance to the Italian flag with white, red, and green layers. The cookie consists of brightly-colored layers with an almond-based sponge cake, raspberry and apricot jam, and a chocolate coating.The cookies have been given other names over the years such as Napoleon, Venetian, tricolor, or seven-layer cookie or cake.

The cookie also became a common Jewish deli item as refugees from Eastern Europe settled in New York at the turn of the 20th century in areas that also was home to an Italian population.Jewish-Americans became intrigued with rainbow cookies and adapted them to suit their own dietary requirements, substituting margarine for the original butter and have been credited as being the first to change the original Italian flag design to the rainbow design seen today, starting with the changing of the white layer of the cookie to yellow. These cookies are also popular to celebrate Hanukkah by making them available in blue and white instead of the traditional rainbow colors.

Florentine Cookies

Ingredients

8 ounces almond paste
12 ounces (1 1/2 cups) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
4 large eggs, separated
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
10 drops red food coloring
10 drops green food coloring
1/2 cup apricot preserves
1/2 cup seedlessraspberry jam
6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

Steps to Make It

Gather the ingredients. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
See Also
Get to Know the Rainbow Cookie, an Italian Delicacy That’s Tough to Find in D.C.Pizzelle: Traditional Biscuit With a Long History Bulk Rainbow Marzipan Cookies at Wholesale Pricing BEST Authentic Italian Rainbow Cookies (AKA Tri Color Cookies)
Grease three 9 x 13-inch identical baking pans. Line the pans with wax paper and grease the paper.
For convenience, it is best to have 3 identical baking pans. However, you can still make the cookies with only 1 pan if you bake one batch of dough at a time. Cooling and cleaning the pans after each bake.
Crumble the almond paste into a large mixer bowl. Add the butter, 1/2 cup of the sugar, the egg yolks, and salt. Beat until light and fluffy.
Stir in the flour until just blended.
In another large bowl, beat the egg whites on medium speed until foamy. Gradually beat in the remaining 1/2 cup sugar. Increase the speed to high. Continue beating until the egg whites form soft peaks when the beaters are lifted.
Gently fold 1/3 of the whipped egg whites into the yolk mixture. Then, gradually fold in the remaining whites.
Evenly divide the batter into 3 bowls. Fold the red food coloring into 1 of the bowls. Fold the green food coloring into another. Keep the batter in the third bowl without any food coloring.
Spread each bowl of batter into a separate prepared pan, smoothing out evenly with a spatula. Bake the layers for 10 to 12 minutes, until the cake is just set and very lightly colored around the edges.
See Also
Italian Rainbow Cookies Recipe
Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then lift the layers onto cooling racks, leaving the waxed paper attached. Allow to cool completely.
Using the paper to lift one layer, gently invert the red cake and place it paper-side up on a large tray. Carefully peel off the paper
Spread with a thin layer of the raspberry jam.
Set the white layer paper-side up on top of the red layer. Remove the paper and spread the cake with the apricot jam.
Place the green layer paper-side up on top. Peel off the paper.
Bring about 2 inches of water to a simmer in the bottom half of a double boiler or a small saucepan. Place the chocolate chips in the top half of the double boiler or in a small heatproof bowl that fits comfortably over the saucepan. Place the bowl over the simmering water. Let stand uncovered until the chocolate is softened. Stir until smooth. Pour the melted chocolate on top of the cake layers and spread it smooth with a spatula.
Refrigerate until the chocolate is just beginning to set, about 15 minutes. (Do not let it get too hard, or it will crack when you cut it.)
Remove the cake from the refrigerator. With a large knife and a ruler as a guide, trim the edges of the cake to make the layers straight and even all around.
Again, using a straight edge as a guide, cut the cake lengthwise into 9 strips by first cutting it into thirds, then cutting each third into thirds. Then, cut crosswise into 4 pieces. Chill the cut cake in the pan in the refrigerator until the chocolate is firm.
Serve or transfer the cookies to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator. These keep well for several weeks in the refrigerator.

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Nutrition Facts (per serving)
197	Calories
11g	Fat
23g	Carbs
2g	Protein

Show Full Nutrition Label

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 36
Amount per serving
Calories	197
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 11g	15%
Saturated Fat 6g	30%
Cholesterol 41mg	14%
Sodium 28mg	1%
Total Carbohydrate 23g	8%
Dietary Fiber 1g	3%
Total Sugars 15g
Protein 2g
Vitamin C 1mg	4%
Calcium 21mg	2%
Iron 1mg	4%
Potassium 61mg	1%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

Recipe Tags:

Cookies
italian
dessert
eastern european

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