Italian rainbow Christmas cookies

Italian rainbow Christmas cookies , also known as tricolor cookies, are a delicious festive cookie that blends flavor, color and tradition. These iconic treats, often associated with Italian – American bakeries, are not actually cookies in the traditional sense but rather delicate almond sponge cakes layered with sweet jam. Each layer is vibrantly dyed in the colors of the Italian flag – green, white and red. Then the entire thing is coated with a thin layer of chocolate, adding richness that perfectly complements the nutty almond flavor and tart jam. Often enjoyed during  the Christmas season.

Simplify Making these Italian rainbow cookies

Making Italian rainbow cookies can be simplified with a prep plan, turning what seems like an intimidating recipe into a manageable and enjoyable baking project. These cookies are all about layering and timing, so organization is key.

1. Gather your ingredients: Ensure you have everything ready, including the almond paste, food coloring, fruit jam, and chocolate.
2. Prepare the pans and batter first: line three identical size baking pans with parchment paper, which makes transferring the layers easier. Mixing all the batter at once before dividing and coloring it speeds up the process.
3. Bake layers together: If you have three pans of the same size you can bake all the layers at once. If not, plan to bake back- to- back while cleaning or prepping other steps.
4. Allow the layers to cool: While the cakes cool, prepare the jam by warming it slightly in the microwave for easier spreading.
5. Assemble: Once the cakes are cooled, stack them with a thin layer of jam, using parchment paper or plastic wrap place a skillet gently on top to weigh the cakes down  for even layers. Let the assembled cakes sit in the fridge for a few hours or overnight for the best results.
6. Top with the chocolate the next day: Once the layers are firm melt and spread the chocolate topping smoothly. Chill again briefly to harden the chocolate before slicing into squares. This prep plan divides the work into manageable steps and gives you time to focus on perfecting each step, ensuring your Italian rainbow cookies turn out as impressive as they are delicious.

Ingredients

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 8 oz. can almond paste
• 3 sticks butter, softened and divided
• 4 eggs separated
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp. each red and green food coloring
• 1 cup raspberry jam
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350-degrees
2. The first step is to separate the eggs . Then beat the egg whites in a mixer until soft peaks form . Set aside while preparing the batter.
3. In a stand mixer or hand mixer combine the sugar with the almond paste and 1 stick of butter. Mix until smooth. Add the remaining 2 sticks of butter and continue mixing until smooth. Gradually add in the egg yolks, then the milk and almond extract mix until well combined. Add the flour and slowly mix until combined.
4. Fold the egg whites into the cake batter.
5. Divide the dough into thirds. Leaving 1 uncolored and adding one drop of green food coloring to 1 and 1 drop of red to another. Spread the dough on parchment lined quarter size pans. Bake for 10 -12 minutes. Let cool.  Then spread each layer with raspberry jam. Put the layers together. Making the uncolored 1 the center. Then add a weight to press them down.
6. Melt the chocolate in a bowl over simmering water. Frost the cooled cookies with the melted chocolate.
7. Let set then cut the rainbow cookies into squares. ENJOY!!!!!
8. And so on