RAINBOW COOKIES

 

4 eggs, separated

1 cup sugar

2 cups flour

 1 1/ 2 cups butter

12 1/ 2 ounce can almond filling

1 teaspoon almond extract (optional)

 

Red, Green food coloring

 

Nutella (chocolate hazelnut spread)

 

Chocolate chips and a drop of canola oil

 

 

1.      Oven 350 degrees.

2.      Grease 3  13 x 9x 2 pans, line with wax paper (or parchment paper) and then grease again on top of the paper.

3.      Beat egg whites stiff in a bowl and set aside. 

4.      In a large bowl, combine almond, sugar and butter.   Cream together well, and then add egg yolks and almond extract. Beat until fluffy, add flour gradually, blending well.

5.      Gently, stir in stiffened egg whites.

6.      Separate the cookie dough into 3 sections.  Dye with the food coloring one dough red, one dough green and leave one dough white.  Spread the doughs evenly into the 3 prepared pans.

7.      Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges.

8.      Cool completely.  Layer the cookies with red cookie; spread the nutella, layer of white cookie, nutella, ending with the green layer on top. 

9.      Slice the sheet of cookies into long logs.  Melt the chocolate chips with a few drops of canola oil and microwave (you may have to do this a few times, stirring in between)  until all chips are melted and smooth.  Spread the melted chocolate over the logs covering the tops and sides.  Cool completely.  Slice cookies into 1-inch wide slices, with the colors showing.

10.  ENJOY! –  Italian rainbow, Italian flag, Tri-color, Viennese, Whatever you want to call these cookies doesn’t matter, what does matter is that they are divine!

Rainbow cookies are cookies that you can usually buy in every bakery.  They are not quite the all-American chocolate chip cookie, but they are very popular.  I am not particularly a fan of jelly filled cookies, so I don’t really care for the rainbow cookie.  My daughter-in-law, Christine, happens to love them, so I thought I would try to make them for her.  I have been buying them for her on occasion but decided to try baking them on my own.  The recipes in my collection of cookbooks produce very large quantities and gives me the opportunity to see a recipe prepared various ways.  Whether the cookbook is an instructional teaching cookbook like Betty Crocker or Good Housekeeping, or hand-down recipes in an informal women’s group collection cookbook, the choices are there for me to see.  I study the different recipes and create a recipe of my own and then begin cooking.

 

The rainbow cookie recipe was nowhere to be found in any cookbook I owned.  I searched through at least ten various cookbooks.  Suddenly, I remembered my sister-in-law, Susan, who is a great cook in her own right.  Susan has been a great source for cooking questions.  Not only is she a great cook, but she owned a deli for years and I respect her experience in the kitchen.  Susan sent me to Claudia, my other sister-in-law, whom Susan said she got her rainbow cookies recipe from.  Well, Claudia, had two recipes for rainbow cookies from two different people.  Both looked interesting.  I must have called Claudia three times on these recipes, and she was very helpful.  Sometimes reading a hand- written recipe does not always explain certain things clearly.  One recipe said to use toaster oven size pans.  How many people have three toaster oven size pans?  None that I know of!  Claudia explained to me that these smaller aluminum pans can be purchased at the supermarket in packages of two.  Sometimes you need help when cooking, so don’t be afraid to ask.  I always ask.

 

Well, I made both recipes and had everyone in my family taste both.  They agreed they liked both and for different reasons.  The recipe made with almond paste is shorter and more condensed.  The recipe made with almond extract is higher and cake like.  

 

The family approval is all I need to make a recipe again along with hearing the question, “Can I have another one?!”