Rainbow cookies, also known as Venetian cookies and Neapolitan cookies, are a three layer cookie (or 7 layers if you count the layers of preserves and 2 layers of chocolate) made of colored sponge cake made with almond paste, apricot or raspberry preserves, and chocolate. They were not invented in Italy but rather by Italian-American immigrants who came here in the late 1800’s to early 1900’s.

Biting into one of these sweet, tasty treats reminds me of when I was a little girl and would go shopping with my mother on Arthur Avenue in the Bronx and stop in one of the many bakeries to buy these cookies, along with loaves of Italian bread and lard bread (prosciutto bread), and pignoli cookies.

Although here in the United States we call them rainbow cookies, the colors actually symbolize the colors of the Italian flag, red, white, and green. They are usually made only during Christmastime in Italian households because they take time to make, but can be found throughout the year in Italian bakeries and grocery stores.

Make sure to use almond paste and not marzipan or almond pastry filling in this recipe because they are all different. Almond paste is made of ground up almonds with a little bit of sugar and is very gritty. It is not very sweet and needs to be mixed with other ingredients to be used as a filling. I personally like to use Solo almond paste but you can find many other brands in the grocery store or on online.

Marzipan is made of ground up almonds (less almonds proportionally than almond paste, actually) with a lot of sugar and glucose, and is smooth. It can be eaten as is and is usually molded into different shapes.

Almond pastry filling, or frangipane, is made of ground up almonds, sugar, and cream, among other ingredients, and has a creamy consistency. It is used as a filling for cakes and pastries.

Ingredients:
1 8 oz. can of almond paste (NOT marzipan)
1 c granulated sugar
1 tsp almond extract
1/4 tsp salt
1 12 oz. jar of apricot  (or raspberry) preserves
1 1/2 c (3 sticks) butter, softened
4 eggs, separated
2 c all purpose unbleached flour
10 drops green food coloring
8 drops red food coloring
2 squares semi-sweet chocolate (or 1 c semi-sweet chocolate chips if layering on bottom also)

1. Grease three 13x9x2 pans and line with wax paper.
2. Break up the almond paste in a large bowl with a fork. Add butter, sugar, egg yolks and almond extract and beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
3. Beat in flour (slowly adding) and salt.
4. In a small bowl, beat egg whites with electric mixer until stiff peaks form. With wooden spoon, stir this into the almond mixture using a turning motion, similar to folding.
5. Remove 1 1/2 cups of batter and spread evenly into a prepared pan. Remove another 1 1/2 cups and place in a bowl. Add green food coloring and mix, then spread into another pan. Add red food coloring into remaining batter and mix, then spread into the last pan.
6. Bake in a moderate oven temperature, 350°, for 15 minutes or until edges start to turn golden brown. Cakes will be about 1/4″ thick.
7. Remove cakes from pans immediately onto a large wire rack and let cool thoroughly.
8. Place green layer on a cookie or jelly roll pan. Heat apricot preserves and spread 1/2 of it over the green layer to the edges. Slide the yellow layer on top of it and spread the remaining preserves to the edges. Slide the pink/red layer right side up onto the yellow layer.
9. Cover with plastic wrap and place a heavy wooden cutting board or heavy plate over it and place in the refrigerator overnight.
10. Melt chocolate squares over hot water in a small cup and spread over the cake.  Let harden, about 30 minutes. Trim the edges and cut into 1″ squares.

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Above Photo credit: World to Table via Foter.com / CC BY-NC