20 Days of Christmas Cookies - Day 1

I loved these cookies growing up as a kid.  I would gaze into the bakery case with my mouth-watering and hoped the baker would offer a small one for me to taste while my mother shopped.

Almond paste cookies are relatively easy to make and will be a family favorite if you use good quality ingredients. This Rainbow cookie recipe is simple, delicious and the only one you will need!  Get the kids involved, they will love mixing the colors and folding in the egg whites. They freeze great in a single layer and make a beautiful food gift.

Cookie Ingredients

½ pound almond paste broken into small pieces or grated

2 sticks butter or margarine

1 cup sugar

4 eggs (separated)

½ cup Raspberry preserves

½ cup Apricot preserves

Red Gel food color

Green Gel food color

Chocolate Coating Ingredients

½ pound good quality chocolate broken into pieces

3 TBSP shortening

Directions

1.    Preheat the oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.

2.    Grease the bottom of 3 13x9x2 cookie/jelly roll pans

3.    Line each with parchment paper and then grease the parchment paper with Baker’s Joy non-stick spray

4.    In a large mixing bowl, combine the almond paste and margarine until blended

5.    Add the sugar and egg yolks and beat on medium speed until the mixture is light and fluffy

6.    Slowly fold the flour into the mixture until it’s well combined

7.    In a separate medium-sized bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form

8.    Add the egg whites to the almond paste mixture and fold by hand until fully blended

9.    Move 1 ½ cups of batter to a medium-sized bowl and stir in the red food coloring

10.   Move 1 ½ cups of batter to a medium-sized bowl and stir in the green food coloring

11.   Pour each of the 3 mixtures into each prepared pan smoothing the tops

12.   Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown.

a.   The white layer may take a bit longer

13.   Invert the pans onto cooling racks, being sure the center is loosened before turning upside down

a.    Cool 5 minutes, then remove the parchment paper and let them cool completely

14.   Spread the raspberry preserves over the green layer, top with the yellow layer, spread the apricot preserves over the yellow layer, and top with the red layer.

15.   Cover the layered cookie with plastic film, add heavy books on top to press the cookie layers together, and let it sit a few hours or overnight.

16.   When ready to frost- Melt the chocolate and shortening together in a double boiler on low heat, stirring constantly just until the chocolate is melted and smooth.

17.   Trim the rough edges from the 4 sides of the cookie cake, then cut it into 2-inch-wide strips lengthwise and move them a little apart from each other.

18.   Spread the chocolate over the top of each strip, being sure to cover the ends and the sides of each.

19.   Let the chocolate set up, then cut each strip into ¾ inch slices. A warm, sharp paring knife is great for this.