Rainbow Cookies

Loving this recipe! It is labor intensive, but worth it. Although, I just want to point out that the "rainbow" colors are supposed to be representative of the Italian flag and should be red over green -- These are Irish rainbow cookies...

• Anonymous

• Syracuse NY

• 5/15/2020

I LOVE THESE COOKIES. They are a little labor intensive, but what a treat! And such a showstopper! I look forward to making these every year--always enough to gift and enough to save for the family!

• thigrig

• Moscow, ID

• 12/17/2019

I have made these cookies every year now for the last few years. They are labor intensive (but so much less so, now that I have enough of the correct-sized pans). As many have mentioned here, the dough is thick and therefore hard to work. My trick is a little gross, but it works: with damp hands, I actually spread the dough to the edges of the pans with my palms, flattening it out to the sides of the pan. When the dough starts to stick to my hands, I wet them again. This results in evenly distributed dough and causes a lot less stress than trying to use a spatula. I also thin the marmalade ever so slightly with water to make it easier to spread. Even so, more is definitely required than what the recipe specifies.

• thomshap

• SE CT

• 12/19/2018

Does anyone know if the commercial readily available almond paste used in this recipes sweetened? I was planning to make my own almond paste.

• COOKINGMAMA:-)

• NYC

• 12/17/2018

I have used this recipe 3 times and it is excellent. My mother in law has been making tre colori for 50+ years and my husband thinks these are better. It is important that the eggs and butter are at room temperature and to follow the instructions exactly to get them to turn out well. You cannot rush the process but they are so lovely and yummy. I love the orange marmalade vs. apricot or raspberry which is more typical and tends to make the cookie overly sweet. Buonissimi!

• jciaccia

• Carmel, Indiana

• 12/22/2017

I was so excited to make these since I always loved them as a kid! Sadly, they did not turn out as I hoped. They taste delicious, but are very mushy and hard to work with. Maybe I needed to bake them longer...I don't know. It wasn't hard, but was very time consuming, so though I would like to try again to see if I can get it right, it's a commitment, so I am not sure if I will.

• terridc

• Charlottesville, VA by way of NY

• 12/16/2017

These were amazing! My girlfriend said they tasted exactly her childhood! I'm not a baker at all, and trust me, if I can make it, you can make it. It takes a while but really is worth it. Definitely I'd recommend using an electric mixer, my arms were really sore since I don't have one. Also, I used a can of almond filling it came out just fine. My cakes also took longer to cook, about 18 min including 1 rotation. One more tip is to melt the chocolate using a glass bowl in a skillet filled with water. Don't burn it in the microwave like my first attempt! Overall, would highly recommend!

• Anonymous

• Portland, OR

• 2/16/2017

I wish I didn't love these so much! They are incredibly time consuming (although as other reviewers have pointed out, they're easy). I used orange jam as the cookie is fairly rich and the tang helps to mellow the sweetness a bit. They are my Christmas labor of love!

• lmforte

• Philadelphia, PA

• 12/9/2016

These sound and look delicious, but I don't understand how there would be 96 cookies. If you end up with an 8" x 12" and cut it into six 2" strips, each strip will be 8" long and would have to be cut into 16 pieces.

• shawfell

• Connecticut

• 10/14/2014

I made this recipe numerous times each time everyone raved about them. My kids love them and they are there go to favorite. I would agree. As to the recipe I increase the chocolate by double and use Raspberry or strawberry jam and the kids like trying different food coloring options its time consuming but worth it

• ausgriffer

• Blacklick OH

• 4/10/2014

所以,抱歉我的第三个评论但是我酒店e several times and have a couple of hints... 1) add a little butter 1-2 T to the melted chocolate to create a bit of a ganache. It will still harden in the fridge but be a lot neater when you cut the cookies. 2) on the advice of another website, I skipped separating the eggs. I just added them one at a time to the butter/almond/sugar mixture and was sure to mix well to aerate. 3) I have also used almond filling. The batter is a bit looser thus easier to work with and creates a softer, cakier cookie. I preferred these but the rest of my family preferred the dense version made with almond paste. Definitely worth the trouble regardless of how you make them. I cook the batter until it is no longer shiny.

• mdmulhern

• 2/14/2014

Delicious! I have made these many times. The finished product is better than most Italian bakeries in my opinion. They freeze well too. I do use additional chocolate to glaze with. I also prefer to use raspberry jam.

• sweetsetc

• Hopewell junction, NY

• 12/14/2013

Love these cookies. I have been making these for Christmas for many years. One thing I do differently is to cut the assembled layers into even logs. I then coat the three sides and two ends with chocolate. Once they set I will wrap and freeze so that I can then use one log at a time when making cookie trays.

• Roeb

• Windsor, CO

• 10/2/2013

Sorry...I thought I would be able to just edit my first review! These cookies were a success. My husband, who did not like the one's we tried from Balducci's, loved these. I would recommend about 6 oz of chocolate per side (so 3 bars of Ghiradelli or the like). I let the cookie rest to bring it up to room temperature before spreading the chocolate. I also skipped the freezing part and just stuck it back in the fridge. This recipe is a lot of work but you get tons of cookies and they are certainly show stoppers. I plan to make these for my annual cookie exchange this Christmas.

• mdmulhern

• 9/8/2013

So...these are resting in the fridge as I type. I am very excited about trying them and cross my fingers that they turn out. These are involved but as another reviewer mention, each step is quite simple. It took about 45 minutes to get them into the oven. The batter was thick but spread perfectly, albeit thinly, to the edge of each pan. I increased the cooking time to about 12 minutes, until the cakes were no longer shiny. Assembly took less then 5 minutes. I will suggest a hint from the other rainbow cookie recipe on this site: use the Cuisinart to combine the almond paste and sugar. I roughly chopped the paste and followed the directions and I could still see some pieces in my batter. I also used seedless raspberry jam, that flavor seems a no brainer with the almond. I am also going to double the amount of chocolate- I bought two 4 oz Ghiradelli bars and will use one per side. I'll write an update after I assemble!!

• mdmulhern

• 9/7/2013