While this recipe says cookies, it's actually made up of three layers of cake filled with jam and topped with chocolate. The cake is filled with almond paste and extract for a great nutty flavor. This recipe has a lot of steps, but the end product is delicious! You can mix things up with different colors like ombre blue.
To make this, whip up the batter and fold in some whipped egg whites. Separate batter into three bowls and color one green another red and leave the last one uncolored. Spread out into trays. You can either use 3 quarter trays or 2 half trays. If you're using half trays, each layer will take up half of a tray. Start by carefully spreading the green batter into half of the tray and fill the rest of it with the pink batter. For the uncolored batter, build a wall out of the parchment paper to stop it from spreading to the other half of the tray.
Once the cake is baked and cooled, you can start assembly. Take the green layer and spread jam on top of it. Place the uncolored layer on top and then spread with remaining jam then place the pink layer on top. Now, refrigerate the cake and place weights on top of it. Do this by placing a baking sheet on top and place a couple cans or heavy plates on top.
Once the cakes are pressed together, top with melted chocolate and then enjoy!
Recipe
Makes: 35 cookies Time: 30 minutes + 4 hours cooling
Ingredients
1 cup sugar
8 ounces of almond paste (canned or use the recipe below)
3 sticks unsalted butter, softened and divided
4 eggs, separated
¼ cup milk
2 teaspoons almond extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon red food coloring
¼ teaspoon green food coloring
½ cup raspberry jam, divided
1½ cups semisweet chocolate chips, melted
Almond Paste
1 cup almond flour
1/2 cup Powdered Sugar
1 Egg White
1/4 tsp Almond Extract
1/8 tsp sea salt
Directions
Make Almond Paste by mixing all the ingredients together until well combined. Make a ball and cover with plastic wrap until needed.
Preheat the oven to 325° and grease three 9-by-13-inch quarter sheet pans with cooking spray. Note: if you don't have these you can use two 13-by-18 half sheet pans, and fold up the edge of the parchment paper to create a wall down the middle of the pans.
In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the sugar, almond paste and 1 stick of butter. Mix until smooth and lump free, being sure to break down the almond paste as best you can. Add the remaining 2 sticks of butter and continue to mix until smooth.
Gradually add the egg yolks, followed by the milk and almond extract. Mix until combined. Add the flour and slowly mix until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. Fold the whipped egg whites into the flour mixture to form a smooth batter, then divide equally between 3 bowls.
Stir the red food coloring into the first bowl of batter until evenly pink colored, then stir the green color into the second bowl of batter until evenly green colored, leaving the third bowl untouched. Evenly spread each bowl of batter into the greased and parchment-lined sheet pans, and bake, rotating halfway through, until set, 10 to 12 minutes. Then let cool completely.
Once cooled, spread half of the jam to cover the surface of the green cake and place the undyed layer, making sure the parchment is discarded, directly on top, sandwiching the jam. Repeat this step by spreading the remaining jam on top of the undyed layer and placing the pink layer directly on top of it, discarding the parchment.
Cover the cake with plastic wrap and top with another sheet pan. Weigh down the layers with heavy plates or cans, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight.
7. Remove the weights and plastic wrap. Spread half of melted chocolate over the top of the cake and refrigerate until set, 30 minutes. Once solid, flip the cake onto a cutting board, discarding the bottom layer of parchment, and spread the remaining melted chocolate in a even layer over the surface. Return to the refrigerator and chill until set, 30 minutes.
Once set, trim the cake into a 7½-by-10½-inch rectangle and cut into 1½-inch squares, then serve.
Recipe adapted from Tasting Table's Italian Rainbow Cookie. Almond Paste recipe from Bob's Red Mill.
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