Italian Rainbow Cookies

The Rainbow Cookie 4-1-1

Known as tricolor cookies, seven-layer cookies (three cake/two jam/two chocolate layers...though I just do one chocolate) or Italian flag cookies due to their red, white, and green stripes, these tricolor cookies are almost more cake- than cookie-like due to their spongy, soft almond-flavored layers. Throw in raspberry jam and chocolate and there's a reason they're pretty much always the first cookies eaten when you bring a pound or two assortment from the Italian bakery anywhere.

A flavor note: Apricot jam is sometimes used in place of raspberry jam in one or both of the jam layers. I strongly prefer raspberry jam so I leave apricot in the dust, though of course swap it in if it's more your thing.

Rainbow Cookie Ingredients

• Eggs: It bears repeating in a few places but these will be SEPARATED. Whipping the egg whites gives the cake layers their height as there isn't any leavening agent (like baking soda/powder) here.
• Almond paste: You'll find this in the baking aisle, often in both 7- and 8-ounce packages depending on the brand. It comes in boxes with either foil-wrapped tubes or more squared-off packets (pictured) inside. I use 8-ounce (more of that delicious almond flavor!) but I have used 7 ounces before and honestly there wasn't a big difference.
• Chocolate: Choose your favorite type. I often go with semi-sweet chocolate (around 50% cocoa content), but have used 60% bittersweet and even a lower-percentage dark chocolate (70%-ish) and it's all good.
• Raspberry jam: We want smooth jam, so make sure to use seedless. If all you have includes seeds, heat the jam up and press it through a mesh sieve to remove the seeds before spreading onto the cookies. Annoying, but worth it.

How to Make Italian Rainbow Cookies

1. Step 1: Crumble the almond paste into a mixing bowl and add a portion (¾-cup) of the granulated sugar. Mix well to combine, breaking up the almond paste into small pieces.

2. Step 2: Mix in the softened butter for 2-3 minutes until light and creamy.

3. Step 3: Mix in the egg yolks and almond extract. (Add the egg whites into a separate mixing bowl and set aside for now.)

4. Step 4: Add the flour and salt and mix until just combined, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.

5. Step 5: Grab your bowl of egg whites and beat on medium-high speed until soft peaks form. This is when the peak of the egg whites on the whisk stands up and then falls over, to where the tip is now pointed horizontally.

6. Step 6: Slowly add the remaining ¼-cup sugar, then continue beating until stiff peaks form. This is when you hold the whisk upright, the tip of the egg whites stand straight up.

7. Step 7: Gently fold the whipped egg whites into the cookie batter until no foamy pockets remain.

8. Step 8: Separate the batter into three equal bowls. Leave one bowl plain and mix red and green coloring into the other two bowls. You want vibrant colors.

9. Step 9: Spread one color in an even layer in a parchment-lined 9-by-13 pan. Repeat for the other colors if baking all at once (see tips in recipe card if you don't have three pans).

10. Step 10: Bake at 350°F for 9-13 minutes, or until the top surface is just set and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cake layers cool.

11. Step 11: Warm jam and spread half of it onto the cooled red cookie layer. Place the white layer on top of the red, spread the remaining half of jam onto the white layer, then top with the green layer.

12. Step 12: Top with parchment paper, wrap everything with plastic wrap, then place a flat-bottomed pan or cutting board on top of everything to weigh it down. Refrigerate for at least 8 hours, ideally overnight.

13. Step 13: Melt chocolate and spread a thin, even layer on top. Let it briefly set (2 minutes), then drag the tines of a fork through the surface to make a wavy design.

14. Step 14: Wait 10 more minutes (or until the chocolate is mostly set but not all the way) then use a sharp chef's knife to slice the slab into individual rainbow cookies. Let the chocolate fully harden before serving/storing.

Keys to Success

• Allow yourself enough time. You'll need at least 10 hours from walking into the kitchen to get to work to biting into a rainbow cookie, so these cookies are best considered a two-day job (with an overnight rest).
• Don't skip pressing the layers. Weighing down the slab of assembled rainbow cookies for at least 8 hours is necessary so they stick together and don't separate when you slice them.
• Don't wait too long to slice. The top chocolate layer can splinter unevenly if you wait until it's fully hardened before slicing. Still delicious, but a bit of a bummer after spending all that effort making rainbow cookies.
• Using seedless raspberry jam (or straining out seeds). Hard seeds in the jam layers detract from the smooth, spongy, cake-y eating experience.

Ways I've Tested This Recipe

• Timing of the eggs: One time I absentmindedly separated the eggs and whipped the egg whites first thing, which meant they sat there for awhile before being folded into the batter. While they wept a bit and were slightly more deflated than normal, it didn't make a real noticeable difference in the baked cookies. They were perfectly tall enough.
• Liquid vs. gel coloring: I used to use liquid food coloring but have switched over and prefer gel. Italian rainbow cookies are vibrant and require a lot of dye. Gel is more concentrated so you need less of it, while the excess liquid dye required can loosen up the batter too much.
• Different types of pans: Using a 9-by-13 inch pan is the simplest way to ensure even layers, but I have made do with a larger sheet pan. Rainbow cookie batter is thick and generally stays where you spread it, so if needing to use a larger pan, measure out a rectangle and err on the side of making it a smidge smaller than larger to account for some spread while baking.
• Setting the chocolate: This is a Goldilocks situation. I've waited to slice until the chocolate was fully hardened, but that caused some uneven splintering. Slicing the cookies while the chocolate is fairly wet causes the knife to drag down melted chocolate, resulting in a messy appearance. The key is to wait until the chocolate is nearly set - about 12 or so minutes - to minimize both splintering and smearing.

Tips and Tricks

• Clear out some fridge space. Always a pain, but you'll need to refrigerate the 9-by-13-inch slab on a cutting board, sheet pan, or other flat surface for at least eight hours.
• Use almond paste, not marzipan. Worth repeating, but marzipan is much sweeter with a texture that won't integrate well into the cake-y rainbow cookie layers.
• Choose your knife. I think using a sharp chef's knife to slice rainbow cookies produces cleaner edges, but some prefer using a serrated knife. Test out each way to see what you like better.
• Sneakable right from the freezer. Thanks to my husband for this revelation! Italian rainbow cookies are soft and spongy enough to be eaten straight from the freezer, with the chocolate layer having a really nice little snap.

Holiday Rainbow Cookie Variations

Switching up the colors on rainbow cookies is one of my favorite easy ways to get fun + festive with it. Using pastel colors for Easter then shaping with an oval cookie cutter to resemble Easter eggs was a huge hit, and a simple blue-for-green swap is all you need for the Fourth of July.