These cookies, (also known as rainbow cookies, flag cookies, and a variety of other things) are a bit of a Christmas tradition in my family. And by "a bit of" I mean if they are not there, several grown men weep like small children and it's just not Christmas. While these are possibly my favorite cookie of all time, they are also a giant pain in the ass, which is why I only make them once a year. My mother handed the responsibility for these over to me at 16, and this is the first year that no step of the process has left me in tears on the kitchen floor declaring them ruined. Should this happen to you, don't worry. It is a time-honored part of making these and I promise, the more convinced you are that they're completely screwed, the better they will taste in the end.
Note: the pictures in this post are from a double batch, so don't worry if your batter does not look quite so voluminous
You will need:
1/2 can of almond paste (5 ounces total)
1/2 can of Solo almond pastry filling- this is my mom's secret ingredient. If you can't find it, use 10 ounces of almond paste, but do your best, it really makes the dough more workable.
3 sticks of butter
1 cup of sugar
4 egg whites- do NOT use the kind from a carton
2 cups of flour
Red and green food coloring (or whatever you want, go crazy)
1jar of raspberry jam, seedless
1 jar of apricot jam
bag of dark chocolate chips
3 jelly roll pans- 13x9 and 1/4 deep- you cannot use another size with this recipe.
Start by creaming the almond paste and almond filling together in a large bowl. When they are as mixed as you can make them, add the softened butter
Next add the sugar, and then the flour
Then, in a second bowl, beat the egg whites until they form stiff peaks, like this:
CAREFULLY fold the egg whites into the rest of the batter, adding the egg whites in 4-5 batches, scraping down the sides as you go.
Divide the batter up between 3 bowls. If you are one of those fancy people with a kitchen scale, you can do this by weight. If you're like me, you can use the "one for you, one for you, and one for you" method-dropping spoonfuls into each in turn and hoping it winds up about equal
Then add your food coloring.
Now for the annoying part. My mom swears by using parchment paper on each pan, but I find it gets in the way, and only use it on the bottom pan to protect it when cutting the cookies. If you're using parchment paper, I suggest buttering the pan, and using the butter to stick the paper to the pan. This keeps it from slipping around while you're spreading.
Now, grease the ever-loving crap out of the pans you are not using paper on. I don't care how good you think your non-stick is, just do it. The carefully spread the batter along each pan. You will wind up with a very, verrry thin layer of batter, but try not to have any spots of pan showing through
Bake at 350 for 12-14 minutes. You don't wan it getting golden, so if you see brown around the edges pull them out asap. Let cool completely.
Spread a thin layer of apricot jam along the layer you intend to be the base
VERY VERY CAREFULLY pick up the middle layer and, moving quickly, invert it over the bottom layer. Bang the bottom a few times to loosen things up, and remove. Then spread a thin layer of raspberry jam on this layer
Top with the top layer. Cover in plastic wrap, place one of the baking sheets back on top, and refrigerate overnight
The next day, top with the melted chocolate, let cool completely. For best results, refrigerate overnight a second time before cutting, with something on top to weigh it down and compress the layers so they don't fall apart. With a very, very sharp knife, cut into small rectangles. Serve. Bask in the praise and adoration
No comments:
Post a Comment