Taste the Rainbow

I guess I'm starting this blog off with the All-Star team. After my favorite meal (Eggplant Napoleons), Rainbow Cookies are second to none when it comes to desserts.

Growing up, they gave me the ability to swiftly answer (or point to in the bakery): "Annie, what kind of cookies should we get?" or "Annie, if you were a cookie, what would you be?"

It needn't be said, but these answers still apply. The almond-y cake layered with raspberry jam and topped with decadent chocolate is the taste-bud Triple Crown. Maybe it was a way of holding on to a bit of my child-like silliness, but the day I was able to successfully recreate the cookie of all cookies was cause for celebration. I make them every year at Christmastime. I normally make them twice though because they don't make it to Christmas day!

Rainbow Cookies

½ cups unsalted butter, softened, plus more for pans
2 cups flour, plus more for pans
1 cup sugar
1 12.5-oz. can almond filling
4 eggs
12 drops green food coloring
12 drops red food coloring
12 drops yellow food coloring1 12-oz. seedless raspberry jam
12 oz. semisweet chocolate, melted

1. Heat oven to 350°. Grease and flour three 9″ x 13″ baking pans and line with parchment paper; set aside. Using a hand mixer on high speed, beat butter and sugar in a bowl until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add pastry filling; beat until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour; beat until just combined. Evenly divide batter into 3 bowls. Add green food coloring to one bowl, red food coloring to the second bowl, and yellow food coloring in the third bowl; stir colorings into batters. Spread each batter into their own prepared baking pan. Bake each pan until just beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Invert cakes onto wire racks; cool.

2.  Place green cake on a foil-lined baking sheet. Spread half the jam over green cake; top with yellow cake. Be careful inverting these! Spread remaining jam over yellow cake; top with red cake. Chill cakes to set jam, 1 hour. (It helps to weight down the stacks of cakes with another baking pan during this time)

3. Spread chocolate over top, sides, and ends of each log until completely covered; chill to set chocolate. Using a slicing knife, trim cake edges to form an even block. (Eat these trimmings as you go!!) Slice block crosswise into 1 ½″-wide logs; separate on a cutting board. Slice each log crosswise into ½″-thick squares to serve.