Rainbow Cookies

Penney, you have saved me a BUNDLE of money since I no longer need to fly back to New York to get these cookies!! I can't believe how great these taste - my visiting NYC relatives don't believe I MADE them! I'm not crazy about other reviewers' ideas of cutting these before coating with chocolate - though it's difficult for me to admit there could ever be such a thing as too much chocolate, these cookies have such a great flavor, it's a shame to cover it up entirely. I've found that, after coating the uncut cookies with chocolate and letting the chocolate firm up a bit, you can cut through the chocolate neatly if you dip the knife in hot water before each cut. Just make sure you wipe the knife off with a towel so that it is still hot but not wet. I am GRATEFUL for this recipe - thanks again!

I found this recipe about a month ago and have since made 4 batches of these cookies. Everyone loves them! They come out incredibly moist and delicious. I have made some moderations to this recipe. First when breaking up the almond paste make sure to beat it very well with the sugar until it is completely beaten if not you will see the paste in the finished cookies. Second add almond extract to the dough- I would go as much as 3/4 tablespoon, this really adds to the flavor of the cookies. The spreading of the dough is difficult but do-able. I take the parchment paper and make it large enough to put under the pan on each side which makes it MUCH easier to spread. Also, for the melted chocolate on top I add a little heavy cream and butter to make it spread easier and cut without breaking. I also add some powdered sugar on top of the cookies afterwards which covers any imperfections in the chocolate.

This is one of my all-time favorite and most requested recipes. I even make it easier by just spraying the pans with non-stick cooking spray instead of parchment paper and the cookies easily come out. Every time I make these people cannot believe they were not bought in a bakery they look so beautiful and professional. And how they taste!! Delicious and super moist little cakes. Outrageous!

These are delicious cookies and easy to make (just takes a bit of time). The combination of flavors is wonderful. They are beautiful cookies and look a lot harder to make than they really are. I will definitely make them again! One hint: I grate the almond paste into the batter. This makes it much easier to incorporate the almond paste into the cookie dough. I love this cookie!!

I made these cookies and everyone wanted the recipe! They did take a little longer than I expected and I did think the chocolate on top overpowered the cookies but everyone loved them! I'll definately make again but next time I'll put a thinner coat of chocolate on top. It does make a lot of cookies so that does help compensate for the extra time it takes to prepare them. Be sure you cut them before they harden too much or like other people said, the cookies will crack. Another tip, almond paste is very expensive. Try to find a wholesale baking store to purchase a large container. I think the container I bought was about 10 lbs and only cost about $22. That is MUCH less than you would spend in the grocery store. I freeze it and keeps fine for a LONG time.

I am a New Yorker living in FL and these cookies taste as if they came from an Italian bakery in NY. I have not found any bakeries here that have pastries as good as NY. My husband and I love rainbow cookies and everytime we go to NY we get some. This recipe is great and the cookies come out great. I have made them several times and everyone loves them.

Very cute and yummy. I found them easy to make, just a little time consuming. I replaced the almond paste with almond filling (Solo brand). It comes in a 12oz can, but I only used 8oz. I only used raspberry preserves and added 2 T butter and 1/4 heavy cream to the chocolate. I cut logs out (6 of them) before pouring the chocolate on top. That way I ended up with chocolate on three sides. I eyeballed the food coloring until the colors looked bright and vibrant. To compress the layers while they rested in the refrigerator, I put a pan (one of the 9x13 I used) on top and inside I placed a 5 pound bag of rice to apply pressure for 8 hours. UPDATE: I made these again and used raspberry jam instead of preserves and they tasted even better. I also went ahead and added 1 tsp almond extract and it was great. I added the entire can of almond filling this time (12oz Solo brand) and will not do so in the future. It came out too soft/gooey even though the volume it added helped manage the batter better. I'll stick to 8oz of filling, raspberry JAM and definitely add cream and butter to the chocolate. I experimented doing it both ways (with and without) and without cream and butter, the chocolate does crack when u cut them up. They are absolutely delicious.

WoW!! A lot of work but definitely worth it. I would also cut before the chocolate is completely cooled to avoid cracking. This is better than some bakeries!! Will make again and again!!!!!!!

These are spectacular! I took one reviewer's advice and added almond extract to the cake, and cream and butter to the icing, both of which worked out really well. I also added yellow food dye to the plain cake layer just to make it look more like a rainbow and it really did make a nice presentation. One tip--the first time I made these I had a great deal of trouble getting the very thick dough spread evenly over the relatively large area of the baking pan. The second time, I sprayed a large sheet of wax paper with Pam, put it face-down on the dough that I had poured into a baking pan, took another baking pan of the same size, and pressed the dough down evenly. The wax paper came right off, and with a little touch-up, I had the dough edge-to-edge effortlessly. Thanks for this recipe. Everyone says they're better than anything they've ever gotten from a bakery.

I have made these countless number of times to rave reviews. They are worth all the effort. My recipe calls for greasing the 9x13 pan then add wax pax and grease that, bake cookies and flip onto board the green layer, then spread preserves, then yellow, etc. It has never failed me.

This is an amazing recipe! All of the previous reviews are precisely accurate. I am an beginner- intermediate level baker and found this recipe very manageable. Although it is a little time consuming, I didn't find it overwhelming. The end product is worth every second! Adaptations: I used 12 ounces of almond filling instead of the 8 ounces of paste, added 1 tablespoon of pure almond extract, used food coloring gel, only seedless raspberry jam, and mixed the melted chocolate with 1/4 cup of heavy cream and 2 tablespoons of butter. The cookies look and taste professional.

These are the BEST!! Substituting with almond filling does make them moister. Adding almond extract makes them more tasty. For those who dont see a difference in seperating the eggs and beating the whites, there is a difference. Whipping up those whites makes it more "fluffy", and easier to spread in the pan. For those who are using regular cake mix (?) or omitting the almond filling/paste - and using different flavors on each layer (??) Your "cookie" may be tasty - but it is in NO WAY a rainbow cookie!! You do NOT KNOW what you are missing until you try this made the RIGHT way. As far as using raspberry only or raspberry and apricot, thats your own taste preference really. Thank you so much for this recipe, I have made it dozens of times. I also made the mistake of giving some to neighbors who fell in LOVE woth them, so I have to make them quite frequently to please all family and friends!! These are not just a "Christmas" cookie, can be made for any occassion or no occassion at all! I do recommend using only the amount of jam in the recipe, it is not as good with too much jam. The amount in the recipe is PERFECT! I made that mistake the first time I made these. Really, thank you so much!!!

Using this recipe and 9x13 baking sheets makes it very difficult indeed to spread the batter. Increase all the ingredients by 50% and use 10x15 baking sheets. That way, there is a little more batter per pan and you will get more rainbow cookies...a definite plus. And two changes are called for: Instead of using 12 oz. of almond paste, use 4oz. almond paste and 8oz. (2/3 can) of Solo Almond Pastry Filling...much moister; much easier to work with. And grate the almond paste to make sure it mixes well. And definitely add a couple teaspoons almond extract for good almond flavor. And whip the egg whites well to increase the volume of the batter. Jeez, these take a lot of time and are a pain in the you know what to make, but oh man, they are just decadently delicious. And feel free to play with the chocolate coating...instead of semi-sweet chips, melt 3 3oz. size bars...a Dove Dark, Chocolove 65% dark, Ghirardelli Dark, etc. mix them up for unique flavors. And be sure to use a pat or so of butter with the melting chocolate to make it easier to spread. Have fun and enjoy.

This recipe is great, although there is an almost EXACT recipe on this site titled "Italian Wedding Cookies II". The other recipe calls for a little more butter and it is NOT necessary to separate the eggs and DEF add almond extract. I have made these cookies countless times, and a word of advice to all those having trouble with the spreading: use 3 aluminum pans (usually 3 for 99 cents at the 99 cent store)and spray with ALOT of pam. When u spread the layers you will see the pam in the corners. THAT IS FINE. The aluminum allows you to bend, punch, or even cut out the layers. All three layers become perfectly the same size. Also dont worry about any indentations from the pan or a little mush from pam.. you will be covering it with chocolate anyway. These are pretty close to the bakeries in NYC and always go over big at a party!

I've been making these cookies for years, but with the changes I made based on the reviews of others, these were the BEST I have ever made! I used almond filling instead of almond paste (the whole 12 oz can), added almond extract, used only raspberry jam (no apricot), and added 2 tablespoons of butter and 1/4 cup heavy cream to the melted chips for the frosting. The frosting didn't crack like it usually does when I try to cut into pieces. These cookies were moist and extremely tasty. Absolutely wonderful. Thanks so much for all the great tips!!!....an update: I made these this year for Halloween. They were a big hit! I just used orange paste food coloring instead of the red. Now wasn't that a great idea?

I have searched and searched for this recipe. I get rave reviews every time I make it. Althought instead of making one batch and splitting into 3 layers. I make a separate batch for each layer. Thumbs up. These cookies are great!!!!!

This recipe is awesome!! I actually didn't separate the eggs and it's not necessary to do so - it's supposed to be a denser cookie, and it worked wonderfully!! My husband gave me a great idea on how to spread the batter onto the parchment paper: place the paper inside the pan and score the edges with a knife. Pull it out and plop the dough in the middle and spread it out evenly out to the edges that you made. Then just put it back into the pan and you have a perfectly even cookie!

My great Aunt used to bake these for my sister and me every Christmas and I was so happy to find the recipe. They tasted just like hers used to. I did add almond extract and I used a little yellow food coloring for the "uncolored" layer. I also coated them with dark chocolate and put sprinkles on top - they're absolutely delectable and I can'r wait to bake them again!!

Delicious. A perfect cookie. My daughter & I missed these at our grocer this Christmas so we set out to find a good recipe to make together. We grated the almond paste which I think helped blend easier. After a taste test we decided to add 4 tsp. Almond extract to the dough to enhance & give a richer flavor so the jams & chocolate wouldn't overpower. We will make some adjustments next time to the pan/ spreading technique. We added 2 TBS butter & 1/4 C. Heavy cream to chips when melting. We will make extra chocolate next time in order to cover 3-4 sides of each. Really wonderful recipe. Thanks so much for posting.

Really excellent with the following changes.... Definitely use almond filling (whole 12 oz can) INSTEAD of almond paste. Also, add 2 tsp. almond extract. Tip - These cookies can be made (cut into logs with chocolate) and then frozen. WRAP well in Saran wrap and then freeze....simply defrost and cut when cookies are needed.

These are my favorite cookies and I always buy them from the store. They are usually pretty pricey and cheap with the quantity given so I decided to try and make them myself and I had fun doing it. They are extremely time consuming, so you have to have patience and really want to make them. It didn’t take me long to mix because I have a Kitchen Aid mix master and I pretty much threw all the ingredients in there and had it do all the work. I didn’t beat the egg whites in a separate bowl nor fold it in the dough because the cookie is meant to be compressed for a few hours so I didn’t think it made much sense to fold in the eggs. As far as laying out the batter into the three pans, I took a butter knife to evenly spread it. Its kind of like spreading frosting, I didn’t have a difficult time dealing with it, it’s just a different texture and requires different handling than standard baking dough’s (patience). I used ½ a cup of jam on both layers I spread chocolate mix and also chocolate sprinkles all over. It is best to cut the cookie shortly after the chocolate is added. The recipe made about $60 worth of cookies and tasted better than any bakery or packaged rainbow cookie I’ve ever had. Everybody loved them and ate them right up. I’ve heard that these cookies taste better as they age (2+ weeks) but they are too hard to resist eating until them. I highly recommend them.

OH MY GOSH! I am from Long Island...I moved to Harrisburg PA a few years ago...a place that doesn NOT make or has even heard of Rainbow Cookies. Not one bakery. I am Italian, and these were always one of the pastries served on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. I am having CHristmas Eve this Year, and I just finished making these. They are absolutely wonderful and I would not change one thing. The only thing I did was slice the cake to make strips so I could coat the top, bottom, and sides with chocolate. That way, when you slice them into the small rectangles, the whole thing is covered in chocolate except the inside. I also sprinkled the tops with mini chocolate chips after coating. DEEEEE-LICIOUS!!! And *very* easy to make!

I am not a baker and I made these for Christmas. Recipe was esay to follow and outrageous. Mine looked a lttle messy but no one cared

Interesting. I have to admit, I tried this recipe purely out of curiosity because I have never heard of rainbow cookies before. I wasn't too wild about the flavors combination. These definitely need at least a day after assembling for the flavors to develop. In response to other reviews, yes these are a bit time consuming but no more than decorating sugar cookies or filling and frosting a cake. Isn't that what baking is all about...Patience, creativity and adding love? With that said, the most difficult part I found was spreading the batter in the pans. But I just treated it like I was frosting a cake and just spread it slowly with a rubber spatula. I didn't even really need to smooth it with a frosting spatula, it smoothed out just fine in the oven. I used almond filling because I couldn't find almond paste. I shouldn't have used such a heavy item to compress the cookies because they ended up too flat and dense, my own fault. I found the chocolate to be too overpowering in flavor and took away from the other flavors of the cookie. If I ever make these again (probably not) I would use less chocolate. Oh and I did add 1/4 c heavy cream and 1.5 tbsp butter to chocolate to prevent cracking and it worked. After coating in chocolate, I refrigerated for 40 min and cut. No cracks!

Loved this recipe! Do not follow others advice and use almond filling instead of the almond paste....it adds way too much additional sugar. Look at the ingredients and you can see that almond filling is just paste with butter and lots of powdered sugar added. But, do break up your filling with a fork and then cream together very well. I used a paddle in my kitchen aid mixer to cream together the sugar and paste first, before adding eggs and butter. What advice did I follow? The addition of 1 tsp almond extract was amazing! And also melting the chocolate with a little butter and cream was also fantastic advice. I had no trouble spreading the batter, or reemoving the cake from the pan (although I did spray the pan and the paper with cooking spray) and 6 drops of coloring was perfect. A lot of work but so worth it...delicious!

Yummy!!!!I'm from NY and can't find these down here in Louisiana. I made them in Green, Purple, and Gold layers to celebrate Mardi Gras. (Boy have things changed to what we did during Mardi Gras before having kids!) A few things I noted: no way was one bag of chips enough...I needed two bags. I guess that's b/c I should have thinned out the chocolate a little with shortening or something. Also, I would suggest you skip that last "flip" to add chocolate to the 4th side. Three was plenty. Another thing...I think I'd save myself the headache and double this recipe next time because that dough was pretty tough to spread out. And lastly...I used a tube of marzipan (not can). I don't know if that's different than paste, but I couldn't crumble it for anything! It was hard as a rock. My hubby and I worked on it forever, and I still ended up with bits & pieces that did not dissolve. Anyhow, we're just novice bakers....most of these things were probably our own doing. Overall......exceptional and impressed every person who had one. Thanks!!!! (I have attached my photos too!)

I have been wanting to make these cookies for a while but I haven't since so many people tell me they are so time consuming and difficult to make. I finally decided to make them to add to my christmas cookie trays and they are amazing. They really are not that difficult to make. Since I did not increase the dough the spreading was a little work but I greased the pan 1st and then put the parchment paper on top. This helped keep paper in place. These were my favorite cookie growing up and I'm so happy I now have the recipe to make them. I did use almost a full 12 oz can of the almond filling as well as the tbs of almond extract. I also put the 1/4 cup heavy cream and 2tbs butter into the chocolate before spreading. I think next time I will just put the chocolate on top instead of on the sides as well. I think too much chocolate takes away from the almond and preserves taste. I followed the recipe and used both raspberry and apricot filling. They came out exactly like the bakery. My 96 year old Italian Grandma told me they were perfect and that compliment doesn't come so easy from her. Thanks for the great recipe, I'm already making my second batch.

I created my own issues while making these and even though they suffered as a result, I still found them to be delicious and authentic and I will definitely try to make them again the right way! These cookies are expensive in the Italian bakeries nearby and everyone in my house enjoys them (including my toddler) so to be able to make a big batch of them and have it taste the same is great! My problems arose out of doubling the recipe to fit into my sheet pans and then not portioning out evenly (I wound up with a very thin layer of red). I also didn't do the egg white separately because my hand mixer broke and I didn't feel like transferring all the dough in and out of my stand mixer having to keep washing the bowl to get it all completed plus some reviewers didn't bother with that step and it still worked well. Next time I will try it as written but I will make 2.5 times the recipe to fit my pans to make it easier to portion out and fit my pans. Still, with those issues I really liked the cookie and didn't find it to be too difficult or time consuming to make.

This is my sons favorite cookie. I made this recipe last night and it was a hit. Everyone that tasted it said it tasted like it was from the Italian Bakery, and I was asked for the recipe. I did tweek it based on other reviews. I used a can of almond filling, added a teaspoon of almond extract, and added the eggs without separating. It also helps that I used a stand mixer. I can't imagine mixing by hand or with a hand mixer. The parchment paper helps to get the dough out of the pans in one clean step. I melted the chocolate with 1/4 cup of heavy/whipping cream and a tablespoon of butter. I will definitely make this again. Thank you for sharing this recipe.

These are so gorgeous and delicious that I have to give them 5 stars despite how incredibly difficult it was for me to spread the dough in the 9x13 pans. I almost gave up. I'm glad I didn't, the finished result is gorgeous and tasty. I added 1 tsp almond extract with the paste, sugar, butter, and eggs. I didn't bother separating the eggs, and I added 2 Tbsp butter and 1/4 cup heavy cream to the chocolate chips. As another reviewer said, make sure the paste is broken up VERY well before you start.

Wow. Just wow. It might be difficult to spread the dough out into the pans all the way, but it will spread as it bakes, and you can trip it up if you need to. I made these a year and a half ago, and my brother keeps asking me to make them again. They are a lot of work, but certainly worth it.

I made these cookies for Christmas. It was my first try and they where FANTASTIC. Everyone was so surprised I baked them and they tasted like they came from the bakery.

My whole family loved this recipe! I used almond filling instead of paste, and added butter and cream to the melted chocolate. I only left the weight on the cakes for an hour and they still came out perfect!

This recipe is awesome, I have one alteration: I use dark chocolate instead of semisweet plus some heavy cream when melting.

Love this recipe! Friends/Family can't believe it's homemade. One tip..I melt the butter in microwave and break up almond paste in warm/hot butter. Makes it much easier to work with and blends to a smoother cake.

Iv been making these cookies for years. I first found the recipe in a Holidays Womans Day magazine. Then a few years ago I lost the magazine. I googled it and found it again on the internet and then found my magazine. I also dont use the apricot jam or separate the eggs. I use more chocolate by coating the top of each later with melted chocolate then spreading on the jam. The top only gets the choclate. After its all put together I cover with wax paper and place heavy books on top and set in a cool place. We always called them Italian Christmas Cookies.

These turned out great. I didn't have any almond paste, and the grocery store does not offer any, so I made the recipe exactly as is without it...and they came out fantastic. I also did not cut the melted chocolate chips with anything. The trick to cutting without breaking is to cool it enough to keep its form, but not enough to break. You can finish cooling them after you cut them. I tried to add butter and cream to make it smooth, and it came out clumpy...so I used THAT chocolate to make fudge and finished off the cookies with straight melted chocolate chips. I'm the one that takes cookies and such to work and everyone absolutely loves them. My family and friends all gave this one a 5 star thumbs up. Just to clear a few things up...you don't HAVE to use the jam on the recipe. I used strawberry jam on both layers and it was great. Next time, I may use lemon pie filling. Another would be to add different extracts to each layer (strawberry, vanilla and chocolate for a neopolitan cookie)...with the chocolate layer colored brown of course. You can use icing (powder sugar w/water) to bind the layers. The possibilities are pretty wide.

I worked at an Italian bakery in HS, and have been looking for a recipe for these cookies- this is it! They are well worth the effort, and we can't have Christmas without them. I do make a simple syrup flavored with almond extract, spray each layer and wait 5 mins or so before spreading the jelly, and they are so moist. Thanks so much!

I am so glad that I went against my first hunch not to make these. At first glance they look VERY time consuming and hard to make. WRONG! Not that time consuming and SO EXQUISITE! Double Thanks for this one! :-))))))) A+++++++

The first time I made this recipe, it was a little too dry. I now use a full tube of gel food coloring to give it a vibrant color and add a little more moisture. I also add 2 tbsps of almost extract to enhance the almond flavor. The chocolate alone also gets a little too thick to spread evenly alone, I add 4-6 ounces (roughly half a large can) of evaporated milk to make the chocolate spreadable. I don't think apricot jam adds much to the recipe so use only raspberry jam. When I made it with these revisions, I ended up winning a bake-off at work.

These cookies provide an absolute heavenly explosion of flavour! Almond, raspberry, and chocolate. What's not to like?! I have to agree with other users who advise adding 1 tbsp of almond extract in the batter -it enhances the cookie dough beautifully. Melting the chocolate with the butter and heavy cream is also a must. The chocolate was firm , thick and fudgy. It did not crack at all. I tinted the middle layer as well a nice peachy orange shade. All together, the 3 layers of pink, orange and green really make for a beautiful cookie. The only drawback I have about this recipe is that it is tough to spread the batter on the parchment paper in the pan. I'm hesitant to use spam though...

difficult to master, but worth the effort. Better than the bakery!

great recipe . adding 2tbls of butter and 1/4 cream to the chocolate worked great

I grew up in NY and have been looking for these cookies since I left. I am so thrilled to finally find a recipe and this one is WONDERFUL! It is exactly as I remember. I know many reviews call for leaving out the apricot jam, adding extra chocolate, and adding almond extract - DON'T! The raspberry and apricot are the perfect combination and the chocolate is perfect just on top (don't melt the whole bag - only one cup like the recipe calls for.) These cookies are suppose to be delicately almond not overpowering. Parchment paper is your friend in the recipe! Getting an even layer is more like frosting a cake rather than pouring batter. 10 minutes is probably plenty long to bake and the layers do not usually brown - they would be too done. Fridge AT LEAST overnight with weights. I spread the melted chocolate on top just after pulling the cookies out of the fridge. Buy the time I had finished frosting, the chocolate was beginning to set up on the cold layers. I cut immediately with a VERY sharp knife and they cut beautifully with minimal to no cracking.

These were excellent...just like the traditional Italian recipe my family keeps secret. Just a few tips...spray Pam on the corners of the pans UNDER the parchment paper to keep it from sliding around when spreading the dough. Also, a tsp of butter or Crisco mixed in the the chocolate will prevent it from cracking when it's cut. Use the canned paste, not the roll...its much easier to work with. These are time consuming but soooo worth it!

I thought these were really good and something different than I had ever made before. I didn't separate the eggs to save time, I did add butter (2tbls) and heavy cream (1/4th cup) to ensure the chocolate wouldn't crack when I cut them. If you do that you can wait, as the recipe calls for with no cracking at all. I also used almond filling as someone suggested and added a bit of almond extract. I would def make these again for family and friends. I didn't find them that time consuming or frustrating to make with the adjustments. The hardest part was smoothing out the dough on the parchment paper in preparation for the doughs to be baked. My husband had a great tip though we turned our 9x13 pans upside down and laid the paper on top of the bottom of the pan. That way we knew we were lining up the dough properly to fit the pans. Good luck! :) They turned out really pretty too. Thanks for sharing this recipe.

this recipe is the one I've been searching for since I was little because my aunt would make these only during christmas. I love the recipe and the cookies are still soft and fresh even after a week and a half later. I stored them in the fridge to stay fresher. Thank you so much for this recipe.

Absolutely delicious! My 13 year old daughter has made these twice, and each time they were perfect! She had one addition to the batter - 1 tbsp of almond extract and we did add 2 tbsp butter and 1/4 cup heavy cream to the chocolate as others suggested to play it safe. No cracking occurred when cutting and the consistancy of the cookies was on the money. What a great recipe, thank you Penny!

Fantastic flavor and well worth the effort. I happened to have gel food coloring and the colors for each layer came out very deep. Although they're a good amount of work, they're not nearly as hard to make as I expected and they look and taste just like cookies you might get in a good bakery.

Excellent recipe that I have used successfully for several years after first finding it here on this site. In fact, it was my search for such a recipe that led me to make AR the first place. I have had to customize it for the size of my baking pans over the years because I can never make enough of them. I have used milk chocolate chips and had better success without having the chocolate crack on me while cutting. No need to pre-cut as one reviewer had suggested unless you wish to turn these into some type of petit fours. Using and good sharp chefs knife will give you a better cut when slicing. I stick with the traditional apricot and raspberry jams (my preference). I certainly recommend this recipe to anyone. My family and friends can't get enough of them.

These are 5 stars IF you use almond filling instead of almond paste. I also use a little more jam. Everyone loves these!

I read all the reviews and came out with this: crumble almond paste, a fork works well, don't seperate eggs,add yellow color to the plain layer, add almond extract to batter, use whatever flavor jam you have, add butter & cream to chocolate for easier spreading (just 1Tbsp butter melted with chips worked well for me) cut with a clean sharp knife. NO PROBLEMS! I put multi colored sprinkles on mine before cutting. THANKS FOR A GREAT RECIPE!!! I won't make it often, but will bring out for special occassions

Mine turned out so nice would make this recipe again. Took some time to do the differnent colors but was inpressive for a cookie tray. Very good taste.

this is similar to my family's secret recipe. it's delish

RAINBOW COOKIE CAKE!!! I stumbled upon a rainbow cookie cake once before and I loved the idea. A whole cake just like my favorite cookie! Wow...and thanks to this recipe, I figured it out. I followed the recipe exactly as written only I added a splash of almond extract and I used three round 8" pans (bake for about 7-10 mins. longer, eyeball it). For a chocolate glaze that tastes like the traditional rainbow cookie chocolate topping but can be used to frost the whole cake I used the Satiny Chocolate Glaze from this website. The cake will be dense like the cookie, do not expect a cake as moist as a traditional layer cake. If you’re looking for a cake that tastes and looks just like a giant rainbow cookie you will be very pleased. Because of the colors, it's a great cake to serve at Christmat time.

If I could add stars to this I would. I have made this MANY times. I absoultely love it!! I have shipped these cookies accross country, to family, and when I visit I either make these cookies or go home :) When they are all set and done, I cut them into squares and pour melted milk chocolate over them. You can use any chocolate you like, I just like milk chocolate. I have this recipe laminated in duplicate, just in case I lose one. This is a must for parties, or holidays. Very colorful, very delicious!!

These cookies are great but I sifted the flour and added 20 drops of each food coloring. This gave it a more rich look. :)

I made these but have another recipe I like a lot better even though it is similar. I made these first before I found the other one and, frankly, as a notvery experienced baker,I found this difficult to follow and the results were not what I expected. The jam was too thin, the flavor a little bland, and they didn't look too good either. Then I found a recipe with pictures to follow and uses preserves which worked better for me and adds more butter and almond extract which did make a difference.

These cookies are wonderful! I have to say, we tried them right after I made them and we were not impressed. I put them in the refrigerator overnight, they were amazing the next day. My husband is from Europe, I served them a couple of days later when his parents came to visit and got rave reviews!

Great tasting cookies. A bit time consuming to make. And to solve the cookie cutting problem, cut them before the chocolate hardens.

super excellent!!!everybody loved them !!! tasted better than a bakery cause u don't know how long they've been sitting in the case. Got 40 to 50 pieces from mixture. At $9 to $12 a pound u do the math and figure out how much u save !! TIPS Spray Pam for baking on disposable pans and push down the parchment paper on the pans It helps keep the paper from shifting when spreading the dough. Use a utensil knife to spread the dough and then cringe up the edges like a pizza dough to make it more uniform. I used Ghiradelli milk chocolate chips inside of semi-sweet chips and added chocolate sprinkles. Use a pizza cutter to make uniform pieces always cutting away from yourself. Goes great with cold milk. Enjoy !!!

These cookies are great. I couldn't stop eathing them. They aren't hard to make just a little time consuming but so worth it. I made one batch Friday night and another one last night. Also, the suggestion for doing the chocolate chips with the 2TBL butter and 1/4 cup heavy cream is great the chocolate doesn't crack. ENJOY!!!!

these are amazing! ive made them with both almond paste and almond pie filling and the ones with the pie filing are SO much better and moister! also, adding about a quarter cup of heavy cream and 2 tbsp. of unsalted butter helps the chocolate to be a little softer and not crack when you cut them. a lot of work, but worth it in the end! p.s. it makes it a LOT easier if you double the recipe.. the layers become much easier to spread, a little bit thicker, and a lot more easy to handle.

This is a good recipe. There is another one called Italian wedding cookies II. They're not terribly different from one another. I have made both several times. You see a three layered cookie, covered in chocolate. Just how EASY did you think it was gonna be? You really have to have some serious hours logged baking before you take on something like this. It really isn't hard to do, you just have to be very patient, and realize that it takes about 24 hours to make properly. If your chocolate is crusty and dry, you scorched it. If the dough is too dry, try using the filling instead of the paste. My best advise? Read revues before starting!!

Fantastic recipe!! I do add a teaspoon of almond extract, but other than that, A++++

Not as moist as the recipe I've used for years. I decided to try this recipe and although it is good, it is not like the cookies I've had. I'm from Jersey so I know what a great rainbow cookie taste like.

Having tasted these from bakeries in NY, my daughter wanted them for her birthday. I baked each layer in an 8 inch round cake pan, lined with parchment and buttered. Cakes only took a few extra minutes to cook, and proceeded with the assembly in the instructions. 3 8 inch round layers came out to be slightly taller than one regular single cake layer, and I covered it with a chocolate ganache. The cake looked liked it came from a bakery, and tasted outrageously good. I'm sure this will be requested often. Thanks for the great recipe!

have prepared this recipe many times - a family favorite - I only use seedless raspberry jam for the fillings. Also to save time, I have used a yellow cake mix (not butter recipe) and it has worked well.

The taste was really good but it did not come out very moist. Maybe I missed something?

Rainbow cookies have been my favorite since I was a little girl. Never in a million years did I think I would be able to make them as good as I find in the bakery but this receipe is it. I cant make enough to keep them in the house with the kids and my family requests them everytime there is a family party or get together. They have actually passed up bakery bought that others have brought to eat these! I did take the advice of others on here and add the almond extract and to use butter and heavy cream with the semisweet chips it does make a big difference. I let my kids pick crazy colors for the food coloring so they can have fun with them too though. One other thing I do is make two trays. One for the kids and one for the adults. I coat the adults cookies with Grand Marnier before adding the chocolate and they taste great! I also go to the dollar store and buy little gift boxes and line them with wax paper, fill them with these cookies to give to the kids teachers as gifts.

After reading the reviews I used almond filling instead of paste and added 1 tsp of almond extract. Mixed chocolate with cream and butter. We love them and they look fantastic! Thanks for sharing a great recipe.

This is WONDERFUL!!! My Aunt used to make this around the holidays and I always wanted to try and make it. I made it last night for the first time and it was well worth the 3hours it took! I will be making it next week for Christmas (last night was my recipe test-run) when my in-laws are here. I followed the recipe exactly, and the changes I am going to make for next time are: 1) Follow previous reviews and add maybe 1 tsp extra of almond extract. 2) Be a little more generous on the jam in between (I only made a VERY thin layer last time). 3) Add a little more than the recommended food dye for bolder colors. 4) I would like to try something new with the pans. I am unsure if I should just go completely non-stick and no parchment or spray them. The parchment just moved around everywhere and was so frustrating! 5) Make your own almond paste. There is a good recipe on here....just search for almond paste. Trust me. Any advice on the pan thing let me know. Otherwise it is a perfect recipe! Thank you so much!

A time-consuming recipe. Yummy though.

Very authentic flavor :) I miss Italian cookies from the bakeries in NY. Brought a taste of home to my new home in MN. Go easy on the raspberry jam and be sure to spread your batter all the way to the ends of your pan, it won't spread on its own.

I found this recipe a few years ago, it was the first time I was making rainbow cookies. I now make these cookies every year for Christmas,( at my daughters request) everyone LOVES them!!! I took the advice of other reviewers and added butter and heavy cream to the chips. It def makes it easier to spread and cut the cookie. One tip, I sprayed the spoon I was using to spread the dough with a little cooking spray, It made it much easier to spread the dough in the pan! Thank you for the great recipe :)

I don't actually eat these cookies but I make them for my sister and she loves them! With the almond paste I would definitaly recoomend using canned instead of the hard tube. I also add a dash of almond paste. Where I have problems is the baking prep. Greasing the parchmant paper always gets really messy and hard to manage but I've been working on it. Haven't found anything really useful yet.

Although tasty and pretty, it was not simple to make this recipe. Had trouble cutting the layered cookie into squares without the chocolate cracking.

This recipe is perfect! I have to admit - I had very low expectations because I'd never made these cookies before. I will never buy them at the bakery again. Thanks for sharing.

These were pretty and tasty, but TIME CONSUMING! It took forever for me to make the dough, then color it, then work it into the pans. Whew! But they turned out nicely and looked great. The taste is a bit bland. I would add almond extract and maybe some vanilla next time. I added 2 tablespoons of butter to the chocolate and microwaved at 50% power till melted, it spread nicely and did not crack. Cut with a big knife and keep dipping it in hot water to make slicing easy. Also, I did not have parchment paper, so I sprayed my nonstick pans with some cooking spray and the dough came out with no problem. I don't think the parchment paper is necessary, it would probably make spreading the dough even more difficult.

I have made this several times. It is great as written. The only thing I do is add a little cream or butter to the meldted chocolate after I cut them into strips/logs. I put the chocolate on three sides and roll them in chocolate sprinkles. Then I slice them into pieces. Everyone loves them.

Great recipe will be making these often! Running the knife under hot water as others suggested works great chocolate did not crack.

I made this recipe exactly. But I did make a few mistakes which turned out wonderful! Instead of separating the eggs, I put them in all together, which gave me the advantage of skipping the whipping and the cookies came out light, fluffy, and melt in your mouth delicious. I am part Italian and these cookies are Authentic. Although I didn't use apricot jam, because a comment about not using it for Italian bakeries don't use it. These cookies were amazing, I will definitely make these again. My whole family loved them!

tried this receipe for a party- everyone loved them- unfortunately I couldn't taste test them because I am allergic to almonds!. Anyone have any suggestions for something else to substitute the alomd paste/extract?

This recipe is truly just as good as any bakery. I found all the comments posted to be very useful and I discovered some tips of my own. I used a cake decorating comb acroos the top of the chocolate to give it a nice effect. I found that a pizza slicer worked really well to slice the cookies. I also found that for each layer of cookie I had to use half a recipe instead of a third.

To make a wonderful dish even better try using almond filling instead of almond paste they come out so moist they melt in your mouth.

This is one of my favorite recipes. As many reviewers said, these cookies tasted exactly like the ones from NY bakeries. I took the advice of other reviewers and used almond filling and added some almond extract to the dough. I also added heavy cream and butter to the melted chocolate chips and put chocolate sprinkles all over. I used just seedless raspberry jam. I'm sure the apricot would be good as.well, but it really didn't need it. A wonderful recipe. Penney, thanks so much for sharing !!

This recipe is the best I've tried - and I've tried a lot! I received rave reviews from evrybody who tasted them. I even think they taste better than the bakery. Thank you so much!

After reading all the commentary, I had to try this recipe. They turned out beautifully. Truthfully, I didn't really know what to expect, but even if I didn't do it exactly right, I was very pleased with the result. They were well recieved and, for what they are, pretty easy to make. Thanks!

This cookie is very delicious. It does take longer than 45 min. to make, closer to 1 1/2 hours, still worth it though. I am from Long Island, as a kid my mother used to buy these from the bakery, my whole family loved them. Since then I have lived in Florida and Virginia, I cannot find them anywhere that taste as good as the N.Y. bakeries made them. When I found this recipe I was so excited, I immediatly gave the recipe to my mother, she has made them about 6 times since, myself, I have made them 4 times. They taste even better than ones at the bakery. I did have a problem with the almond paste in a tube. There were a lot of lumps compared to the paste in a can. Also, slice, then spread the chocolate, before putting in the refrigerator to harden, this will prevent the choc. from cracking. Happy cooking!!!

I have just finished making these for the 4th time. I figured I would share my secrets based on experience and other reviews. 1) Use most of a can of almond filling instead of almond paste. 2) add 2t of almond extract. 3) forget the egg separation part, I didn't see any difference doing it or not doing it. 4) each part is about a cup and a quarter of dough. 5) Don't skip the overnight in the fridge. 6) Don't be stingy with the raspberry preserves and apricot is unnecessary, but if you love apricot go for it. 6) After they are refrigerated I cut the whole brick in half lengthwise then cut into 1 inch bars that I cover in chocolate on four sides, and (this is key) go for the big guns and melt dove promises for this (I use about a bag and a half) it is worth the $$. I dry them on my cooling rack which creates lines perfect for cutting into individual cookies (my wires only go one direction).

I made them and my family and friends loved them!! I never baked cookies before and apparently I will be making them around the holidays from now on!!

EXCELLENT, I also took advice from a few reviews - didn't seperate eggs, a couple tablespoons butter mixed in melted chococlate & used disp. cake pans. I also used this site for recipe to make my own almond paste - also Excellent. Will make again ASAP. They went quickly at my nieces Graduation!

Great recipe!! I recommend this one. I made it for my first time on Thursday (well, I started the process Thur, finished Friday) & it is Sunday now & im making my 2nd batch. Followed other reviewers & added almond extract (about 1/2 tbsp) and used 8oz Almond Filling. Spreading it into the pans is, like another reviewer said, difficult & calls for patience but NOT impossible. It all depends on how patient you are & how even you want them to turn out. Mix the chocolate chips w/ heavy cream & butter & it spreads nicely...I used Ghirardelli. Came out great. THANKS for this recipe!

These are pretty close to the cookies I used to get in the NY bakeries. I did add 1 tsp almond extract and 1/4 tsp salt. Next time I will add 1 TBS almond extract for extra flavor. It was very hard to spread in the pans. I used 3 disposable cake pans like another reviewer suggested. They were only 8 1/2 by 11 1/2. I don't think 9 by 13 would have fit the batter. It was hard enough to cover the bottom of a smaller pan. I also added 1 tsp corn syrup to the melted chocolate (melted in the microwave). I didn't need to refrigerate it. It harded up very quickly and was easy to cut. I did also use a 7 oz tube of almond paste like other reviewer (it is all I could find). For the filling, I only used raspberry jam, that is what the cookies in the bakery have. Yum! Make a pretty addition to my holiday cookie boxes.

It's been a while since I had these and really don't remember what they are supposed to taste like. Mine came out OK? I took many reviewers recommendations and increased ingredients by 50%, used almond filling instead of almond paste and added 1 tbs of almond flavoring to dough mix. For chocolate I did add the 1/4 heavy cream and 2 tbs butter. Tried without via double boiler method and way too thick. So I heated butter and heavy cream in microwave to cream started to boil up and butter was 95% melted. Dumped chips into cream mixture and stirred until nice and smooth. Still baked in the 13x9 pan. I did separate eggs but not sure if it was worth it because I had to stir in coloring (tried folding in but had to stir a little to get to mix) which not sure if it deflated egg whites. Also, not thinking and trying to even out mix in pan tapped pan a few hard times on counter so not sure if that also let air out. All in all cookie came out good but a little too dry for me. I know it's a cookie not a cake but because looks like a cake I'm thinking it should be moister. I don't know it didn't really brown and so I baked for over the 12 min mark thinking it should get brown edges like the directions said. "If" I make again, I won't bang pan on counter and will definitely bake until toothpick comes clean. Oh and definitely add a little salt maybe 1/4 tsp to bring out flavors. I also only used raspberry filling not apricot.

These are the best, just like I remember from growing up in NY. I totally agree with the other reviewers - you must add almond extract - each time I make these I add a little more. I think 1 tbsp. is good. I add 1 tbsp. of shortening to my chocolate chips when melting - there is no cracking. I also do not refrigerate them at all - there is no need. I also leave them uncut until ready to be eaten, unless you are bringing them to someone/something in which case you'd want them cut up into squares. Can someone let me know why they think the almond filling is better and if it is readily available in the supermarket because I don't think I have seen it before.

These were VERY labor intensive. The jam and the chocolate on top prevents you from tasting any of the almond or anything else for that matter. All I could suggest would be to use only one layer of jam (either flavor) and drizzle the chocolate lightly on top instead of pouring all of it on.

These are the best!!

I made this recipe twice last night to double it and the second time came up with an easy way to blend the almond paste. I cut it into chunks and put the almond paste and the sugar into my blender. The almond paste and sugar were pulverized and mixed. It worked wonderfully and VERY quickly. No chunks of almond paste at all. I also added almond extract. They were wonderful thanks! I took a tip from a friend and greased the pans then put parchment paper in the pans and then greased the parchment paper. No breaking and they came out of the pans easily.