Italian Rainbow Bars Recipes

ITALIAN RAINBOW COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°. In a large bowl, beat eggs and sugar 2-3 minutes or until thick and lemon-colored. Gradually add almond paste; mix well. Gradually add flour, butter, salt and extract., Divide batter into thirds. Tint one portion red and one portion green; leave remaining portion plain. Spread one portion into each of three well-greased 11x7-in. baking dishes., Bake 7-11 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean and edges begins to brown. Cool 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely., Place red layer on waxed paper; spread with 2 tablespoons jam. Top with plain layer and remaining jam. Add green layer; press down gently. , For glaze, in a microwave, melt chocolate chips and shortening; stir until smooth. Spread half over green layer. Refrigerate 20 minutes or until set. Turn over; spread remaining glaze over red layer. Refrigerate 20 minutes or until set. , With a sharp knife, trim edges. Cut rectangle lengthwise into fourths. Cut each portion into 1/4-in. slices.

ITALIAN RAINBOW BARS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray; line with cooking parchment paper, leaving 1 inch of paper overhanging at 2 opposite sides of pan. Spray paper with cooking spray.
• In small bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt with whisk until blended. In medium bowl, beat butter, sugar, almond paste and almond extract with electric mixer on medium speed 5 minutes or until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until blended. On low speed, beat in flour mixture.
• Spread one-third of the batter (1 1/2 cups) evenly in pan (layer will be very thin). Freeze 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in small bowl, mix green food color into one-third (1 1/2 cups) of the batter. Gently spread over batter in pan. Freeze 5 minutes. In separate small bowl, mix red food color into remaining batter. Gently spread over green batter.
• Bake 24 to 28 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely in pan on cooling rack, about 1 hour. Spread jam over bars. In microwavable bowl, microwave chocolate and whipping cream on High about 1 minute, stirring once, or until mixture is smooth. Spread chocolate mixture over jam. Refrigerate 30 minutes or until chocolate is set. Use paper to lift out of pan. Trim edges, if desired. Cut into 8 rows by 4 rows. Store loosely covered.

ITALIAN RAINBOW COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease three 8-by-4-inch loaf pans and line them with parchment paper that comes at least 2 inches up the long sides of the pan. If you don't have 3 loaf pans, you can bake the layers in batches.
• In a large bowl or in a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the egg whites to soft peaks. With the mixer running on medium, gradually add 2 tablespoons of the sugar. Increase the speed to medium high and beat to stiff peaks. Set aside.
• In a large bowl or in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat together the butter, almond paste, salt and remaining 1/2 cup sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce the speed to medium and add the yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the lemon juice and almond extract, then reduce the speed to medium low and gradually add the flour. Mix to combine. Use a rubber spatula to fold in the whites.
• Transfer one-third of the mixture to one of the loaf pans and use a small offset spatula to spread it out evenly. Transfer another third of the mixture to a separate bowl and fold in the green food coloring. Fold the red food coloring into the remaining third. Transfer these into the remaining 2 loaf pans, spreading them out evenly.
• Bake until the tops are just set and no longer shiny; begin checking for doneness at 12 minutes. Let cool in the pans for 5 minutes, then lift them out and place on a wire rack to cool completely.
• Stack up the loaves (from bottom to top: green, white, red) with 1 1/2 tablespoons jam between the layers. Wrap the loaf firmly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to overnight.
• Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or by microwaving it in 30-seconds increments, stirring after each. Remove it from the heat and stir continuously until it is no longer hot. Spread it over the top and sides of the cookie loaf and refrigerate to firm up for about 15 minutes. Cut into 1-inch squares.

ITALIAN RAINBOW CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line three 8-inch round cake pans with parchment paper and lightly coat with coconut oil. Set aside.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, potato starch, arrowroot, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum, and salt. Add 1 1/4 cups of the coconut oil, the agave nectar, applesauce, vanilla, the almond extract, if using, and the hot water. Stir with a rubber spatula until the batter is smooth.
• Divide the mixture evenly among 3 medium bowls. Add several drops of one food coloring to each bowl and mix until the color is evenly distributed and to your liking.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pans. Bake for 12 minutes, rotate, and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 15 minutes more. Let cool in the pans on a rack for 30 minutes. Run a knife along each cake's edges to remove it from the pan.
• To assemble, place the green cake layer on a serving plate. Spread the raspberry preserves over it. Place the yellow cake layer on top of it. Spread with the apricot preserves. Top with the red cake layer and pour the chocolate sauce on the top and on the sides, spreading it evenly over the entire cake with a rubber spatula.
• Chill the cake for 20 minutes to harden chocolate glaze.