Italian Rainbow Cookie Recipe

A plate of Neapolitan cookies stacked into a pyramid shape.

Italian Rainbow Cookie Recipe

You'll love this authentic Italian Rainbow Cookie Recipe. Also called tricolor cookies, or Neapolitan cookies, they are so delicious and are a gorgeous addition to any sweet treat platter! These are perfect for Christmas or any other holidays and special occasions. Plus, they're baked in just 12 minutes!

Course Dessert

Cuisine Italian

Diet Low Salt

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 12

Setting time 1

Total Time 42

Servings cookies

Calories 50kcal

Author Jessy Freimann

Equipment

Ingredients

20 ounces almond paste, grated
2 ½ sticks butter
1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
5 eggs, separated
2 ½ cups flour
Food coloring
10 ounces seedless raspberry jam
10 ounces apricot jam
12 ounces chocolate chips
1 teaspoon coconut oil (or you can use butter or vegetable oil)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 15.5" x 10.5" pans and line them with wax or parchment paper. Grease the top of the wax paper as well and set aside.
Mix the butter and sugar until well combined and fluffy. Add egg yolks and mix well to fully incorporate.
Add almond paste and flour and mix until just combined.
In a separate bowl with separate whisk attachments, whip egg whites until they've doubled in size and are fluffy.
Gently fold egg whites into the almond paste mixture until combined.
Split the mixture into three separate bowls and add red food coloring to one bowl and green food coloring to another bowl leaving the last one plain. Use your judgement on drops, but I used around 10 drops each.
Spread the batter evenly into the pans (be aware it will be quite thin) and bake for 10-12 minutes- keep an eye on them, they may need to go a bit longer if you put them in together. Be aware, the cakes will be thin- this is ok, and exactly how you want them.
Once they've cooled, line a large pan with wax or parchment paper. Flip the green cake onto the pan first and evenly spread the raspberry jam on top.
Next flip the yellow cake on top of this. Spread apricot jam evenly over the top of the yellow layer.
Finally top it with the pink layer.
Place some wax or parchment paper on top of the cakes followed by another pan. Weigh the cake down with a phone book (or a pile of books, which is what I had on hand) and chill overnight.
The next day, uncover the cake.
Melt the chocolate chips. You can do this in a double boiler over low heat stirring often or in the microwave in 30 second increments stirring between. When the chocolate is mostly melted add the coconut oil (or butter or vegetable oil if you're using that) and finish meting. Stir to combine.
Spread this evenly on the top of the cake and score it with a knife into one inch squares before it hardens. I also score around the edges so that everything would have nice clean cuts on each side and so that I would have plenty of scraps to snack on. ?
Chill this until the chocolate has hardened. Cut where they are scored and refrigerate until serving.

Video

Notes

I use a 15.5x10.5 inch pan and have not tested this Italian rainbow cookie recipe with another size. That said, most people do have at least one pan this size in their kitchen. I actually have 4 and didn’t even realize it!

Cooking spray and liners are your friends! My Grandma used wax paper, but I’ve had excellent results with parchment. I lightly spray down the pan first, which acts as a sort of “adhesive” and helps the parchment stick to the pan.

Best way to separate the eggs- I wrote a whole post on it!

Whip separately- Whip the whites in a separate bowl with separate mixer attachments. They can be temperamental.

Adjust the baking time if needed. All ovens are different. Mine were perfect at 12 minutes, but yours could go quicker. You want them cooked through, but not browned. That said, if they brown a touch on the edges, it’s ok because they get trimmed off.

Weigh down the layers well once they’re assembled. We always used phone books, but since they don’t really make those too much anymore, I use heavy cookbooks and weigh them down overnight.

Melting chocolate can be tricky- Chocolate is temperamental too, which is why I created another post on the best way to melt chocolate chips. In my opinion, the microwave is easiest!

I add coconut to the chocolate to add a little shine. Don't add it at the beginning or the chocolate might seize. You can also use butter or vegetable oil.

Be sure to score the chocolate while it is still wet. This will make it easier to get cleaner cuts later.

The recipe makes quite a few cookies. I encourage you to cut them into smaller pieces, as they are pretty rich.

Ingredients to prep ahead- You can grate the almond paste and separate the eggs before getting started.

Leftovers and storage- Store your cookies in an airtight container in the fridge for the best results. They'll keep for up to 3-5 days, or you can freeze for up to 3 months.

Nutrition