End Of The Rainbow Cookies Recipes

END-OF-THE-RAINBOW COOKIES

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat butter and granulated sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla until combined. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture, beating until just combined.
• Divide dough in half. Divide one half into 2 pieces (about 3/4 cup each). Flatten one piece into a 3-by-5-inch rectangle; wrap tightly with plastic. Roll out other piece into an 8-inch rod shape, about 1 inch thick; wrap tightly with plastic. Divide remaining half of dough into 3 pieces (about 1/2 cup each), then tint each with one of the gel colors, stirring color in with a spatula. Flatten each tinted piece into a 3-by-5-inch rectangle; wrap each tightly with plastic. Refrigerate all dough until firm, at least 1 hour and up to 2 days.
• In a small bowl, whisk egg white with a fork. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out turquoise dough into a 4-by-8-inch rectangle, about 1/4 inch thick. Brush with egg white. Place dough rod on long edge of rolled-out dough, then roll rod inside it; seal at edges where dough meets by pinching and pressing gently. Freeze 10 minutes. Repeat with remaining dough, rolling yellow dough out to 5 by 8 inches, pink dough to 6 by 8 inches (1/8 inch thick), and untinted dough to 7 by 8 inches. Roll log in plastic wrap; twist ends closed. Refrigerate until very firm, at least 2 hours and up to 1 month.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Let dough stand at room temperature about 10 minutes; remove plastic wrap. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Using a sharp chef's knife, slice log into 1/4 inch-thick rounds, rotating log after each cut to keep it round. Transfer rounds to sheets and bake until set and just golden around edges, 15 to 17 minutes. Transfer sheets to wire racks and cut each cookie in half with a sharp knife to form two rainbows. Let cool completely.
• In a small bowl, stir 1 to 2 teaspoons water into confectioners' sugar until mixture is thick and smooth. Use to adhere halved peanut-butter cups and gold sequins to cookies; let stand until glaze hardens, 30 minutes. Sprinkle with gold stars. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 5 days.

RAINBOW / MARZIPANE COOKIES

Steps:

• In the bowl of an electric mixer (or using a hand-held mixer) mix the almond paste until smooth. If paste is too thick add one egg. Mix until smooth. As you continue using the mixer, remember to scrape off the sides. Add the butter and mix until well combined. Add the almond or vanilla extract and mix again. Add one egg at a time, mixing in between. Add the flour and mix until combined and set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Using four 1/8 metal sheet pans, spray with pastry spray and line pan with parchment paper. You could also use four 8 x 8 disposable aluminum pans, also spraying and lining pans. Take 4 bowls and pour equal amount of batter into each bowl. Add 2-3 drops of red coloring into one bowl and mix, add the green into another bowl, and yellow into the third bowl. Do not add any food coloring to the fourth bowl.
• Pour one bowl of batter into one of the four pans. Place the pans into the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Check to see if it is done, by inserting a toothpick into center of the pan. Remove and let the cakes cool completely. Remove from pans. and place on parchment paper. Put 1 piece of parchment paper back into a pan. Place the plain (without food coloring) cake back into the sheet pan. Put a thin layer of the apricot preservers on the plain layer Add the green layer of cake and add the preserves . Add the yellow layer and also put the preserves on that. Top with the red layer. Do NOT add any preserves on top of this layer. Place in the freezer for about 30-35 minutes. Or cover the pan with plastic wrap and place one of the sheet pans over the wrap (to use like a cover). Place some weight onto the top and refrigerate for about 4-5 hours. You can use either method.
• Place a large piece of parchment paper on a table or counter top. Remove the cake from the sheet pan, and trim the edges. Cut into 3 bars Space the bars. This is so that when the chocolate glaze is used, you can coat all sides.
• In a double boiler, melt the chocolate chips. Let cool. Using a metal spatula, spread a thin layer of chocolate over the adding more chocolate to allow it to run down the sides. Smooth the chocolate all over the sides. Do the same with the other bars. When icing is hard, refrigerate for about 15 minutes. Remove from refrigerator and slice into 1/2 inch pieces.

RAINBOW COOKIES (WITH VIDEO)

Steps:

• Sift together the flour and baking powder into a small bowl and set aside.
• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together for 1 minute. Add egg and vanilla. Add half of dry ingredients, stir completely, then add second half.
• Separate dough into 5 equal portions, with an indentation or small "bowl" in the middle of each ball of dough.
• Add 1-2 drops of gel food coloring to each ball of dough, in the middle of the indentation you created. Only use one color of gel per dough mound: red, yellow, green, blue, and purple.
• Knead each ball of dough separately, working in the food coloring until you have five brightly colored balls of dough.
• Roll purple dough out into a 1 inch thick log, about 6" long. Set aside.
• Roll out the blue dough so that it is the same length as the purple log of dough, but flatten the blue dough so that it is only about 1/4" thick. Place the purple dough log in the middle of the blue dough, rolling up the sides of the blue sheet of dough so that it surrounds the purple dough to form one larger log.
• Repeat what you just did with the blue dough with each additional color, until you have one log of dough. Make sure that all of the colors are firmly pressed together with no gaps.
• Wrap in plastic and refrigerate 1 hour to overnight.
• When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Line two cookie trays with parchment paper or silicone baking mats and set aside.
• Remove cookie dough log from fridge and slice into 1/2 inch cookies - then slice again through the middle.
• Place onto prepared baking sheet 1 inch apart.
• Bake 8-10 minutes, the cookies will appear matte in appearance (not shiny). Allow to cool before frosting.
• Use a plastic piping bag to draw "clouds" on each end of your rainbow cookies with white icing. Allow to set completely before serving.