Name: Small Batch Valentine's Day Italian Rainbow Cookies
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 12 min
Total time: 27 min
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 3/4 cup sugar; 1 tsp almond extract; 3/4 cup room temperature butter; 7 oz almond paste; 3 large eggs; 1 cup all purpose flour; 1/4 tsp salt; Pink food coloring; 2/3 cups strawberry preserves; 5 oz semi sweet baking chocolate; 1/4 cup butter

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Valentine’s Day small batch Italian Rainbow Cookies were officially added to our annual family Valentine’s Day dinner menu. Aside from heart shaped home made pizza, these are officially becoming our annual dessert. I mean who can resist a pink dessert, that is topped with chocolate and sprinkles?!

Italian pink rainbow cookies topped with chocolate and pink sprinkles

For a small batch Italian Rainbow Cookies you will need:

Sugar
All purpose flavor
Almond extract
Butter
Eggs
Almond paste
Salt
food coloring
Strawberry preserves
Baking chocolate

If you do not have almond paste on hand here is a quick recipe for home made almond flour that only takes 10 minutes.

Small Batch Italian Rainbow cookies steps:

To begin making your Valentine’s Day Small Batch Italian Rainbow cookies you will need an 8×8 baking pan (three of them, or just use the same one and bake each layer at a time). I prefer to place parchment paper so it easy to take out of the pan once cooled without breaking the cake layer.

Begin by adding almond paste, almond extract, butter and sugar to a mixing bowl and mix on high until everything is well incorporated. In the meantime beat your eggs in a small bowl just until well combined and on medium speed add the egg liquid to the bowl. Once well blended add the flour and salt on low speed until well combined.

Divide the cake batter into three bowls. Add pink food coloring to each one of the bowls. Add more to the second and third bowls to create that light to dark pink rainbow. Still each bowl until well blended.

Spread each of the batter onto an 8×8 cake pan to a 1/4 inch thick batter layer. Bake on 350 F for 10-12 minutes. Let the cake cool for 20 minutes before lifting it with the parchment paper and placing it onto a cooling rack for another 10 minutes.

To assemble the cookies take the bottom layer with the parchment paper and spread a layer of your favorite preserve, we love strawberry preserve. Spread about a 1/3 of a cup evenly.

Place the second or middle layer on top of the strawberry preserve layer, and repeat by spreading another 1/3 of a cup of preserves. Finally place the top layer, face down so that the straight layer is on top. Place the assembled cake in the fridge while you make your chocolate ganache.

Chocolate spread for Italian Sandwich Cookies:

In a small saucepan heat the chocolate and butter tougher on low heat. Make sure to keep mixing until melted and well combined.

Take the cake out of the fridge and spread the chocolate on top. Make sure the top is well covered. Don’t worry about the edges as we cutting those off next.

Once the chocolate is set take a sharp knife and cut the edges to create a perfect square. Next, cut four lines across each direction (horizontally and vertically). You can more cuts if you want them smaller, the same if you want them bigger.

Place the cookies in a container in the fridge. These are great to enjoy for a week in the fridge.