Since we really enjoy rice pudding but were short of rice, I decided to try couscous instead, and it turned out fantastic.
| Servings: | 28 |
| Yield: | 56 cookies |
Ingredients
- 8 ounces almond paste
- 1 ½ cups butter, softened
- 1 cup white sugar
- 4 eggs, separated
- 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 4 drops red food coloring
- 4 drops green food coloring
- 1 ½ cups apricot jam
- 1 pound semisweet chocolate, chopped
Instructions
- Grease 3 – 13 x 9 inch pans. Line with wax paper. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
- Combine almond paste, sugar, butter, egg yolks and almond extract. Beat for 5 minutes until light and fluffy. Beat in flour and salt.
- In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. With a wooden spoon, fold into the almond mixture.
- Divide dough into 3 -1 1/2 cup portions. Add red coloring to one of the portions, and green to the another. Spread the batter in the 3 separate prepared pans (keeping the colors separate).
- Bake for 15 minutes, or until edges are golden brown. (Each layer will be 1/4 inch thick). Remove cakes from pan immediately. Cool thoroughly.
- Stack layers in a 9 x 13 inch pan, spreading apricot jam between layers (no jam on top layer). Place second 9 x 13 inch pan on top and weigh down with two 5 pound bags of sugar or flour. Refrigerate overnight.
- Melt chocolate over hot water and spread over cake. Allow to set. Trim edges and cup into 1 inch squares.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 317 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 38 g |
| Cholesterol | 53 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g |
| Protein | 4 g |
| Saturated Fat | 10 g |
| Sodium | 109 mg |
| Sugars | 23 g |
| Fat | 18 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
Tasty, but didn’t take as long to cook as it said; a bit dried out by 14 minute mark when made in 8×8 pans. I would use the amount of jam recommended in the recipe, it gives some moistness back. I cut the sugar by about 2 tbsp and it was plenty sweet. Definitely score the chocolate before it completely sets and it is easier to cut. Hopefully I won’t overcook it next time!
I can’t believe how hard it was to find a recipe for Venetians and why more people haven’t reviewed this. They are incredible!!
I’ve been making this yummy cookie for well over 30 years. My son doesn’t think it’s Christmas if it’s missing and it’s his very favorite. Just a couple of tips: wax paper just smokes and smells up the kitchen. Use parchment. And warming the apricot jam (I use preserves) helps to spread them easily. Don’t be afraid of all the steps — it’s much easier than it appears. You’ll be glad you baked!
These are amazing. They were not easy to make, but less difficult than I thought they would be. I needed to bake my cakes a little longer than 15 minutes, but obviously that can vary. There are so many flavors in these and they work so well together. A very, very unique bar! Thank you.
LOVE LOVE LOVE these cookies!!! I only make them at Christmastime because they’re so much work. I make a double batch! I use either the apricot jam or Raspberry Preserves…SOOO GOOD!!!!!
These are wonderful! I made them to give in goodie bags for Christmas. I followed the recipe and they turned out great! I scored the chocolate before it hardened all the way and had no trouble with it cracking. I will make these again!
This was my late mother’s signature cookie. I made it for the first time today and it is wonderful!
These were absolutely delicious. I love rainbow cookies and I will definately be making this recipe again and again. They were a little time consuming but well worth it and because its a 13×9 pan i got a ton of cookies out of it. I added a little butter to my chocolate when melting it and it made it a little softer to cut and didn’t crumble. I baked each cookie in a greased foil pan and skipped the wax paper and they all came out of the pans fine.
Excellent recipe! These cookies are my favorite and I haven’t been able to find them since moving to FL. I halved the recipe which yielded 30 cookies. In regards to the jam, I thought it called for far too much. You only need to finely coat each layer. I used a total of 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons. For the full recipe I would use anywhere between 1/2 to 3/4 cup. If you find that your chocolate is too thick, add a little veggie oil and it will be much easier to work with without the taste being compromised. I used 1/2 cup of mini chocolate chips and that was a perfect amount to spread. Coat with chocolate sprinkles to make them truly authentic. AEMAZA has the right idea when it comes to cutting the cookies. The cut is much cleaner/nicer when placed upside-down! Thanks Elaine!
My family loves these and this recipe is wonderful….especially since it makes a 9X13 pan rather than an 8X8 or 9X9. I’ve made these for different occasions and varied the traditional colors to match the holiday or theme. You will not be disappointed. I also find that cutting the bars upside down, with the chocolate side down is MUCH easier.
Great recipe, used it for last year’s Mardi Gras Potluck at work tinted the layers green, purple and gold. Moist and tasty. I’ll switch to almond filling or gourmet fresh ground nut butter from the grocery store. Mac nut paste maybe ….
Perfect recipe! If you follow it to a T, you’ll get the most wonderful, rich, moist Rainbow Cookies you can imagine!
I love this recipe. If you like Venetians there is no other recipe to use. I use more food coloring gels instead of the liquid food coloring. It make a brighter cookie. It just adds so much color to any cookie tray!
Very beautiful pastel layers and excellent flavor. I had trouble cutting the bars, however, because the chocolate kept cracking and breaking. Next time I would use a thinner chocolate layer. I will make these again.
I make these every Christmas and my guests always rave about them and look forward to them every year.