Here we have the Jason Bourne of cookies: a cookie with many different names, and ultimately, its entire identity as a cookie is false because, oh hey, it’s actually a cake.

(Luckily, this cookie doesn’t go around assassinating foreign diplomats, bad analogy, but you get my point…)

I’ve seen them called Italian Rainbow cookies, Tricolor cookies, Venetian cookies, Neapolitan cookies, and Italian 7-Layer cookies (when they have chocolate on the top and bottom there are 7 distinct layers, I guess?) With all those different names you can bet it’s got a few fake passports stashed under the floorboards.

I get it’s supposed to be the Italian flag and all, but why are these cookies, no matter what they’re called, always the same 3 colors? Can’t we have a little fun with it for once?

I decided to do just that, eschewing the classic red-yellow-green for a pastel ombre effect in shades of soft turquoise blue.

Let me just say: Taylor LOVED these. He doesn’t always resort to superlatives, but after downing a few of these he firmly declared them the ‘best thing I’ve ever made’… a truth that’s evidenced by just how quickly the entire 13-by-9 pan of cookies disappeared.

Except he took serious issue with the fact that these are called cookies. Because let’s face it, it’s cake. More like a petit four really than a cookie, with 3 layers of tender almond sponge cake with tart apricot jam in between, and a snappy chocolate glaze. I mean, why are they called cookies anyway? Srsly.

Some may say these cookies are more effort than they are worth, but I found them easier than I expected. The most time consuming part is baking the 3 layers (cooling the baking pan each time, unless you happen to have multiple 13-by-9-inch pans in which case your job will be far easier) and then cutting them into even rectangles (you do have a ruler in the kitchen, don’t you?) But the layering itself was not hard, quicker than assembling a layer cake. And when it’s all done with you end up with a surprising number of cookies, so the effort in terms of overall output is definitely worth it.

(more…)