Seven Layer Cookies

Ingredients

2 Sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

½ Cup vegetable shortening

1 ½ Cups granulated sugar

½ Pound almond paste, shredded

1 ¾ Cup all purpose flour

¼ Teaspoon kosher salt

5 Large eggs

1 Teaspoon almond extract

1 Teaspoon vanilla extract

1 jar of Raspberry preserves, seedless

1 12oz Package semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 Tablespoons vegetable shortening

Yellow, Green & Red food coloring

3 – 12 ¼ x8 1/8 x 1 1/8” Disposable aluminum baking pans

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F  

Shred the almond paste with a box grater, this will make it easier to mix later.   The bowl of a food processor add, butter, vegetable shortening and pulse 6-7 times until it’s all combined.  Scrap down the sides of the bowl and add the almond paste and sugar, let the food processor run until the almond paste is fully broken down. 

Transfer the butter mixture to a large mixing bowl and add, flour, salt, vanilla and almond extracts, mix with electric mixer on medium speed.  Add eggs, one at a time until completely incorporated. 

Now it’s time to divide the batter into 3 bowls.  I usually do this by weight, 14oz to a bowl.  If you don’t have a kitchen scale you can gauge it by eye, making sure that you divide the mixture into equal parts. 

Add yellow food coloring to 1 bowl, Green to the other and finally the red to the 3^rd bowl and mix each.  The amount of food coloring is up to you, make them as dark or light as you like.  Now spread batter into the 3 pans.  So you end up with 1 yellow, 1 green and 1 red. 

Bake for approximately 25 minutes, or until a wooden tooth pick inserted into the center comes out clean.  You can also tell when they are done, when the edges around the “cakes” are slightly golden, and begin to pull away from the sides of the pan.  Remove from oven and allow to cool. 

Once the cakes are cooled, remove from pans.  Line a cutting board with waxed paper or plastic wrap and lay the red sheet down and apply ½ of the raspberry preserves on top, and smooth it out.  Then cover with the yellow layer, top with the remainder of the raspberry preserves.  Top with the green layer and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes allowing the preserves to firm up. 

Place the chocolate chips and vegetable shortening in a double boiler or a large heat proof mixing bowl over 1 inch of simmering water. Allow mixture to melt, stir with a wooden spoon to combine. Remove from heat.

Remove the cookies from the refrigerator and spread a thin layer of chocolate on the top and sides. Return to the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes so the chocolate can semi-harden.  Take a sheet of waxed paper or plastic wrap that is larger than the cookies and lay it on top of the cookies and flip the entire thing over, so you can coat the bottom with a layer of chocolate.  I usually skip this step, but then they would be 6 layer cookies and not 7 J

Return cookies to the refrigerator and allow chocolate to harden.   Once hardened then it’s time to cut the cookies.  I usually cut them 1- 1 ½ inches x 1 inch, but you can cut them as large as you like.  Store in refrigerator, removing them 20 minutes before serving.  Enjoy!!