Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Stripey Cookies - My Signature Cookie

This cookie has been my favorite since I was a little kid. We could get them at the grocery store on Long Island, but when we moved to NH, there were none to be found. So, we would get some every time we went back to NY. Eventually they made their way to NH stores, but about the same time my mom found a recipe. It's a fairly involved recipe, so they are pretty much Christmas-Time-Only cookies.

Stripey Cookies

1 batch homemade almond paste (see below) You can also use 1 store bought tube of almond paste
1 1/2 c butter
1 c sugar
4 eggs, separated
1 tsp almond extract
2 c sifted flour
1/4 tsp salt
green food coloring
red food coloring
1 jar seedless raspberry preserves
2 bags bittersweet chocolate pieces
chocolate sprinkles (optional)

Preheat oven to 350. Break up almond paste in bowl. Add butter, sugar, egg yolks, and almond extract. Beat with electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in flour and salt. Beat egg whites with electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Fold into almond mixture until well blended. Divide mixture into 3 equal portions. Add green coloring to one, red to another, and leave the third yellow. Coat three 9x13 pans with cooking spray and line with wax paper, allowing the paper to come up on the short ends. Spray paper. (If you don't have three pans, the same pan can be used, just allow for cooling in between batches.) Spread each batter into pan(s) one at a time. Bake for 15 minutes or until middle is set. Immediately remove cakes from pans using the wax paper overhang, and set on cooling rack. Heat preserves in saucepan. Place the green layer on a sheet of wax paper on a cookie sheet, spread half the jam on green layer. Slide yellow layer on top; spread with remaining jam. Slide pink layer onto yellow layer. Cover with wax paper and weight down with large wooden cutting board, or heavy plate. Place in refrigerator overnight. The next day, trim the edges around the entire sheet of cookie. Cut cookie into strips approximately 9" by 1-1/4". Melt small batches of chocolate, and spread over strips, add sprinkles if desired before chocolate sets. When chocolate does set, cut into 3/4" wide cookies.

Almond Paste

1 1/2 c blanched almonds (mine weren't blanched though)
1 1/2 c powdered sugar
1 egg white
1 1/2 tsp almond extract
1/4 tsp salt

Food process almonds until close to being a paste. Add sugar, egg white, extract and salt. Can divide into one cup portions. Refrigerate up to one month, or freeze up to three months.


Almond paste, ready to put in the cookie dough


Yellow layer of cookie.


Pink and green layers



Cooling

Melted raspberry jam

First layer

Layers glued together with jam

Heavy wooden cutting board to weigh it all down

Scraps off the sides

Cut into strips, ready to be coated in chocolate

First row coated, sprinkles being applied

A beautiful, beautiful cookie


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