Italian Rainbow Cookies & Squash Stuffing!

As we have for the past couple of years, Gabriel Malor from Ace O’Spades HQ and I are exchanging Thanksgiving recipes. This year, Gabriel is featuring a delicious-sounding Squash Stuffing.

Gabriel notes that last year, we had our dishes reversed, with me looking for new veggie recipes while he was looking for the sweets. That stuffing recipe really does sound swell! I’m a sucker for sour cream!

What’s nice about doing this–aside from the inter-blog sharing–is that these sorts of posts inevitably lead to people putting a few of their own recipes in the comments section, and that becomes fun and inspiring!

Since this Thanksgiving I am in charge of dessert and fruit salad, I am going to repost a recipe that is both scrumptious and personally meaningful:

I made my Rainbow cookies for S about a month ago, when he could still manage a taste (they are very rich). They’re a bit of work, so when you make them for someone, it is another way of saying, “I love you.” In my family, at least, everyone knows that if I have made the cookies “just for them,” (for a birthday or Communion of something) they are packed with love and meaning.

Anchoress’ Italian Rainbow Cookies

1 cup butter (2 sticks) softened
1 cup sugar
4 large eggs, separated
8 oz almond paste. Not ‘almond flavored’ paste, which is an abomination. Almond PASTE.
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups sifted flour
red, yellow and green food colorings
1/4 cup raspberry jam or preserves without seeds. WITHOUT seeds. Use seeds, you ruin it.
1/4 cup apricot preserves
1 12 oz bag Nestles Tollhouse Morsels. NESTLES. I know I’m a nag, but NESTLES.

13x9x2 inch pans, pastry parchment or greased waxed paper

In electric mixer, blend almond paste, butter, sugar, yolks and extract til fluffy. Slowly stir in flour.

In another bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Fold meringue into paste mixture. It’s sort of glue-y.

Separate mixture into three bowls (approximately 1 1/3 cups of batter in each) then dye each batch a different color.
(One red, one green, one yellow)

Spread mixture onto parchment (or greased waxed paper) using back of spoon to even it out as best you can.

Bake each sheet seperately at 350 for 12 minutes.

Remove and let cool.

Spread raspberry on green cake. Top with the yellow cake. Spread apricot on yellow cake, top with red cake. Cover with wax paper or plastic and refrigerate overnight with a heavy book on top of it. I like to use my old Anatomy/Physiology textbook.

In morning, melt the entire bag of chocolate morsels (in double boiler or microwave, but watch it closely in the microwave; don’t overheat). Spread melted chocolate on tops and sides and let cool. DO NOT REFRIGERATE or the chocolate will crumble when you cut it. When chocolate is “almost” set use a very sharp knife to cut into 1″ squares. Makes a whole bunch.