Rainbow cookie
{{Short description|Italian-American cookie}}
{{Infobox food
| name = Rainbow Cookie
| image = rainbow cookies .jpg
| image_size = 250px
| caption =
| alternate_name = Rainbow cake, Neapolitan cookies, seven layer cookies, Venetian cookies, seven layer cake, Italian flag cookies, tricolor cookies, tricolore
| country = Italian Americans
| region = New York City
| creator =
| course =
| type = Cake
| served =
| main_ingredient = Sponge cake (flour, almond paste, butter, sugar, almond extract, egg yolks, egg whites), apricot or raspberry jam, chocolate
| variations =
| calories =
| other =
}}
Rainbow cookie or rainbow cake usually refers to a three-layered almond-flavored Italian-American cookie, but can also refer to any of a number of rainbow-colored confections.{{cite web|url=http://www.sweetsugarbelle.com/blog/2012/02/pretty-rainbow-cookie-favors/|title=Pretty Rainbow Cookie Favors – The Sweet Adventures of Sugar Belle|website=Sweetsugarbelle.com|date=29 February 2012|access-date=23 January 2018}}{{cite web|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/2012/06/26/oreo-shows-gay-pride-with-a-rainbow-cookie/|title=Oreo shows gay pride with a rainbow cookie|website=Articles.baltimoresun.com|access-date=23 January 2018|archive-date=2012-09-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120902111659/http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2012-06-26/news/bal-oreo-shows-gay-pride-with-a-rainbow-cookie-20120626_1_gay-marriage-cream-flavor-ben-jerry|url-status=live}}
Composition
Rainbow cookies are typically composed of layers of brightly colored, almond-based sponge cake (usually almond paste/marzipan), apricot and/or raspberry jam, and a chocolate coating.Yard, Sherry, and Martha Rose Shulman. [https://archive.org/details/dessertsbyyardfr00yard/page/15 Desserts by the Yard: From Brooklyn to Beverly Hills : Recipes from the Sweetest Life Ever.] Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2007. pg.15 Commonly referred to as a "cookie," their composition is closer in many ways to a layered cake or petit four. The original rainbow cookie featured layers with colors representing the Italian flag: white, red and green.{{cite web|url=https://lidiasitaly.com/recipes/rainbow-cookies/|title="Rainbow Cookies"|website=Lidia.com|access-date=20 April 2021}} However, there may be variations in the color of the rainbow cookie's layers, whether for particular holidays, or other events.
History and origins
Rainbow cookies were first introduced by Italian-American bakeries in the late 19th or early 20th century, and have since spread to other Italian-American and mainstream bakeries.{{cite web|url=https://dc.eater.com/2016/11/23/13726804/best-rainbow-cookies-dc|title="Get to Know the Rainbow Cookie, an Italian Delicacy That's Tough to Find in D.C"|website=Eater|date=23 November 2016|access-date=20 April 2021}} Rainbow cookies are particularly popular at Christmas.
Though many Italian confections have an almond paste or almond flour base, rainbow cookies are a decidedly Italian-American creation.
{{cite web|url=https://www.seriouseats.com/2014/07/guide-to-italian-bakery-cookies.html|title="A Closer Look at Your Italian Bakery's Cookie Case"|website=Serious Eats|access-date=20 April 2021}} While there is no direct analogue to rainbow cookies in Italy, Italian food historian Mary Taylor Simeti speculates that the Italian-American rainbow cookie is based on the tri-colored gelato di campagna, a nougat with the same colored layers.{{cite web|url=https://hanfordsentinel.com/features/food_and_flavor/the-rainbow-cookie-connection/article_f9532bec-5cdd-11e1-9240-0019bb2963f4.html|title="The rainbow (cookie) connection "|website=The Sentinel|access-date=20 April 2021}}
Popularity in the Jewish community
Rainbow cookies are popular in the American Jewish community, and are commonly associated with American Jewish cuisine and can be found at many Jewish delis, kosher eateries, and Jewish bakeries{{cite web |title=Rainbow Cookies |url=https://thejewishkitchen.com/rainbow-cookies/ |website=The Jewish Kitchen |date=16 May 2018 |access-date=24 October 2019}} throughout the United States, especially in the Northeastern United States. As Jewish refugees from Eastern Europe settled in New York City en masse at the turn of the twentieth century, they often settled in areas that also had an Italian population. It was at this point that Jewish Americans were introduced to the rainbow cookie.
They are a common kiddush cookie served on Shabbat morning and at synagogues across the country.{{cite web |title=How to make Rainbow Cookies |url=https://www.myjewishlearning.com/the-nosher/how-to-make-rainbow-cookies/amp/ |website=My Jewish Learning |access-date=24 October 2019 |archive-date=8 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191208175834/https://www.myjewishlearning.com/the-nosher/how-to-make-rainbow-cookies/amp/ |url-status=dead }} There are also versions of rainbow cookies made for Passover, which are made with matzo meal or almond flour (due to the prohibition of leavening during this holiday).{{cite web |title=Passover Rainbow Cookie Recipe |url=https://www.myjewishlearning.com/the-nosher/passover-rainbow-cookie-recipe/amp/ |website=My Jewish Learning |access-date=24 October 2019 }}{{Dead link|date=January 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
Jewish Americans adapted this cookie to suit their own Kosher dietary needs, substituting margarine for the butter originally used (making them pareve). Other color variations may include blue and white, instead of the traditional rainbow, to celebrate Hanukkah.{{cite web |title=Just Deli Desserts |url=https://momentmag.com/just-deli-desserts/ |website=Moment Magazine |date=31 May 2016 |access-date=24 October 2019}}
Other names
Although often called simply rainbow cookies in much of the continental United States, some local names for this specific variety are:
- Napoleon cookies{{cite web|url=http://www.italylink.com/wwwboard4/messages/227.html|title=Cooking Forum New Message: Message 227: Re: napoleon italian cookies-I HAVE IT!!!|date=19 October 2004|access-date=23 January 2018|url-status=bot: unknown|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041019133139/http://www.italylink.com/wwwboard4/messages/227.html|archive-date=19 October 2004}}
- Seven layer cake{{cite web|url=http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/373612|title=Multi-colored cookies: Do they have a name? - General Discussion - Cookies|last=Chowhound|date=21 February 2007|website=Chowhound.chow.com|access-date=23 January 2018|archive-date=20 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141220140000/http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/373612|url-status=dead}}{{cite web |url=http://www.decheung.com/2006/11/a-guide-to-rainbow-cookies.html |title=A guide to Rainbow Cookies|date=November 21, 2006 |website=www.decheung.com |access-date=15 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080907063151/http://www.decheung.com/2006/11/a-guide-to-rainbow-cookies.html |archive-date=7 September 2008 |url-status=dead}}
- Seven layer cookies{{cite web|url=https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/seven-layer-cookies-233296|title=Seven-Layer Cookies|date=1 December 2005|website=Epicurious.com|access-date=23 January 2018}}
- Tricolor/e cookies{{cite web |url=http://www.cakespy.com/2008/10/batter-chatter-interview-with-matt-and.html |title=CakeSpy: Batter Chatter: Interview with Matt and Renato of Baked, Brooklyn NY |access-date=2009-04-11 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090425055453/http://www.cakespy.com/2008/10/batter-chatter-interview-with-matt-and.html |archive-date=2009-04-25 }}
- Venetian cookies{{cite web|url=http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/recipefinder/venetian-cookies-2067|title=Venetian Cookies|date=25 June 2007|website=Goodhousekeeping.com|access-date=23 January 2018}}
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Christmas}}
{{Jewish cuisine}}
{{Cakes}}
Category:Italian-American cuisine
Category:Italian-American culture in New York City
Category:Chocolate-covered foods