Mom's Rainbow Cookies

My siblings and I used to fight over these as kids. Now whenever the family gets together we HAVE to have these. Mom finally sent the recipe! Woohoo!

• Ready In: 4 hrs 50 mins
• Serves: 28
• Yields: 84 cookies

Ingredients

• 7  ounces marzipan paste or 7  ounces almond paste
• 1  cup sugar
• 1 1⁄2 cups unsalted butter, softened
• 4  large eggs, separate yolks from whites
• 1  teaspoon  almond extract
• 2  cups  sifted all-purpose flour
• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 5  drops  green food coloring
• 5  drops  red food coloring
• 12  ounces  raspberry jam (seedless)
• 6  ounces  semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Grease 3 13X9 metal baking pans & then line bottom of each with wax paper (extend paper to be long at the ends) and then grease the paper.
3. Break marzipan paste into small pieces and grind with sugar until all of the lumps are gone. This can be done in a food processor.
4. Add sugar mixture to a large bowl and then add butter and beat with an electric mixer until it is light and fluffy.
5. Beat in egg yolks and almond extract.
6. Beat in flour and salt on low speed.
7. In a separate bowl beat egg whites until they peak stiff and stir into batter.
8. Divide dough into thirds and stir green food coloring in one third, red in another, and leave the third one without food coloring. Spread each third into its own pan.
9. Bake each pan until the edges are golden about 7 - 10 minutes.
10. Immediately after baking run a knife along the edges to loosen from the pan and put the layer on a rack to cool. (It should remove easily with the wax paper.) Cool completely.
11. Line baking pan with wax paper and add the green layer. Spread half of the jam evenly over the green layer and then top it with the uncolored layer. Spread the remaining jam over the uncolored layer and top with pink layer.
12. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 3 or more hours.
13. After chilling, melt chocolate for 30 seconds in the microwave and stir. Repeat until thoroughly melted. Spread chocolate over the top of the pink layer and set at room temperature for 1 hour.
14. Cut and enjoy!