New York Rainbow Cookies

I grew up eating these from a little Italian bakery in the neighborhood. When I came across a recipe in a Taste of Home cookbook, I just knew I needed to make these to give a taste of my childhood to my kids and husband. Terrific! I make them 2 weeks ahead to allow them enough time to "mellow" and become moist and full of almond flavor! Prep time does not include chilling overnight

• Ready In: 1 hr 10 mins
• Yields: 96 cookies

Ingredients

• 1 (8 ounce) can almond paste
• 1  cup butter, softened
• 1  cup sugar
• 4  eggs, separated
• 2  cups all-purpose flour
• 6 -8  drops  red food coloring
• 6 -8  drops  green food coloring
• 1⁄4 cup  seedless red raspberry jam
• 1⁄4 cup  apricot jam
• 1  cup  semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Grease the bottoms of three matching 13x9x2-inch baking pans (or reuse one pan). Line the pans with waxed paper; grease the paper.
2. Place almond paste in a large mixing bowl; break up with a fork. Cream with butter, sugar and egg yolks until light, fluffy, and smooth. Stir in flour. In another mixing bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Fold into dough, mixing until thoroughly blended.
3. Divide dough into three portions (about 1 1/3 cups each). Color one portion with red food coloring and one with green; leave the remaining portion uncolored. Spread each portion into the prepared pans. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes or until edges are light golden brown.
4. Invert onto wire racks; remove waxed paper. Place another wire rack on top and turn over. Cool completely.
5. Place green layer on a a large piece of plastic wrap. Spread evenly with raspberry jam. Top with uncolored layer and spread with apricot jam. Top with pink layer. Bring plastic wrap over layers. Slide onto a baking sheet and set a cutting board or heavy, flat pan on top to compress layers. Refrigerate overnight.
6. The next day, melt chocolate in a double boiler. Spread over top layer; allow to harden. With a sharp knife, trim edges. Cut into 1/2-inch strips across the width; then cut each strip into 4-5 pieces. Store in airtight containers.