Neapolitan Holiday Cookies. New Music From The Hollow Ends.

If you’ve got some cat fights erupting this holiday season, pull out a platter of these Neapolitan Holiday Cookies and you’re guaranteed some peace and quiet…at least while they are being eaten.

Neapolitan Holiday Cookies, also called Rainbow Cookies, are popular in Jewish and Italian communities. The festive colors and mingling flavors of almond, apricot, raspberry and chocolate make them as fun as they are delicious.

Neapolitan Holiday Cookies

Ingredients:

8 ounces almond paste
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
4 large eggs, separated
2 cups flour
20 drops red food coloring
12 drops green food coloring
1/4 cup seedless raspberry jam
1/4 cup apricot preserves
6 ounces dark chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350℉. Coat three 13 x 9 x 2-inch jelly roll pans with cooking spray. Line each pan with parchment paper and coat the paper with cooking spray.

2. Place the almond paste in the bowl of a stand mixer. Fit the mixer with the paddle attachment and add the butter and sugar to the bowl. Beat the mixture on high speed until light and fluffy, about 7 minutes. Reduce speed to medium, add the egg yolks, and beat until well combined. Stir in the flour with a spoon until well combined. Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl.

3. Thoroughly clean the mixer bowl and fit the mixer with the whisk attachment. Beat the egg whites on high speed until stiff peaks form.

4. Fold the egg whites into the almond paste batter until thoroughly blended.

5. Transfer 1 1/2 cups of the batter to a medium bowl, then transfer another 1 1/2 cups of the batter to a second medium bowl.

6. Add the red food coloring to one of the bowls and stir until the batter is tinted throughout.

7. Add the green food coloring to the second bowl and stir until the batter is tinted throughout.

8. Spread the red, green and untinted batters into each of the prepared pans. Use a spatula to spread the batter to the edges.

9, Bake, rotating and switching the positions of the pans halfway through, until the edges are golden, 12 to 14 minutes.

10. Let cool in the pans for 5 minutes then invert onto cooling racks and allow to cool completely.

11. To assemble, place the green layer on a large cutting board lined with wax paper. Spread the raspberry jam evenly over the top. Place the yellow layer on top and spread with the apricot preserves. (Remove any large chunks of apricot). Top with the red layer. Cover with plastic wrap and place a heavy cutting board or large pan on top to weight it down. Refrigerate overnight.

12. Melt the chocolate chips in a microwave on low power about 2 minutes. Stir until smooth.

13. Spread the chocolate on top of the cake and let dry slightly.

14. Trim the rim of the cake with a serrated knife to make clean edges. Cut the cake crosswise into twelve 1-inch-wide strips, then cut lengthwise into 1 1/4-inch strips. The cookies will keep, covered, up to 1 week.

Makes 7 dozen cookies

Recipe from One Dish at a Time by Valerie Bertinelli

One of my favorite albums of 2018 was ‘Bears In Mind’ by The Hollow Ends. Good news is they have another album out and it is just as good.

St Louis-based songwriter, and the band’s frontman, Zachary Schwartz knocks it out of the park once again with the 5 song, newly released ‘EP II’. While all of the folksy, toe tapping tunes melt my heart, I am especially riveted by “Annie Pardami”.

“Is there any part of me that I can control anymore?”

…..and it’s got “Whoas”….swoon.