Ingredients

The following ingredients have 4 Servings
  • 1 1/2 cup unsalted butter
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 2 whole eggs
  • 2 whole eggs yolks
  • 4 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 teaspoons almond extract
  • 4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder

Instruction

  • In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the butter and sugar and beat well, for about 2 minutes.
  • Add the whole eggs and 2 yolks, continuing to mix until combined.
  • Stir in the vanilla extract and vanilla.
  • In a medium bowl, combine the flour, salt, and baking powder and whisk until sifted.
  • Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture about 1 cup at a time, stirring with the paddle attachment (not the whisk) to incorporate each cup. Do not over mix.
  • Divide the dough into six equal portions - it helps if you have a kitchen scale for this.
  • Using gel food coloring (gel works so much better for vibrant colors than standard food coloring), color each layer a color of the rainbow. I used a hand mixer to combine the color in with each dough section and then rinsed the bowl and beaters before moving on to another color.
  • Place dough in individual ziplock bags or saran wrap and refrigerate until firm, about an hour or two.
  • One at a time, roll colors into approximately 6x9 inch rectangles.
  • Refrigerate each layer after rolling, and then add subsequent layers on top in rainbow color order.
  • When all layers have been stacked, trim edges for a neat rectangle. Wrap again in saran wrap and freeze until very firm.
  • Slice strips across the 6 inch side about 1/4 inch thick. You will get approximately 24 strips.
  • Cut each strip in half for a total of approximately 48 small rectangular cookies.
  • Place cookies on a parchment lined cookie sheet and freeze again (this helps minimize spreading).
  • When you are ready to bake, heat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Bake cookies on a parchment paper lined baking sheet for 6-10 minutes.
  • Cool on the cookie sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
  • Cool the cookie sheet in between baking each batch.