Rainbow cookie or rainbow cake usually refers to a three-layered

almond The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree native to Iran and surrounding countries, including the Levant. The almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree. Within the genus ...

-flavored Italian-American

cookie A cookie is a baked or cooked snack or dessert that is typically small, flat and sweet. It usually contains flour, sugar, egg, and some type of oil, fat, or butter. It may include other ingredients such as raisins, oats, chocolate chips, n ...

, but can also refer to any of a number of rainbow-colored confections.

Composition

Rainbow cookies are typically composed of layers of brightly colored,

-based

sponge cake Sponge cake is a light cake made with egg whites, flour and sugar, sometimes leavened with baking powder. Some sponge cakes do not contain egg yolks, like angel food cake, but most of them do. Sponge cakes, leavened with beaten eggs, originated ...

(usually almond paste/

marzipan Marzipan is a confectionery, confection consisting primarily of sugar, honey, and almond meal (ground almonds), sometimes augmented with almond oil or extract. It is often made into Confectionery, sweets; common uses are chocolate-covered marzi ...

apricot An apricot (, ) is a fruit, or the tree that bears the fruit, of several species in the genus ''Prunus''. Usually, an apricot is from the species '' P. armeniaca'', but the fruits of the other species in ''Prunus'' sect. ''Armeniaca'' are also ...

and/or

raspberry The raspberry is the edible fruit of a multitude of plant species in the genus ''Rubus'' of the rose family, most of which are in the subgenus '' Idaeobatus''. The name also applies to these plants themselves. Raspberries are perennial with w ...

jam Jam is a type of fruit preserve. Jam or Jammed may also refer to: Other common meanings * A firearm malfunction * Block signals ** Radio jamming ** Radar jamming and deception ** Mobile phone jammer ** Echolocation jamming Arts and entertai ...

, and a chocolate coating. Commonly referred to as a "cookie," their composition is closer in many ways to a layered cake or

petit four A petit four (plural: petits fours, also known as mignardises) is a small bite-sized confectionery or savory appetizer. The name is French, ''petit four'' (), meaning "small oven". History and etymology In 18th and 19th century France, ga ...

. The original rainbow cookie featured layers with colors representing the

Italian flag The national flag of Italy ( it, Bandiera d'Italia, ), often referred to in Italian as ''il Tricolore'' ( en, the Tricolour, ) is a tricolour (flag), tricolour featuring three equally sized vertical Pale (heraldry), pales of green, white and red, ...

: white, red and green. 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. Rainbow cookies are particularly popular at

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

. Though many Italian confections have an almond paste or

almond flour Almond meal, almond flour or ground almond is made from ground sweet almonds. Almond flour is usually made with blanched almonds (no skin), whereas almond meal can be made with whole or blanched almonds. The consistency is more like corn meal than ...

base, rainbow cookies are a decidedly Italian-American creation. While there is no direct analogue to rainbow cookies in Italy, Italian food historian

Mary Taylor Simeti Mary Taylor Simeti is an American author specializing in Sicilian cuisine and its history. She is a former regular contributor to the ''New York Times'' and to the ''Financial Times''. Biography Mary Taylor Simeti was born in 1941 in New York Ci ...

speculates that the Italian-American rainbow cookie is based on the tri-colored ''gelato di campagna'', a nougat with the same colored layers.

Popularity in the Jewish community

Rainbow cookies are popular in the

American Jewish American Jews or Jewish Americans are American citizens who are Jewish, whether by religion, ethnicity, culture, or nationality. Today the Jewish community in the United States consists primarily of Ashkenazi Jews, who descend from diaspora ...

community, and are commonly associated with American Jewish cuisine and can be found at many Jewish delis, kosher eateries, and

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

bakeries throughout the United States, especially in the

Northeastern United States The Northeastern United States, also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast, is a geographic region of the United States. It is located on the Atlantic coast of North America, with Canada to its north, the Southe ...

. As

Jewish refugees This article lists expulsions, refugee crises and other forms of displacement that have affected Jews. Timeline The following is a list of Jewish expulsions and events that prompted significant streams of Jewish refugees. Assyrian captivity ; ...

from Eastern Europe settled in New York City en masse at the turn of the 20th 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 Kiddush (; he, קידוש ), literally, "sanctification", is a blessing recited over wine or grape juice to sanctify the Shabbat and Jewish holidays. Additionally, the word refers to a small repast held on Shabbat or festival mornings after t ...

cookie served on

Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; he, שַׁבָּת, Šabbāṯ, , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical storie ...

morning and at synagogues across the country. There are also versions of rainbow cookies made for

Passover Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday that celebrates the The Exodus, Biblical story of the Israelites escape from slavery in Ancient Egypt, Egypt, which occurs on the 15th day of the Hebrew calendar, He ...

, which are made with matzo meal or

(due to the prohibition of leavening during this holiday). Jewish Americans adapted this cookie to suit their own

Kosher (also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, yi, כּשר), fro ...

dietary needs, substituting

margarine Margarine (, also , ) is a spread used for flavoring, baking, and cooking. It is most often used as a substitute for butter. Although originally made from animal fats, most margarine consumed today is made from vegetable oil. The spread was orig ...

for the

butter Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 80% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread, melted as a condiment ...

originally used (making them pareve). Jewish Americans have been credited as being the first to change the original Italian flag design to the more commonly found rainbow design seen today, starting with the changing of the white layer of the cookie to yellow. Other color variations may include blue and white, instead of the traditional rainbow, to celebrate

Hanukkah or English translation: 'Establishing' or 'Dedication' (of the Temple in Jerusalem) , nickname = , observedby = Jews , begins = 25 Kislev , ends = 2 Tevet or 3 Tevet , celebrations = Lighting candles each night. ...

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 *Seven layer cake *Seven layer cookies *Tricolor/e cookies *Venetian cookies

References

{{Cakes Italian desserts Italian-American cuisine Italian-American culture in New York City Almond desserts Sponge cakes Chocolate-covered foods

Composition

History and origins

Popularity in the Jewish community

Other names

See also

References