Rainbow Slice Recipes

RAINBOW SLICES

Steps:

• Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. In a large bowl, combine cookie mix and cake flour. Add shortening, butter, and egg, stirring with a wooden spoon until dough forms. Divide dough into fourths and place each fourth in a small bowl. Add cherry extract and red food coloring to one of the dough portions; mix until dough has no streaks. (Knead with hands, if necessary.) Repeat with remaining dough portions, using coconut extract and green food coloring for one portion, lemon extract and yellow food coloring for another portion, and almond extract and blue food coloring for last portion. Roll each colored portion into a ball and flatten into a disk. Wrap portions separately with plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator for 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Remove blue dough from refrigerator and roll into a log about 9 inches long. Remove yellow dough from refrigerator and use a rolling pin to roll into a rectangle 9 inches long and wide enough to completely encase the log of blue dough. Wrap yellow dough around blue dough, pressing together to seal seam. Repeat with green dough and wrap around yellow dough. Finish with red dough and wrap around green dough. Chill colored log in refrigerator for 15 minutes.
• Cut log into 1⁄2-inch-thick slices. Cut each slice in half and place on prepared cookie sheets, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes or just until lightly browned on edges. Cool on cookie sheets for 5 minutes. Transfer to wire racks; let cool. Outline yellow arch with decorating gel and sprinkle sanding sugar over gel.
• TIP: To make the Rainbow Slices into cookie lollipops, after slicing colored log and cutting slices in half, gently insert a lollipop stick into the blue portion of the rainbow. Continue as directed. To make the pot of gold, place a large apple chunk in the bottom of gold cupcake liners. Insert the lollipop stick into the chunk of apple, so the lollipop will stand up. Fill the cupcake liners with yellow sanding sugar to cover the apple chunk.

RAINBOW SLICE-AND-BAKE COOKIES

Steps:

• Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Beat the butter, granulated sugar and confectioners' sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg yolks and vanilla until smooth. Reduce the mixer speed to medium low and gradually beat in the flour mixture until the dough just comes together.
• Divide the dough into 6 pieces: 2 large pieces (about 7 ounces each), 2 medium pieces (about 5 ounces each) and 2 small pieces (about 3 ounces each). Tint 1 large piece of dough red and the other orange, kneading the food coloring into the dough with gloved hands or a rubber spatula. Tint 1 medium piece of dough yellow and the other green. Tint 1 small piece of dough blue and the other purple.
• Using gloved hands, roll the purple dough into a 7-inch log (about 3/4-inch-thick) on a floured sheet of parchment paper; set aside. Using a rolling pin, roll out the remaining pieces of dough into rectangles on separate floured sheets of parchment paper, dusting with more flour as needed: 3 1/2 by 7 inches for blue; 5 by 7 1/2 inches for green; 6 by 8 inches for yellow; 7 by 8 1/2 inches for orange; 8 by 9 inches for red.
• Tightly wrap the blue dough around the purple log, keeping the dough in a log shape; pinch the seam to close. Continue wrapping the log with the dough: green, then yellow, orange and red. Wrap the whole log in plastic wrap; freeze until very firm, about 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Trim the ends of the dough log, then slice into 3/8-inch-thick rounds. Slice each round in half. Arrange about 1 inch apart on 2 unlined baking sheets and refrigerate until ready to bake, at least 15 minutes.
• Bake, one pan at a time, until the cookies are just set around the edges and golden on the bottom, 10 to 15 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes on the pan, then transfer to racks to cool completely.
• Meanwhile, put the candy melts in a medium microwave-safe bowl and microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring, until smooth, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a resealable plastic bag and snip a corner. Pipe small clouds on the ends of each rainbow. Let set, at least 5 minutes.

CHRISTMAS RAINBOW SLICES

Steps:

• Line bottoma dn sides of an 8x4-inch loaf pan with waxed paper.
• Mix flour, baking powder and salt.
• In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar with electric mixer until fluffy.
• Beat in egg and vanilla.
• Stir in flour mixture until well blended.
• Divide dough in thirds.
• Refrigerate about 15 minutes.
• FOR PINK DOUGH:.
• Remove 1 portion from refrigerator.
• Add 1 drop red food color at a time, mixing well after each addition until dough is deep pink.
• Stir in cherries.
• Press dough firmly and evenly in bottom of prepared pan.
• Return to refrigerator.
• FOR GREEN DOUGH:.
• Add 1 drop green food color at a time as directed above.
• Add almond extract and pistachio nuts.
• Mix well.
• Press evenly on top of pink dough in pan; refrigerate.
• FOR WHITE DOUGH:.
• Stir coconut into last batch of dough until well blended.
• Press firmly and evely over green dough.
• Cover with plastic wrap.
• Chill (in freezer) several hours or overnight.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees.
• Have a cookie sheet ready.
• Run a metal spatula between waxed paper and pan sids to loosen.
• Invert onto cutting board and remove waxed paper.
• Cut into 1/4-inch slices, then cut each slice vertically into 3 equal pieces.
• Place 1 inch apart on cookie sheets.
• Bake 10-12 minutes until edges are golden brown.
• Remove to rack to cool.