Vanilla Venetians #12WksXmasTreats

Vanilla Venetians | Bakewell Junction

It’s time for the sixth week of 12 Weeks of Christmas Treats blog hop.  It’s hosted by Brenda Thompson from MealPlanningMagic.com.  The blog hop goes live every Wednesday until Christmas.  If you’d like to join us, please fill out the form on Brenda’s blog.

I’ve been looking for a Venetians recipe that I could make for my sister-in-law.  Although she hasn’t tasted the almond flavored ones I’ve made (which can be found here), she always says she doesn’t like them.  I looked for a Venetians recipe that didn’t have the almond paste.  This was no easy task because they sometimes go by Rainbow Cookies, Tri Color Cookies or Seven Layer Cookies and most of them have almond paste.  I found this one that looked good.  My husband and his friend said they were fantastic.  I like them but I may need to try some more recipes so don’t be surprised if you see some more.

Vanilla Venetians

Yield:  36 cookies                  Cook Time:  10 minutes

Batter:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 large eggs, separated
• 4 to 6 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups flour
• 8 to 10 drops red food coloring
• 8 to 10 drops green food coloring

Filling and Icing:

• 8 to 10 ounces apricot or seedless raspberry preserves
• 6 ounces special dark chocolate bar (I used Hershey’s)

Directions:

Step 1:  Prepare 3 11 by 7 inch pans.  I used the half tray disposable aluminum pans for this.  Spray the pans with cooking spray, line with wax paper and then spray the wax paper with cooking spray too.  You can make these in a pan that’s just been sprayed with cooking spray but they are very thin and you will have difficulty taking them out without breaking them.

Step 2:  With an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugar for about five minutes.  Add the egg yolks and vanilla and beat until combined.  Mix in the flour in small batches.

Step 3:  In a medium bowl beat the egg whites on high for about 10 minutes until stiff.  Fold into the batter until incorporated.

Step 4:  Take 1/3 of the batter (about 1 cup) and add 8 drops green food coloring.  Mix the food coloring using a folding motion to mix the food coloring throughout the 1/3 portion of the batter.  Add additional drops as necessary to get the color you want.  Spread the batter as evenly as possible in a prepared pan and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10 minutes.  This works best if the rack is in the middle of the oven.

Step 5:  Take 1/3 of the batter (about 1 cup) and add 8 drops red food coloring.  Mix the food coloring using a folding motion to mix the food coloring throughout the 1/3 portion of the batter.  Add additional drops as necessary to get the color you want.  Spread the batter as evenly as possible in a prepared pan and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10 minutes.  This works best if the rack is in the middle of the oven.

Step 6:  Take the remaining batter (about 1 cup) and spread the batter as evenly as possible in a prepared pan and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10 minutes.  This works best if the rack is in the middle of the oven.   Cool all three cakes completely.

Step 7:  Warm the apricot preserves in a bowl in the microwave at 30 second intervals while stirring between intervals.  Heat for a maximum of 1 1/2 minutes.  Place wax paper on a cookie sheet and then the invert the green layer onto it (be sure to invert the green layer if you’re using a pan with ridges on bottom).  Spread 1/2 the apricot preserves on the green layer.  Place the untinted layer on top of the green layer.  Spread the remaining apricot preserves on the untinted layer.  Place the red layer on top of the untinted layer right side up and cover with wax paper.  Place another cookie sheet on top of the layers and place weight on top.  Chill everything overnight in the refrigerator.

Step 8:  Remove the cookies from the refrigerator and remove the weight.  Cut the edges of the layers so there are clean edges.  The cut pieces are great for snacking.  Carefully melt 1/2 the chocolate in a double boiler or the microwave.  Spread the chocolate on the top and sides of the cookies.  Let the chocolate dry.  Turn the cookies over, melt the remaining chocolate and spread on the bottom also.  Let the chocolate dry.  Turn the cookies over and cut into 6 by 6 pieces.

Storing:  Store cookies in a sealed plastic container.

Tips:

• When the apricot preserves are heated, you can remove any large apricot chunks before spreading.  Heating the apricot preserves allows the preserves to soak into the layers and helps the layers cling together better.
• To cut the layers into pieces, carefully use a sharp serrated knife.  Have the layers placed with the long edge closest to you. Run the knife under hot water and dry it.  Cut the layers in six slices along the long edge of the layers.  To minimize cracking in the chocolate, start cutting in a sawing motion with the warm knife until you break through the chocolate; then press down until the knife cuts through to the bottom of the layers and chocolate.  You will likely need to repeat running the knife under hot water after four slices.  Turn the pieces that look like long narrow logs sideways.  Repeat running the knife under hot water.  Using the same sawing motion to get through the top layer of chocolate and then pressing down to cut through to the bottom of the layers and chocolate, cut each log into 6 pieces.  You will likely need to repeat running the knife under hot water for each log you cut.  Plus if some of the chocolate cracks, then you have a great snack.
• Making these a few days ahead of time allows the flavors to meld and they taste even better.

Recipe adapted from My Italian Grandmother.

12 Weeks of Christmas Treats Blog Hop

Week 6, October 30, 2013

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