An Ode to Baking

So, I promised that I'd blog about some of the things that had kept me busy over the holidays... and never actually got around to it... *headdesk*

However, University classes were cut short today due to the snow we got last night, so I have some free time on my hands. Finally!

One of my favourite things about the Christmas season is baking cookies with my Mom and my sisters. Our family is comprised of 12 sweet-loving-fiends, so when Christmas rolls around, we go crazy with the cookie baking (I think one year we had almost 8 varieties of cookies). This year was a little more low key, considering all the craziness that had happened with my Dad (he had just got out of the hospital from a bad staph infection less than a week before Christmas).

Despite the craziness, I was determined this year to make my "famous" Neapolitan cookies. (They're also frequently known as Rainbow or 7-layer Cookies... In my opinion, the excellence of an Italian bakery is measured by how well these cookies are made.)

I've been making these cookies for Christmas for several years now, but refrained from the project last year. This was due to having moved during the Christmas holidays and I didn't have time for the 5 hour project amidst unpacking boxes and arranging furniture.

This year, however, I was determined to follow through. Besides, who can resist the clamour of several small children with ridiculously cute voices asking you, "Are you gonna make your rainbow cookies for us, Celly?" Melt.

Usually, I bake these cookies between Christmas and New Years', but with the already full schedule of visiting that week, I opted to make them a few days before Christmas. I made the kids swear that they wouldn't touch them until Christmas Day, however. "It's not a Christmas cookie if you eat it before Christmas," I lectured them, and the logic seemed to make sense, because they all promptly promised. (Honestly, though, I didn't want to be eaten out of my fair share of them, having forsworn sweets for Advent. *sheepish grin*)

So, after dinner at Mom's house, I tidied the kitchen and then waited for the kids to get distracted. (It was episodes of Dr. Who, in this case. Thank you, Netflix.) Making Rainbow cookies is an intensive project, spanning over a few hours. Having children underfoot is not desirable... especially since I'm kind of a Nazi about my counter space. And as you can see, despite the grand size of my mother's kitchen, I needed it...

Three baking pans- lined with wax paper- & the two mixers ready to go!

For those of you who've never had Rainbow cookies, I just have to say that they are delicious, chocolate covered squares of almond-y goodness. The ingredients that go into them are top-shelf (which is also why they're only made once a year... they're expensive! How many cookie recipes do you have that calls for 3 cups of butter? *grin*)...

Some of the fantastic ingredients involved...

This year, I grabbed a latte from Starbucks to aid me in my endeavour, since I knew I'd probably be working late... and yes, I'll admit that I have a seasonal addiction to their Peppermint Mocha Lattes... yum...

Yay for Starbucks!

So, step one in the making of these baking marvels is to make the cake that the cookies consist of:

The cake batter is thick and kind of lumpy at this point.

Then, you have to beat a dozen egg whites into submission:

Oh, they'd better behave...

Once the eggs become obedient, they form up into fluffy, soft peaks:

So lovely!

And then, the now-foamy egg whites are folded into the batter to give it a lighter and smoother consistency:

Flufferizing action!

Once that is done, you have to separate the batter into three separate bowls:

All ready to be colour-ified!

At this point in the process, my Mom came in to chat with me, so I forgot to photograph the next few steps. Basically, I add food colouring to the batter so that I have the three traditional colours: red, green and yellow. Then, I add a good amount of amaretto to each bowl of batter. Then the amaretto-infused batters are spread into their respective pans and baked.

After baking and cooling, the layers are then assembled, and raspberry jam is spread between each layer. Then, the layers get compressed, so that the cookies become a little more manageable to eat:

Squish those cookies!

Once the cookies are compressed, you melt the chocolate chips (Ghiradelli are the best... the melt so easily and stay smooth):

I wonder if I can just eat the chocolate? *drool*

Then, the melted chocolate is spread over the cookie/cake monstrosity, sealing in the moisture. After that, the still "wet" chocolate is sprinkled liberally with Chocolate Jimmies for that fresh-from-the-bakery look:

Yeah, that's right. I made half a sheet cake of these cookies! *grin*

It was 2 am before I was finished and had cleaned up (although most of the cleaning was done throughout the process... I can't work with lots of dirty dishes around...). I stuck toothpicks in the corners and across the middle so that I could create a kind of plastic wrap "tent." The last thing I wanted was for that that creamy chocolate to end up stuck to the plastic wrap before it hardened.

I will report that my siblings stayed true to their word, and we cut into the finished product on Christmas Day:

It's so beautiful... *dreamy grin*

They were totally worth the long hours and hard work to make. *sigh* This batch was probably one of the best ever... And I can back that claim up, because the cookies were almost gone 5 days later!!! There were even complaints from the peanut gallery when I absconded with 6 to send to Scot in Scotland. The kids even suggested that I send less worthy cookies, instead of mailing away such a masterpiece!

I told them that we shouldn't be selfish, especially since we had 90-some of them all to ourselves... Deep down though, a little voice was telling me to follow their advice... *shhh*