december: holiday baking recap

Homemade Almond Paste, Italian Rainbow and Pignoli Cookies

It is hard to imagine that we've made it through another holiday season and 2022 is here! December seems to get shorter as the years' progress and this year was no exception. Christmastime is one of my most favorite times of the year, and I become all consumed playing Mrs. Claus with my holiday preparations. In addition, we have other family celebrations, making December even more special.

This year I was able to continue a new holiday tradition after teaching myself how to make almond paste, which is the base ingredient for both Italian rainbow

and pignoli cookies. They are bakery favorites from my childhood given my Italian-American heritage and upbringing in Brooklyn, New York.

Homemade Almond Paste

In December 2020 I was researching almond paste recipes to make my own because store-bought is expensive and I needed a significant quantity. Thankfully I found this delicious almond paste recipe from The Seaside Baker which has forever changed my baking. Making almond paste is a breeze and only requires almond flour, almond extract (2 teaspoons is my preference), powdered sugar, egg whites, and a food processor. While this recipe indicates a 12-ounce yield, I find that it makes closer to 14 ounces. I typically make multiple batches and keep them refrigerated for up to 2 weeks, which gets me through the holiday baking season.

Rainbow Cookies

I have tried several recipes for Italian Rainbow cookies, and Chef Carla Hall's by far is my favorite and a true crowd-pleaser! While rainbow cookies are not difficult to make they can be time-consuming and often take 2 days if refrigerating cake layers overnight. Also, the key to a light and fluffy cookie is to grate the almond paste into the food processor bowl using the largest hole on a cheese grater, and not to overfold the meringue into the batter when it is time to combine. When spreading the batter in pans, it is similar to working with a confection and requires a level of patience since it is a thicker consistency. It is also easy to want to overbake these cookies, but 10 minutes is usually perfect and a toothpick should come out clean, when inserted in the center of each cake. I sometimes bake these cakes for an extra minute or two, but watch very carefully not to overbake. Thoroughly cool cakes before assembling with warm jam, and you are well on your way to making the most delicious cookie!

*** Note: when chilling cake layers with jam in refrigerator place one of the empty cake pans over plastic-wrapped cake and then add cans to keep cake top flat which was an oversight on my part for this batch I photographed. Thankfully there was no impact on taste and it was minimal on presentation.

Pignoli Cookies

Once I learned how to make my own almond paste and rainbow cookies, I was then tempted to bake pignoli cookies which is also an almond paste base cookie. Again, I start with grating my almond paste using the largest hole on a cheese grater to keep the cookie light and fluffy. I learned how to bake these cookies using Giada DeLaurentiis' recipe which is rather simple, with the exception of working with a very sticky dough. The trick is wetting your hands in cold water prior to rolling dough in pignoli nuts. I have also found that I need far more than 2/3 cup of pignoli nuts per batch so I'm curious if anyone else has experienced this issue. Regardless, these have also been very well received and I often receive requests to bake these cookies throughout the year.

Sending best wishes for a happy, healthy, and joyous new year, and may it be filled with new adventures including baking or whatever you set as your intention. Enjoy and happy 2022!

#holidaybaking #Christmas2021 #happynewyear #theseasidebaker #homemadealmondpaste #chefcarlahall #rainbowcookies #giadadelaurentiis #pignolicookies