Waiting on line for 90 minutes at one of the local Italian bakeries every major holiday had just one perk. I could purchase separate poundage of 7 Layer cookies for myself. Most of the cookie packs that are non-negotiable at my family gatherings have just four of these coveted almondy and frightening colored cookie, and they were fought over frequently. Seven layers of deliciousness, a mere moment to eat one, but hours to prepare. Making them with a hefty dose of cannabutter makes them irresistible and downright deadly. The rich cake layers, the tart fruit, and bitter chocolate are the pairing you never knew you loved. The cheesy tricolor effect makes them even more curious, They’re the colors of the Italian flag, though I have never seen these cookies in Italy. Though these are not easy to make, they are so worth it. They impress people and even yourself, you don’t need to be an expert either. One of the only food bloggers who dared to cover these cookies was Smitten Kitchen, based off a 2005 Gourmet recipe. This was the framework for the ‘Eighth Layer’.
7 Layer Cookies
(modified from Smitten Kitchen Modified from Gourmet)
- ½ Stick cannabutter*
- 2 Sticks regular butter
- 1 cup Sugar
- 1 cup Almond paste
- ½ tsp Salt
- 2 cups Flour
- 2 3.5oz Bars dark chocolate
- 1 cup Seedless raspberry
- Red food coloring
- Green food coloring
Preheat oven to 350, 325 if your oven runs hot. Weigh a mixing bowl on a kitchen scale and note for later.
Separate eggs and whip whites until stiff peaks are happening, add ¼ of the sugar and whip one minute longer, put aside.
Sift together flour and salt into a second bowl. In third bowl cream the butter and almond paste with a hand mixer until well combined. Add sugar to the butter and paste and whip until fluffy. Add egg yolks and mix by hand until combined. Slowly and gently work in flour, also by hand. Fold in egg whites in two parts using a large spatula, gently so they don’t deflate. Weigh the batter subtracting the weight of the bowl, divide in three equal parts amongst the bowls. Pour first bowl onto a well buttered and parchment lined small baking sheet, use offset spatula to evenly distribute. Bake 12ish minutes depending on your oven, rotate halfway, you don’t want to see much browning here.
Dispense red and green food coloring into second and third bowls, 10 drops each. Cover green batter bowl and refrigerate. Take out white cake from oven and transfer to wire rack to cool. Re-line the pan and pour red batter, bake as the first. Take green batter out of the fridge to come to room temperature. Remove red cake, place on wire rack to cool. Re-line pan and pour green batter. Bake, remove and allow all cakes to cool completely. When cakes are cool, spread half of jam on the red cake. Place white cake in line with red on top of jam layer. Cover white cake with remaining jam. Top with green cake in line with other two layers. Wrap in parchment and chill overnight.
Trim edges slightly to allow chocolate to spread easier, try not to eat it until you’re finished, because these are strong and work fast!
Remove cake from fridge, unwrap. Chop one bar of chocolate into fine pieces, melt in microwave gently. Spread over green cake evenly, chill 10 minutes.
Gently flip the cake using a wire rack so red is facing up, chocolate down. Chop and melt remaining chocolate. Spread on red cake. Freeze at least 1 hour before cutting.
Cut into strips before cutting into cookie sized slices with a serrated knife, wiping in between cuts.
Enjoy for all eternity, which won’t be long because these are so yummy! Keep in freezer to keep extra fresh, otherwise one week countertop, two weeks fridge.
*Cannabutter
Decarboxylate 3.5g of finely ground cannabis at 225 degrees for 20 minutes in a tightly sealed, oven safe container. Put in lidded mason jar or vacuum sealed bag with cannabis and 1 stick of butter. Heat in water bath just under boiling for at least 1 hour. Strain and chill butter to use in recipes.
These take skill, but not expertise. The best advice is to read the recipe a few times over before executing it, have patience, and you will end up with the most boastful cookies on planet earth, to eat while watching the new Planet Earth 2.
Photos: Danielle Guercio [Instagram: @danizig]
