Rainbow Refrigerator Cookies are simple and easy cookies. I am not a huge fan of the Italian Rainbow Cookies. However, I love how they look. They are so festive and lovely on a platter with red, yellow, and green layers.
I love sugar cookies and decided to use my favorite sugar cookie recipe. Color the dough, and create a sugar refrigerator cookie. I dipped the cookie in a little raspberry-flavored chocolate for a little something extra.
For more cookies, make sure you bake some Banging Pecan Toffee Cookies or my Toasted Almond Shortbread Bars.
Key Takeaways:
- Festive Sugar Cookie Alternative: These Rainbow Refrigerator Cookies are a colorful twist on traditional sugar cookies—fun, vibrant, and eye-catching on any dessert tray.
- Different from Italian Rainbow Cookies: Unlike cake-style Italian rainbow cookies, these are actual cookies made from a sugar cookie base, colored and stacked for a layered look.
- Flavored Chocolate Dip: Each cookie is dipped in raspberry-flavored dark chocolate, adding a unique and flavorful touch.
- Easy Prep with Pro Tips: Use plastic wrap to shape and color dough easily, avoiding messy hands and dry cookies from excess flour.
- Bake or Freeze: Cookies can be baked and stored for a week or frozen before dipping for make-ahead convenience.
- Perfect for Parties: Their festive appearance makes them a great choice for holidays, birthdays, or just for fun baking with kids.
Overview
These Rainbow Refrigerator Cookies are a playful spin on the traditional Italian Rainbow treat—only this time, they’re real cookies! Made with soft sugar cookie dough, tinted with festive red, yellow, and green hues, and stacked into vibrant layers, these cookies are as stunning as they are simple. Once baked, each cookie gets a decadent dip in raspberry-flavored dark chocolate for a fruity finish. Perfect for holiday trays or just because—they’re eye-catching, freezer-friendly, and totally irresistible.
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What Makes These Rainbow Refrigerator Cookies Different?
Traditional Italian Rainbow cookies aren’t cookies. They are thin layers of cake layered with jam and then smashed together to form a triple-layer cookie cake with chocolate frosting on the top.
My Rainbow Refrigerator Cookies are genuinely a cookie. I use a sugar cookie dough that I color and stack together. The dough is then cut into cookies. Baked and dipped in raspberry-flavored dark chocolate.
If you love the traditional cookies, these will be yummy but not the same. So enjoy their unique flavor and texture.
Let’s Make the Dough:
Use a hand mixer or stand mixer to mix the dough. The dough is fairly soft, so either method will work. Here are the steps:
- Cream the butter and sugar with a mixer until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs and almond extract. Mix in.
- Add the dry ingredients and mix until the dough comes together.
Coloring the Dough:
To color the dough, gel food coloring works best. Divide the dough into three equal portions and add a small amount of food coloring. Knead the dough until the color is evenly incorporated.
Shaping the Dough: My SIS Simple is Smart Tip for working with the dough. Use plastic wrap to help you work in the coloring without getting it on your hands. Then use the same plastic wrap to help you shape the dough into a flat rectangle. This lets you work with the dough without adding extra flour. The extra flour yields a dry cookie.
Shape each color into a flat rectangle 10 inches by three inches. Wrap and refrigerate the dough for 1 hour. Then stack the colors with green on the bottom, yellow, and red on top. Press together gently and square the edges.
Baking and Dipping the Cookies.
Once the dough is stacked, cut the rectangle down the center and cut each half into 3/8 thick cookies. If you want larger cookies, don’t cut the rectangle in half. Just slice and bake the cookies.
Bake the cookies on a parchment-lined cookie sheet for 10 – 12 minutes. The cookies are done when the bottom is golden, and the edges are set.
Melt the Chocolate for Dipping the Rainbow Refrigerator Cookies.
Add the chocolate, heavy cream, and butter to a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 15-second intervals until the chocolate melts. Stir the chocolate after each 15-second interval. Add about 4-6 drops of the super-concentrated raspberry extract. Use the super-concentrated extract. This keeps the chocolate from becoming thick and grainy from the liquid in the extract. Dip the corner or end of each cookie in the chocolate and place it on a wire rack to harden.
Freezing and Storing Rainbow Refrigerator Cookies:
Freeze the cookies after they are baked but before they are dipped in the chocolate. Defrost, dip, and serve.
Dipped cookies can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to a week.
FAQ:
Q: Are Rainbow Refrigerator Cookies the same as Italian Rainbow Cookies?
A: No, they’re quite different. Italian Rainbow Cookies are layered cakes with jam and chocolate, while these are colorful sugar cookies stacked and dipped in chocolate.
Q: What kind of food coloring should I use?
A: Gel food coloring works best for vibrant layers without affecting the dough’s consistency.
Q: Can I skip the raspberry extract in the chocolate?
A: Yes, but the raspberry flavor adds a lovely fruity contrast. If skipping, just melt the chocolate with cream and butter for a rich dip.
Q: Can I freeze these cookies?
A: Yes! Freeze them after baking but before dipping. When ready to serve, defrost, dip in chocolate, and enjoy.
Q: How long do these cookies last?
A: Once dipped in chocolate, they can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 7 days.
Q: Can I make these cookies larger or smaller?
A: Absolutely. Just adjust how you slice the stacked dough—skip cutting the block in half if you want bigger cookies.
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Rainbow Refrigerator Cookies - Slice and Bake
Equipment
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Ingredients
Cookies
- 1½ cup butter(339g)
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar(132g)
- ⅔ cup light brown sugar(142g)
- 2 large egg yolks
- ½ tsp almond extract
- 2¼ cup all-purpose flour(270g)
- ½ tsp baking powder
- food coloring - yellow, red, green
Raspberry Chocolate Dip
- 4 oz semi-sweet dark chocolate(115g)
- 2 tbsp heavy cream
- 1 tsp butter
- ¼ tsp super strength raspberry extract (see notes)
Instructions
Make the Cookies
- Beat the butter with the sugar in a Stand Mixer or in a bowl with a hand mixer until light and fluffy. About 2 minutes.
- Add the egg yolks and almonds extract. Beat to mix-in.
- Mix the baking powder into the flour and add the flour to the butter-sugar mixture.
- Beat until the dough comes together.
Color and Stack the Dough
- Split the dough into three equal portions.
- Add the Food coloring to each portion and knead to mix in.
- Once each portion of dough is evenly colored, shape each portion of dough into a flat log 10 inches X 3 inches.
- SIS (Simple is Smart) Tip: Pat each color of dough into the log shape and wrap in plastic wrap.
- Square the sides
- Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Unwrap and stack the logs. To form a red, yellow, green "sandwich". Press together firmly but don't squish the logs out of shape.
- Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C)
- Cut the log down the center. Then cut each half into cookies that are 3/8 inch thick.
- Place cookies on a parchment-lined baking sheet. (about 1 inch apart).
- Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the cookies are just set around the edges and the bottom is a golden brown.
Raspberry Chocolate Dip.
- Add the butter and heavy cream to the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl..
- Add the raspberry extract (see notes) and stir in.
- Dip the end of each cookie in the raspberry chocolate and let the chocolate firm up before storing or serving.
Storing or Freezing:
- Freeze the baked cookies before they are dipped in an air-tight container for up to two months. Defrost and Dip in the raspberry chocolate before serving.
- Wrap the dough sandwich in plastic wrap and freeze for up to 2 months. Defrost, slice, and bake.
- Store the baked and dipped cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.
