A bakery favorite, rainbow cookies are popular with everyone, and come Christmas season they must get decked out in the holiday colors. Accented with raspberry jam and a layer of melted chocolate, these cookies will become one of your holiday standbys.

Yields: 4 dozen

2 1/4 cups sugar

8 ounces (scant 3/4 cup) almond paste, broken up

1 large egg

1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

2 tablespoons milk powder

1 tablespoon light corn syrup

1 3/4 cups eggs (7 to 8 eggs)

4 cups cake flour

1/2 cup water

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Lightly grease the bottom and sides of 3 cookie sheets. In addition, line the bottom of each pan with parchment paper.

In a large bowl of an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, combine: 2 1/4 cups sugar; 8 ounces (scant 3/4cup) almond paste, broken up; and large egg.

Add and cream: 1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened; 1 teaspoon salt; 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder; 2 tablespoons milk powder; 1 tablespoon light corn syrup. Slowly add: 1 3/4 eggs.

On a piece of wax paper, sift 4 cups cake flour. Add and mix at low speed until combined. Add and mix until combined: 1/2 cup water.

Divide the batter evenly into 3 bowls. Add approximately 4 drops of red food coloring to the first bowl. Add approximately 4 drops of green food coloring to the second bowl. Add more food coloring, drop by drop, if a darker color is desired. Leave the last bowl uncolored. Pour each of the batters onto a separate cookie sheet. Using a metal or plastic spatula, spread the batter evenly. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until lightly colored on the edges or a skewer comes out clean. Let the cakes cool completely in their pans.

Stir until smooth 2/3 cup raspberry jam.

Run a bent spatula under the parchment paper of each baked cake to loosen them, leaving them in their pans. Evenly spread 1/3 cup of jam over the red layer. Take the white cake in its pan and flip the pan over the red layer. The cake should fall on top of the red; if necessary, ease it off with a spatula. Peel off the parchment paper and spread the remaining 1/3 cup of jam evenly on top.

Now flip the green cake on top of the white one, but do not remove the parchment paper. Place a pan, right side up, on top of the cake and carefully place a weight on top. Refrigerate the cake overnight.

Melt: 2 cups dark wafer chocolate or 12 ounces semisweet chocolate (tempered).

Remove the weight but not the top pan. Flip the pans over and, using a metal spatula or knife, ease the other pan off of the cake. Remove the paper from the red layer. Pour half of the chocolate on top of the assembled cake. Quickly spread the chocolate evenly in a thin layer over the entire top. If desired, drag a metal pastry comb over the top to create a lined pattern. Let the chocolate set for 10 minutes or until it is hard to the touch.

Gently place the other pan, right side up, on top of the cake and carefully flip the entire cake, holding firmly onto both pans. Remove the top pan, and the parchment paper from the green layer, and pour the remaining chocolate over the top. Spread and decorate as before. Let rest until set but not completely hardened. Using a paring knife dipped in hot water, cut the cake into 2-inch cubes. To maintain freshness, wrap in plastic wrap.

From Christmas Cookies from the Whimsical Bakehouse, photographs by Ben Fink, 2005, Clarkson Potter, New York, NY, randomhouse.com