Vegan Rainbow Cookies

It has been on my list of things to do for quite some time: veganize the ever-loved rainbow cookie! After plans for a weekend in Pittsburgh fell flat and the rain continued to persist in New York City or the umpteenth day, a Freaks and Geeks marathon would be complemented with combating this huge baking challenge… vegan rainbow cookies.

I used this recipe as a start and only needed to make minor adjustments. (I’ll post the adjusted recipe is below.) Firstly, I whipped up the equivalent eggs with Ener-G egg replacer. Since attempting the angels food cake a few weeks back, I’ve been dreaming of billowing pillows of fluffy white Ener-G.This tube of almond paste presented a few problems. It was hard to get out all the lumps as it is very thick. Almond cream may have made for a smoother consistency.
The creamed almond paste, Earth Balance and sugar are combined with the flour to complete the batter. After folding in the whipped “egg”, the batter was ready to be divided and splashed with food coloring.
I used India Tree’s natural food coloring to color my cakes. This set of liquid vegetable-based colorants was a pretty penny at $18.99. Funny how I can shell out $20 on things like Madagascar bourbon vanilla extract and natural food coloring while refusing to pay more than this for a top. The bowls of pink, yellow and light violet looked like paint or the hair dye I used when I was 15.
After baking each of the thin cakes to a perfect brown, I began to get excited and antsy. Maybe I would accomplish making vegan rainbow cookies after all!
Next I spread blackberry preserves onto layer one with a pastry brush. My sister patiently strained the preserves of all its big chunks of berry. What a team!
After layering the jam with the colorful layers, the cake was ready to be (she’s dead…) wrapped in plastic to set in the fridge under the heavy heart of one of the Post Secret books. I should have let it set overnight, as directed but I really wanted to try ’em.
So I melted a cup of the chocolate chips and spread it on the top layer.
After about 4 episodes of Freaks and Geeks the chocolate was adequately hardened and I could wait no more. I cut them into pieces. What a delight! Vegan rainbow cookies! They were absolutely delicious. Had I had a bit more time, they would have set better and cut smoother. But it was worth the rush. Yum!
So, here is the recipe I used:

7 oz. almond paste
1 cup Earth Balance
1 cup organic granulated sugar
6 tsp. Ener-G egg replacer & 1/2 cup water (4 “eggs”)
2 cups all purpose flour
generous squirts of natural food coloring
1/2 cup preserves, strained
1 cup vegan chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Line three 9×13 pans with parchment paper.
With hand beater, whip up egg replacer till peaks hold. Set aside.
In large bowl, smash almond paste with a fork.
Add Earth Balance and sugar and cream with hand mixer.
Add flour and mix thoroughly.
Fold whipped egg replacer into batter.
Divide batter into 3 different bowls. Coloring the batter to your liking with the food coloring.
Spread one bowl’s contents to a prepared pan. Repeat with the other bowls.
Bake for 11 minutes or so, until golden brown.
Remove and let cakes cool on wire racks.
Roll out some plastic wrap on a cookie sheet but don’t tear the end.
Lay out the first layer onto the plastic wrap and coat with a thin layer of the preserves. Repeat with the second layer.
Add the top layer and wrap the layers tightly in plastic wrap.
Place a heavy object upon the cakes and refridgerate for 8 hours (or overnight).
Melt chocolate chips over low heat, achieving a smooth consistency.
Unwrap the wrapped cake and place on parchment paper.
Brush chocolate on the top and allow to dry for an hour or so.
Slice into small rectangles and serve!