Christmas Tri-Color Cookie {Recipe}

Ingredients

• 4 egg whites – separated
• 8 ounces almond paste
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 5 drops red food coloring
• 5 drops green food coloring
• 8 oz seedless apricot preserve
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, melted

Instructions

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line three 9×13 inch baking pans with parchment paper. (I use tin pans)
3. In a medium bowl, break up almond paste with a fork, and mix with butter, sugar, and egg yolks. When mixture is fluffy and smooth, stir in flour to form a dough. In a small bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Fold egg whites into the dough. Divide dough into 3 equal portions in separate bowls. Mix one portion with red food coloring, and one with green food coloring- leave the 3rd alone. Spread each portion into one of the prepared baking pans like so:          .                        
4. Bake 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven, until lightly browned. Carefully remove from pan and parchment paper, and cool completely on wire racks.
5. Heat and strain apricot preserve.
6. Place green layer onto a piece of plastic wrap large enough to wrap all three layers. Spread green layer with apricot preserve, and top with uncolored layer. Spread with more apricot preserve, and top with pink layer. Transfer layers to a baking sheet, and enclose with plastic wrap. Place a weight on top of wrapped layers to compress.  I use books, you can use a heavy cutting board too.
7. Chill in the refrigerator 8 hours, or overnight.
8. Remove plastic wrap. Top with melted chocolate chips, and refrigerate 1 hour, or until chocolate is firm.
9. Slice into small squares to serve.