ITALIAN FLAG COOKIES RECIPES

Steps:

• Place the butter, sugar, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl or stand mixer. Beat on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Add the egg and continue beating until the mixture is light, about 1 minute.
• Add the flour, baking powder and salt to the bowl and beat until a smooth dough forms, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
• Divide the dough in half. Turn each half onto a sheet of plastic wrap. Shape the dough into 3/4-inch-thick rectangles, then wrap them tightly. Refrigerate the dough until firm enough to roll and hold its shape, about one hour.
• Trim any stems from the figs. Place the figs, raisins, walnuts, almonds, chocolate, marmalade, honey, spices, salt, and pepper in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse the mixture repeatedly until no large pieces of fruit or nuts remain and the mixture clumps together like a dough. Do not over-process into a paste.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Remove one chilled dough portion from the refrigerator. Unwrap and turn it onto a well-floured work surface. Gently roll the dough into a very thin rectangle, roughly 5 inches wide and 12 inches long. The dough should be slightly under 1/4 inch thick.
• With clean, dampened hands, take half of the dried fruit mixture and shape it into a log down the center of the dough rectangle. Working very carefully, as the dough is delicate, begin rolling the dough around the log of filling, encasing it completely, and finishing with the seam side down. If there are any tears, simply pinch them together.
• Using a sharp serrated knife, slice the log into 12 cookies, each 1 inch thick. Arrange the cookies on the baking sheet.
• Repeat shaping with remaining cookie dough and filling.
• Bake the cookies on middle rack of oven until they are light golden brown on the bottoms, 15-17 minutes.
• Check to see that cookies are done. Remove from oven or add time as needed.
• Set pan on a cooling rack and let cookies cool completely, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the glaze.
• Place the powdered sugar, salt, vanilla, and milk in a mixing bowl. Whisk until the glaze is completely smooth.
• Once the cookies are completely cool, dip the top of each into the glaze, taking care to not coat the fruit filling. Sprinkle each cookie with a pinch of candy sprinkles. Let the cookies stand for at least 30 minutes to set the glaze before serving. Leftover cookies may be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to five days. Unglazed cookies may be frozen for up to three months; simply thaw and glaze.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line three 13-by-9-inch baking pans with either parchment paper or greased aluminum foil.
• In a food processor, pulse together the butter, confectioners' sugar and almond paste until pale yellow and fluffy. Continue to pulse while adding the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla extract. Add the flour and process until a smooth dough forms, stopping occasionally to scrape the sides and corners of the bowl.
• Remove the dough and divide into 3 even pieces. Place one piece back into the processor with a dab of red gel food coloring, and pulse until combined. Repeat with another piece and a dab of green food coloring. 
• Spread the red, green and plain doughs in the prepared baking pans, and bake until light and springy to the touch, about 15 minutes. Allow to cool completely in their pans, about 1 hour.
• Remove the cookie layers from their pans, reserving 1 pan to use as a mold. Place the apricot and raspberry jams in separate bowls or mugs and microwave until loose, about 1 minute. In another bowl, toss the chocolate chips with the corn syrup and oil and microwave in 30-second spurts, stirring with a fork in between, until a shiny glaze is formed.
• Place the green layer in the pan, then spread a thin layer of raspberry jam over it. Next, add the white layer, then repeat the process with the apricot jam. Top with the red layer, then spread the chocolate glaze across the top. Place in the refrigerator until the chocolate hardens, then wrap in plastic and allow to set for another hour, refrigerated.
• Place a cutting board on top of the pan, invert it, and unmold the cookies. Using a sharp knife, cut the cookies lengthwise into 4 long pieces, then cut across in 1/2-inch intervals. These keep, well-wrapped at room temperature, 5 days.