Historically, immigrants from Italy created the rainbow cookie to pay homage to their ancestral country (the colors represent the Italian flag). Tradition dictates that the cookie is made of layers of almond-paste cake separated by fruit jam and coated with chocolate.
Local bakeries and restaurants, however, are breaking with that, creating custom confections that bend the rules and celebrate the Italian cookie in a whole new way.
Rainbow Cookie Cheesecake at Homestyle Desserts Bakery
24 S Water St, Peekskill; 914.737.4659
Everything tastes better when it’s on a stick, especially this dessert. Cheesecake’s richness can overpower other flavors, but at Homestyle Desserts Bakery, the essence of a rainbow cookie truly shines through.
Did we mention that it’s frozen and dipped in chocolate? Just another reason to run here this summer
Rainbow Cookie Ice Cream at Bona Bona Ice Cream
10 Westchester Ave, Port Chester; 914.481.5712
This is no run of the mill cookies-’n’-cream combo. Beat the heat with a scoop of this rainbow cookie ice cream with bona fide chunks of cookies, served Bona-style — topped with a spiral of torched Italian meringue.
More of a milkshake fan? They’ve got you covered with the Over the Rainbow, boasting a rainbow cookie rim.
Photo courtesy of Bona Bona Ice Cream
Rainbow Cookie Cake at Mima Vinoteca
63 Main St, Irvington; 914.591.1300
Rainbow cookies aren’t usually a breakfast food, but you’ll find cake inspired by one on the new brunch menu at this Italian restaurant. To craft this special (it isn’t always on the menu, so you’ll have to be lucky to experience it), layers of almond-sponge cake are sandwiched around raspberry-marshmallow fluff, all of which gets doused, tableside, in dreamy chocolate-espresso ganache.
Rainbow Cookie Bars at Sugar Hi
380 Main St, Armonk; 914.273.4777
With so many eye-catching desserts available, including homemade Pop-Tarts, Freak Shakes, and Ring Dings, you’ll feel like a kid in a candy store. Keep your eye on the goal: These rainbow cookie bars bedazzled with edible glitter.
Have a nut allergy? No problem. Sugar Hi swaps the traditional almond-based marzipan for pound cake, spread with layers of the classic raspberry jam.
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