[1][2] Rainbow cookies are typically composed of layers of brightly colored, almond-based sponge cake (usually almond paste/marzipan), apricot and/or raspberry jam, and a chocolate coating.

The original rainbow cookie featured layers with colors representing the Italian flag: white, red and green.

[6] While there is no direct analogue to rainbow cookies in Italy, Italian food historian Mary Taylor Simeti speculates that the Italian-American rainbow cookie is based on the tri-colored gelato di campagna, a nougat with the same colored layers.

[10] Jewish Americans adapted this cookie to suit their own Kosher dietary needs, substituting margarine for the butter originally used (making them pareve).

[11] Although often called simply rainbow cookies in much of the continental United States, some local names for this specific variety are: