Celebrate Cinco de Mayo with these Rainbow Piñata Cookies!

In a large bowl, sieve the flour, baking powder, and salt.

In a separate mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, whip the butter on high speed until light and fluffy. Add the sugar, followed by the eggs and vanilla bean paste and continue to whip on high speed until well-combined.

Add the flour mixture to the butter bowl and mix on medium speed until just combined.

Separate the dough into two equal portions. Flatten one portion into a disc, wrap in clingfilm/plastic wrap, and transfer to the refrigerator to chill, at least 30 minutes.

Separate the other portion into six equally-sized balls. (You can use a kitchen scale if desired, but it’s not necessary to be exact.) Add gel food coloring to color each portion with a different rainbow color, using your hands* to knead the color into the dough.

Roll each color into a tube about 10 inches (25 centimeters) in length. Press the tubes together to form a rainbow-colored slab, then use a sharp knife to cut the slab in half:

Press the two halves together with the stripes aligning horizontally, forming one long rainbow slab:

Cut the slab in half lengthwise:

Then cut into strips. Rearrange the strips** to form a mosaic pattern:

Press the strips together, making sure there are no gaps in the dough:

Wrap the rainbow slab in clingfilm and transfer to the fridge to chill, at least 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line two baking trays with parchment or silicone baking mats, and set aside until ready to use.

Remove the disc of sugar cookie dough from the fridge. Roll between parchment to approximately 1/2-inch (1 1/4 centimeters) thickness. Peel away the parchment from the top of the dough.

Remove the rainbow dough slab from the fridge, unwrap, and roll between parchment to approximately 1/2-inch (1 1/4 centimeters) thickness. Remove the parchment from one side and flip the rainbow dough on top of the sugar cookie dough.

Roll the two doughs together, making sure to keep the edges relatively even. (You shouldn’t see too much sugar cookie dough peeking out from beneath the rainbow, nor should the rainbow dough overhang the sugar cookie dough.) Continue rolling until the two have formed one sheet of dough measuring about 5/8 inch (1 1/2 centimeters) thick. Remove the parchment.

Use a donkey-shaped cutter to cut the dough into 15-16 cookies. Use a metal spatula or stepped palette knife to transfer cutouts to prepared trays.

With a pastry brush, very lightly brush the top of each cookie with the beaten egg white****, and sprinkle generously with rainbow nonpareil sprinkles.

Bake in preheated oven for 12-14 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool completely prior to serving.

Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to five days. They also freeze well.