Neapolitan Cookies
I’ve always love anything Neapolitan. I feel like you get a little bit of everything with rich chocolate, tart strawberry, and sweet vanilla. My favorite part about this recipe aside from how delicious they are is the beautiful swirl of all three flavored doughs. I hope that you enjoy this recipe as much as I do!
How To Make Neapolitan Cookies
Step 1: Make the Cookie Dough
Preheat the oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients then set aside.
In a large bowl, use an electric mixer or stand mixer fit with the paddle attachment to cream together the butter & sugar. Then add in the eggs and vanilla. Mix on low speed and take your time :)
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, mixing until a soft dough forms. The dough might be slightly sticky at first, that’s okay :)
Step 2: Divide and Flavor the Dough
Divide the dough into three equal portions:
One portion stays vanilla (set it aside).
One portion gets 2 Tbsp dehydrated strawberry powder (mix well). I bought dehydrated strawberries from my local grocery store then throw them in a food processor until they are ground into a powder.
One portion gets 1½ Tbsp cocoa powder (mix well).
If needed, use gloves to knead the colors into the dough for even distribution especially if you don’t want to get cocoa powder or dehydrated strawberry powder all over your hands :)
Step 3: Shape the Cookies
Scoop the dough into 1½-inch balls.
Break each ball in half, forming two smaller balls.
For each cookie, you’ll need six mini dough balls—two of each flavor. Remember to use the pictures above to help guide you as you assemble these cookies.
Arrange the six dough balls on your work surface in an alternating pattern, forming a flower shape.
Gently press the dough balls together and roll them into a single ball.
Flatten slightly and twist with the palm of your hand to create a swirl effect.
Place cookies about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet because they’ll spread slightly.
Step 4: Bake the Cookies
Bake for 12 minutes, or until the edges turn light golden brown.
Let the cookies cool completely before adding the buttercream.
How to Make Neapolitan Buttercream
Prepare the Buttercream
In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to cream together:½ cup unsalted butter (room temperature)
– 3½ cups confectioner’s sugar
– 2 tsp vanilla extract
– ¼ tsp salt
Gradually add 2-3 Tbsp heavy whipping cream, one tablespoon at a time, until the buttercream reaches a smooth, spreadable consistency.
Scrape down the bowl and mix until light and fluffy.
Divide and Color the Buttercream
Just like the cookie dough, divide the buttercream into three equal portions:
Leave one portion vanilla.
Add 2 Tbsp dehydrated strawberry powder to one portion.
Add 2 Tbsp cocoa powder to the last portion.
Create a Swirled Piping Effect
Transfer each buttercream into separate piping bags.
Cut the tips off and place all three bags into one large piping bag fitted with a star tip.
This setup ensures all three colors swirl together when piped!
Assemble the Cookies
Pipe buttercream onto the flat side of half the cookies.
Sandwich with another cookie, pressing gently to secure.
Enjoy your Neapolitan cookie sandwiches!
How to Store Neapolitan Cookies
- Room Temperature: Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.Refrigerator: Keep in a sealed container for up to 5 days (especially if filled with buttercream).
- Freezer: Freeze the plain cookies for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature before adding buttercream.
- Make-Ahead Tip: Bake the cookies in advance and store them, then assemble with buttercream when ready to serve.
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Neapolitan Cookies
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12
servings30
minutes12
minutesKeep the screen of your device on.
Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. ⁄4 tsp. salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 Tbsp. dehydrated strawberry powder
1 1/2 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder (I used black cocoa but regular cocoa powder works fine too!)
- Neapolitan Buttercream
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. salt
2-3 heavy whipping cream
2 Tbsp. dehydrated strawberry powder
2 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder (I used black cocoa but regular cocoa powder works fine too!)
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a separate, larger bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the butter and sugar together on low speed until light and creamy—about 2 minutes.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl then add in the eggs one at a time mixing between each addition. Add the vanilla.
- Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl again then add in the dry ingredients and mix to combine until a nice, soft, dough forms.
- Divide the dough evenly into three separate bowls. Set 1/3 of the dough aside. Add the dehydrated strawberry powder to one of the bowls, and cocoa powder to the last bowl. I used gloves to incorporate the strawberry and cocoa powder into each dough but you can always just mix this in as well. You’ll be left with three doughs, a vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate dough.
- Scoop the dough into 1 1/2-ish sized balls. Take each of these dough balls and break them in half then roll into two smaller dough balls. You’ll need 6 of these small dough balls for each cookie. Use the pictures above to help guide you.
- Place each small dough ball on your work surface alternative each flavor evenly into a flower shape. Gently push the balls of dough towards the center until they begin to form nicely together. At this point you can pick up the ball of dough and continue to gently push them together. Once hole in the center fills in with the dough and becomes one ball, gently flatten and use a twist motion with the palm of your hand to make the swirl. Continue this until it’s swirled nicely then place onto your prepared cookie sheet and flatten the dough slightly before baking. Repeat this step for each cookie and place them about 2″ apart. Bake for about 12 minutes or until lightly golden brown on the edges.
- Allow the cookies to cool completely before decorating.
- Neapolitan Buttercream
- To make the buttercream, cream the butter together with an electric mixer or in the owl of a stand mixer fit with the paddle attachment until smooth. Add the confectioner’s sugar, vanilla and salt. Gradually add one tablespoon of heavy cream at a time until the buttercream starts to come together. Use a silicone spatula to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as you mix.
- Just like we did with the dough, divide the buttercream equally into three separate bowls. Add the dehydrated strawberry powder to one and the cocoa powder to the other leaving the third bowl of buttercream plain vanilla.
- Transfer each buttercream to a piping bag. Cut the tip off of each piping bag then place all three piping bags into an empty piping bag fit with a star tip. That way when you squeeze the bag, all three colors will come out in a swirled effect.
- Pipe and fill the bottom side of half the cookies then top with another cookie to sandwich them together.
- Enjoy!
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