Funny story about these Neapolitan sugar cookies: every time my husband talks about them, he refers to them as “Napoleon” cookies! He isn’t doing that on purpose. But for some reason he confuses “Neapolitan” with “Napoleon.” I’ll probably start doing that, too. 🙂
It doesn’t matter what you call these vanilla, chocolate and strawberry treats. They’re soft, just like a good sugar cookie should be, with the perfect blend of the classic Neapolitan flavors. They don’t need frosting, but of course you can always add it! Make them gluten free like I do or gluten-full.
I used a half batch of my classic sugar cookie recipe for the vanilla layer. The strawberry layer is a modified version of my strawberry sugar cookies. The biggest modification is that the Neapolitan cookies call for more freeze-dried strawberries, because otherwise the chocolate layer overwhelms the strawberry flavor. (The strawberry layer is also a half batch of my normal strawberry sugar cookie recipe.) The chocolate layer is a new recipe. But I am planning to post a recipe for chocolate sugar cookies in the near future.
Start by lining a standard loaf pan with parchment paper. Leave a little bit of overhang so that you can easily pull the dough out of the pan. Now it’s time to make the dough! I started with the vanilla, but honestly you can layer the flavors any way you want.
Press the first layer of dough evenly on the bottom of the pan and stick it in the fridge while you make the next flavor. Repeat until you’re finished with all three layers. Cover the pan and chill in the fridge for at least two hours. You can also chill the dough overnight.
Once the dough is thoroughly chilled, remove it from the pan using the edges of parchment paper. Cut the dough in half length-wise with a serrated knife. Then cut it in half width-wise. Cut each quadrant into fourths, and each fourth into thirds. That will yield 48 cookies.
Wipe the knife clean after each cut for neater layers. As you’ll see in the photo below, I didn’t do that!
Place the cookies on baking sheets lined with silicone baking mats or parchment paper, no more than 12 cookies per pan. Use your fingers to gently shape the cookies into neater rectangles, if desired. Put the baking sheets in the fridge while the oven is preheating. Bake the cookies for 6 to 7 minutes, one pan at a time.
I always recommend storing sugar cookies in an airtight container in the freezer. They take very little time to defrost, and they’ll stay fresher longer.
Tag me @roseandwhiskers on Instagram if you try my Neapolitan sugar cookies and use the hashtag #rosesandwhiskers. Also, let me know in the comments if there are any other sugar cookie varieties you’d like to see!
Happy baking! 🙂
Neapolitan Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
Vanilla Layer
- 1 1/4 cups gluten free 1 to 1 baking flour or substitute all-purpose flour for gluten-full cookies
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 3 tbsp butter-flavored Crisco
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Chocolate Layer
- 1 1/4 cups gluten free 1 to 1 baking flour or substitute all-purpose flour for gluten-full cookies
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 3 tbsp butter-flavored Crisco
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1/2 oz. semisweet baker's chocolate melted and slightly cooled
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Strawberry Layer
- 1 cup gluten free 1 to 1 baking flour or substitute all-purpose flour for gluten-full cookies
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 cup freeze-dried strawberries, ground into a powder
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 3 tbsp butter-flavored Crisco
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Line a standard loaf pan with parchment paper.
Vanilla Layer
- Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.
- In a large bowl, cream the butter, Crisco and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, making sure it's fully incorporated. Mix in the vanilla.
- On low speed, gradually blend in the dry ingredients until just combined. Press the dough evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan and place in the refrigerator.
Chocolate Layer
- Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.
- In a large bowl, cream the butter, Crisco and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, making sure it's fully incorporated. Mix in the vanilla and melted chocolate.
- On low speed, gradually blend in the dry ingredients until just combined. Press the dough evenly on top of the vanilla layer and put the pan back in the refrigerator.
Strawberry Layer
- Grind 1/2 cup of freeze-dried strawberries into a fine powder using a coffee grinder or food processor.
- Whisk the flour, baking powder and strawberry powder in a medium bowl.
- In a large bowl, cream the butter, Crisco and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, making sure it's fully incorporated. Mix in the vanilla.
- On low speed, gradually blend in the dry ingredients until just combined. Press the dough evenly on top of the chocolate layer, cover the pan and chill in the refrigerator for at least two hours.
- Line four baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper. (Reuse baking sheets if you don't have four. But let warm pans come back to room temperature before placing cookie dough on them. Speed up the cooling process by putting the pans in the fridge for a few minutes.)
- Lift the dough out of the loaf pan using the edges of the parchment paper. Use a serrated knife to cut the dough in half, length-wise. Then cut in half, width-wise. Cut each quadrant into fourths, and cut each fourth into thirds. You'll end up with 48 cookies. Place 12 cookies on a pan and put the pans in the fridge while the oven preheats to 375°F (190°C). Use your fingers to shape the cookies into neater rectangles, if desired.
- Bake for 6 to 7 minutes. Don't worry if they still look a little soft when you take them out of the oven. (But you don't want them to look wet and doughy.) Leave the cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire cooling rack.
- Store the cookies in an airtight container. They'll stay fresher longer if you keep them in the freezer. Enjoy!
I am going to attempt to make a bday cake for my mom and I searched for the champagne cake recipe and can’t find it?
Thank you
Lisa
Hi! I don’t have that on the blog yet, it still needs a few tweaks. BUT I do have a recipe for champagne buttercream frosting, which you can find here: https://www.rosesandwhiskers.com/salted-caramel-champagne-buttercream-cupcakes/