Best Neapolitan Cookies Recipes

NEAPOLITAN HOLIDAY COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Coat 3 quarter-sheet pans (or three 13-by-9-by-2-inch jelly roll pans) with cooking spray. Line each pan with parchment paper and coat the paper with cooking spray as well.
• Place the almond paste in the bowl of a stand mixer. Break it up into small pieces with a fork. Fit the mixer with the paddle attachment and add the butter and sugar to the bowl. Beat the mixture on high speed until light and fluffy, about 7 minutes. Reduce the speed to medium, add the egg yolks, and beat until incorporated. Turn the mixer off and stir in the flour with a wooden spoon until well combined. Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl.
• Clean the mixer bowl thoroughly and fit the mixer with the whisk attachment. Beat the egg whites on high speed until stiff peaks form. Fold the egg whites into the batter until thoroughly blended.
• Transfer 1 1/2 cups of the batter to a medium bowl, then transfer another 1 1/2 cups of the batter to a second medium bowl. Add the red food coloring to one of the bowls and stir until the batter is tinted throughout. Add the green food coloring to the second bowl and stir until the batter is tinted throughout. Scrape each of the three batters into one of the prepared pans, using the spatula to spread the batter to the edges. Bake, rotating and switching the positions of the pans halfway through, until the edges are golden, 12 to 14 minutes. Let cool in the pans for about 5 minutes, then invert onto cooling racks and allow to cool completely.
• To assemble, place the green layer on a large cutting board or a large inverted baking sheet lined with wax paper. Spread the raspberry jam evenly over the top. Place the yellow layer on top and spread with the apricot preserves. If there are large chunks of apricots, remove and chop them up to make them more spreadable. Top with the red layer. Cover with plastic wrap and place a heavy cutting board on top to weight it down. Refrigerate overnight.
• Place the chocolate chips in a microwaveable bowl and melt in the microwave on low power about 2 minutes. Spread the chocolate on top of the cooled cake and let dry slightly. Trim the rim of the cake with a serrated knife to make clean edges. Cut the cake crosswise into twelve 1-inch-wide strips, then cut lengthwise into 1 1/4-inch strips. The cookies will keep, covered, up to 1 week.

NEAPOLITAN COOKIES

Steps:

• Line a 9x5-in. loaf pan with waxed paper, letting ends extend up sides. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Beat in egg and vanilla. In another bowl, whisk flour, baking powder and salt; gradually beat into creamed mixture. , Divide dough into 3 portions. Mix almond extract and food coloring into 1 portion; spread evenly into prepared pan. Mix walnuts into another portion; spread evenly over first layer. Mix melted chocolate into remaining portion; spread over top. Refrigerate, covered, overnight. , Preheat oven to 350°. Lifting with waxed paper, remove dough from pan. Cut lengthwise in half; cut each half crosswise into 1/8-in. slices., Place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake until edges are firm, 10-12 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.

NEAPOLITAN COOKIES I

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt; stir into the creamed mixture. Divide dough equally into three small bowls. Add almond extract and red food coloring to one portion; stir until thoroughly mixed. Mix chocolate into second bowl, and walnuts into the third bowl.
• Line a 9x5 inch loaf pan with waxed paper, and spread almond dough evenly in the bottom of the pan. Spread the walnut dough evenly over the almond layer, and top with chocolate dough layer. Cover layered dough with waxed paper, and place in the refrigerator until firm, about 4 hours.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Turn out chilled dough by inverting pan; peel off waxed paper. With sharp knife, cut dough lengthwise in half. Slice each half of dough crosswise into 1/4 inch slices. Place slices on cookie sheet one inch apart.
• Bake 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven, until light brown. Remove to wire racks to cool.

NEAPOLITAN COOKIES

Steps:

• Line an 8-inch-square baking pan with plastic. In a large bowl, stir cranberries into orange-sable dough. In another large bowl, stir walnuts into chocolate-espresso dough.
• Press orange mixture into bottom of pan. Using an offset spatula, smooth top evenly. Spread chocolate mixture over orange mixture and smooth evenly. Cover pan with plastic; chill at least 2 hours.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Unmold dough; remove plastic. Cut into 2-by-8-inch bricks; cut bricks into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Place slices on sheets, spaced 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake until firm to the touch, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool. Bake or freeze remaining dough. Store in an airtight container up to 2 weeks.

REAL NEAPOLITAN COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease three 13x9x2-inch pans; line with waxed paper and grease waxed paper.
• Mix almond filling, egg yolks, margarine, and sugar together in a bowl using an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
• Combine flour and baking powder in a bowl. Stir into almond mixture.
• Beat egg whites together in a bowl using an electric mixer on medium speed until soft peaks form. Fold into almond batter.
• Divide batter equally among 3 bowls. Add green food coloring to 1 bowl; add red food coloring to another. Leave the third bowl uncolored. Pour the contents of each bowl into the prepared pans.
• Bake in the preheated oven until edges are golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Invert onto wire racks, remove waxed paper, and turn right-side-up on a baking sheet.
• Spread apricot jam onto the surface of the green cake; top with the plain cake. Spread raspberry jam onto the plain cake; top with the red cake. Cover with plastic wrap; set a heavy cutting board or flat pan on top. Refrigerate 8 hours to overnight.
• Place chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl; heat in the microwave until melted, 1 to 2 minutes. Spread melted chocolate onto the surface of the cake. Allow to set, about 15 minutes.
• Cut off all 4 sides of the cake to make the edges clean and even. Cut the cake into 1-inch strips; cut strips into bite-size pieces.

NEAPOLITAN COOKIES

Steps:

• Line the bottom of a loaf pan with waxed paper.
• With an electric mixer combine flour, sugar, butter, egg, baking powder, vanilla, and salt; beat for 3 minutes.
• Divide the cookie dough into 3 equal parts.
• Part 1: mix in the almond or hazelnut extract and 5 drops red food coloring (this is the pink/red dough).
• Part 2: mix in the chopped walnuts or pistachios (this is the white dough).
• Part 3: mix in the cocoa (this is the brown dough).
• Preheat the oven to 350°.
• In the loaf pan, spread each part of the dough one on top of the other, pink, white, and chocolate; cover the pan and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
• After chilling, turn out the dough from the pan and cut loaf lengthwise in half, then crosswise, then cut pieces of dough to make about 15 cookies from each piece.
• Bake each batch for 8-10 minutes.
• Makes about 60 cookies.

SPUMONI SLICES (NEAPOLITAN COOKIES)

Steps:

• In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar.
• Beat in egg and vanilla.
• Gradually add flour and mix well.
• Divide dough into three portions.
• Stir chocolate into one portion; mix well.
• Add pecans and green food coloring to the second portion.
• Add cherries, almond extract and red food coloring to the third.
• Roll each portion between two pieces of waxed paper into and 8x6-inch rectangle. Remove waxed paper.
• Place chocolate rectangle on a piece of plastic wrap.
• Top with the green and pink rectangles; press together lightly.
• Wrap with plastic wrap and chill overnight. Cut chilled dough in half lengthwise. Return one rectangle to the refrigerator.
• Cut remaining rectangle into 1/8 inch slices.
• Place 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets.
• Bake at 375 for 5-7 minutes or until set. Cool for 2 minutes before removing to wire racks.
• Repeat with remaining dough.
• Note: for another good and highly reviewed Neapolitan Cookie recipe, take a look at recipe number 47503.

NEAPOLITAN COOKIES

Steps:

• This dough chills overnight. On the day you're ready to bake, preheat oven to 400.
• For the dark dough: sift together flour, salt, baking soda, cloves, and cinnamon and set aside.
• Grind or cut chocolate until it is fine (otherwise it will be hard to slice the dough). Set aside.
• In the large bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter, add the coffee and brown sugar and beat well.
• Add the eggs and beat to mix. Beat in the ground chocolate.
• On low speed gradually add the sifted dry ingredients, scraping the bowl regularly. Don't overblend! Then stir in the nuts. Set the dough aside (not in the fridge) and make the light dough.
• Light dough: Sift together flour, salt, baking soda. Set aside.
• In a large clean bowl of the electric mixer with clean beaters, cream the butter. Add the vanilla, the sugar, water and beat well. Add the egg, beat to mix. On low speed gradually add the shifted dry ingredients. Don't overmix.
• Mix in the currents, lemon rind and cherries.
• Layer dough in the pans: one half the dark dough (carefully pack down and smooth), all the light dough (do the same), then the rest of the dark dough. Press down to make a compact loaf.
• Chill overnight (or for about twelve hours) in the freezer.
• To bake: preheat to 400. You'll need unbuttered cookie sheets, lined with foil if possible.
• Turn the pan over so that the cake of dough slides out, and peel off the foil or waxpaper. With a long and heavy knife, cut the cake in half the long way (if you used loaf pans); if you used a square 8x8 pan, cut it in three equal strips. Work with one piece at a time (wrap and freeze the others). Now slice the long piece you've got into individual cookies, about 1/3 of an inch thick. Place them 1 1/2 inches apart on the cookie sheets -- they will spread!
• Bake 10 minutes, watching carefully. The white dough should be lightly browned, but the dark dough will burn if you're not careful. If they come out of the oven seeming slightly underdone, that's good. They'll be chewy instead of brittle.

NEAPOLITAN COOKIES II

Steps:

• Mix together butter or margarine, sugar, vanilla and egg.
• Stir in flour and salt. Divide dough into 3 equal parts.
• Mix nuts into one part. Mix melted and cooled chocolate into the second part. Mix cherries into remaining part.
• Line bottom and ends of loaf pan (9 x 5 x 3 inches) with aluminum foil; allow ends of foil to extend 5 inches over end of pan.
• Press nut dough evenly in bottom of pan. Press chocolate dough on top of nut dough. Press cherry dough on top of chocolate dough. Cover dough with the extended ends of foil.
• Refrigerate at least 2 hours but no longer than 6 weeks.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Remove foil and dough from pan and remove foil from dough. Cut dough crosswise into 1/4 inch slices and cut each slice across the dough layers into half so that each half contains three layers. Place 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
• Bake until set (about 10 minutes). Immediately remove from cookie sheet.

COCONUT NEAPOLITAN COOKIES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350ºF.
• Spread coconut onto rimmed baking sheet. Bake 5 min. or until dry but not browned, stirring occasionally; cool. Turn oven off.
• Combine flour and baking powder. Beat butter and sugar in large bowl with mixer until light and fluffy. Blend in egg and vanilla. Gradually add flour mixture, mixing well after each addition.
• Divide dough into thirds; place each in separate bowl. Add one of the following to dough in each bowl: dry drink mix, melted chocolate and coconut; mix well.
• Line 9x5-inch loaf pan with parchment, with ends of parchment extending over sides. Press red-colored dough onto bottom of prepared pan. Cover with layers of coconut-flavored dough, then chocolate dough, gently pressing layers together to seal. Refrigerate 4 hours or until firm.
• Heat oven to 350°F. Use parchment handles to remove dough from pan; remove and discard parchment. Cut dough into 3 lengthwise strips, then cut each strip crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Place, 1 inch apart, on parchment-covered baking sheets.
• Bake 9 to 11 min. or until edges of cookies are firm to the touch but not browned. Cool on pan 1 min. Remove to wire racks; cool completely.

NEAPOLITAN CAKE BATTER COOKIES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375°F. In 2 separate small bowls, place 1/2 cup each of the dry strawberry cake mix and dry devil's food cake mix; set aside.
• In medium bowl, stir 1 pouch cookie mix, remaining 1/2 cup strawberry cake mix, 1/2 cup of the butter and 1 egg until soft dough forms. Shape dough into 20 (1 1/2-inch) balls. Roll in reserved strawberry cake mix, coating completely. On ungreased cookie sheet, place balls 2 inches apart.
• In another medium bowl, stir second pouch of cookie mix, remaining 1/2 cup devil's food cake mix, remaining 1/2 cup butter and remaining egg until soft dough forms. Shape dough into 20 (1 1/2-inch) balls. Roll in reserved devil's food cake mix, coating completely. On ungreased cookie sheet, place balls 2 inches apart.
• Bake 8 to 10 minutes or just until set. (Watch closely to prevent cookies from getting too crispy and overbaked.) Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 15 minutes.
• In large bowl, beat cream cheese, 3/4 cup butter and the vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed until blended. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating until frosting is light and fluffy.
• For each sandwich cookie, spread 1 1/2 rounded teaspoons frosting on bottom of 1 strawberry cookie. Top with 1 devil's food cookie, bottom side down; gently press together.

NEAPOLITAN REFRIGERATOR COOKIES

Steps:

• in large bowl, combine 3/4 cup crisco with sugar.add egg and almond extract.mix well.
• sift flour with baking powder, and blend into creamed mixture --
• divide dough into 3 portions.
• to one portion, add 1 tbls crisco and cocoa --
• to another bowl, add a few drops of red food coloring and strawberry extract -- blend well.
• with plastic wrap, line a loaf pan about 3x6" and 2" deep --
• press chocolate dough into bottom of pan, brush with egg white.press white dough over chocolate dough, brush with egg white, then press strawberry dough on top and brush with egg white --
• wrap plastic wrap around the three layers to cover.
• chill several hours in refrigerator.
• preheat oven to 375*.
• remove dough and cut into 1/4" slices.
• bake on ungreased cookie sheet for 10-12 minutes or firm.
• transfer to wire rack to cool.

THE BEST NEAPOLITAN COOKIES

Steps:

• Adjust an oven rack to the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F [180°C]. Line three sheet pans with parchment paper.
• In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt.
• In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a blade, pulverize the strawberries into a powder.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Add the sugar and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the egg, yolk, and vanilla, and beat on medium speed until combined. Add the flour mixture and beat on low speed until just combined.
• Dump the dough out onto a work surface and divide it into three equal portions. Put one-third of the dough back into the mixer and add the powdered strawberries and food coloring, if using. Mix on low speed until totally combined, then remove the dough and quickly wipe out the bowl of the mixer.
• Add another third of dough to the mixer. Add the cocoa powder and mix on low speed until totally combined.
• Pinch a small portion (about ½ oz [15 g]) of each of the three doughs, and press them gently together, so they adhere to each other, but keep their unique colors. Press the piece into a cookie scoop or roll it into a ball, then roll the ball into sprinkles (if using). Place 6 or 7 cookies on each sheet pan. Bake the cookies one pan at a time, rotating halfway through baking. Bake until the sides are set and the cookies are puffed, 10 to 11 minutes.
• Transfer the sheet pan to a wire rack and let the cookies cool for 5 to 10 minutes on the pan, then remove them and let them cool completely on the wire rack. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.

VALERIE BERTINELLI'S NEAPOLITAN COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the over to 350F. Coat three 13" x 9" x 2" jelly-roll pans with cooking spray. Line each pan with wax paper and coat the paper with cooking spray.
• Place the almond paste in the bowl of a stand mixer. Break it up into small pieces with a fork. Fir the mixer with the paddle attachment and add the butter and sugar to the bowl. Beat the mixture on high spec until light and fluffy, about 7 minutes. Reduce the speed to medium, add the egg yokes and beat until incorporated. Turn the mixer off and stir in the flour with a wooden spoon until well combined. Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl.
• Clean the mixer bowl thoroughly and fit the mixer with the whisk attachment. Beat the egg whites on high speed until stiff peaks form. Fold the egg whites into the batter until thoroughly blended.
• Transfer 1 1/2 cups of the batter to a medium bowl, then transfer another 1 1/2 cups of batter to a second medium bowl. Add the red food coloring to one of the bowls and stir until the batter is tinted throughout. Add the green food coloring to the second bowl and stir until the batter is tinted throughout. Scrape each to the three batters into one of the prepared pans, using the spatula to spread the batter to the edges. Bake, rotating and switching the positions of the pans halfway through, until the edges are golden, about 12 to 14 minutes. Let cool in the pans for about 5 minutes, then invert onto cooling racks and allow to cool completely.
• To Assemble:
• Place the green layer on a large cutting board or a large inverted baking sheet lined with wax paper. Spread the raspberry jam evenly over the top. Place the yellow layer on top and spread with the apricot preserves. If there are large chunks of apricot, remove and chop them to make them more spreadable. Top with the red layer. Cover with plastic wrap and place a heavy cutting board on top to weight it down. Refrigerate overnight.
• Place the chocolate chip in a microwaveable bowl and melt in the microwave on low power about 2 minutes. Spread the chocolate on top of the cooled cake and let it dry slightly. Trim the rim of the cake with a serrated knife to make clean edges. Cut the cake crosswise into 12 1"-wide strips, then cut lengthwise into 1 1/4" strips. The cookies will keep, covered, up to 1 week.