Neapolitan Cookies are beautiful tricolor cookies inspired by the classic Neapolitan ice cream flavor combination of chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry.
These soft and buttery treats are chewy in the middle while slightly crispy on the outer edges of these thinly sliced cookies.
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❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
- Neapolitan cookies are stunning, with layers of chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry cookie dough. They’re the cookies you want to make for parties or baked gifts.
- These Italian Neapolitan cookies turn a classic childhood treat into irresistibly delicious cookies. That iconic flavor combination of chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla never gets old!
- These tricolor cookies are easily shaped and assembled in a loaf pan - you won’t need a rolling pin or ruler when making these Neapolitan cookies.
This Neapolitan cookie recipe creates fun, chewy, slender cookies that showcase the best three flavor combinations!
🛒 Ingredients
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Note: The full list of this recipe ingredients with their amounts and options are listed in the recipe card below
- all-purpose flour
- granulated sugar
- baking powder
- kosher salt
- unsalted butter
- egg + one yolk
- vanilla extract
- strawberry preserves
- strawberry extract
- pink food color gel - we prefer the gel for color
- unsweetened cocoa
- semisweet bar chocolate - NOT chocolate chips
- sparkling sugar -- for sprinkling on top.
🗒 Instructions
Note: This is an overview of the instructions. The full instructions are in the recipe card below.
- Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl.
- In a separate bowl, cream the butter and sugar for about 5 minutes.
- Add vanilla, egg, and egg yolk.
- Beat until combined.
- Divide the dough into three equal portions and set one aside as the vanilla dough.
- For the strawberry dough, mix strawberry preserve, strawberry extract, and food color gel into one portion of the dough.
- For the chocolate dough, mix cocoa and chocolate into one portion of the dough.
- You should now have your vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate dough portions ready to assemble.
- Fit a loaf pan with a parchment sling and press the chocolate dough into the bottom, followed by the vanilla dough and then the strawberry dough. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 3 hours in the fridge or 1 hour in the freezer. Once chilled, remove the dough from the pan and cut it into ¼-inch thick slices.
- Place the sliced cookie dough on a baking tray lined with parchment paper, and sprinkle each cookie with sparkling sugar.
- Bake the cookies for 11-12 minutes and then remove them, allowing them to cool for 2 minutes on the baking tray.
- Transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
🔪 Equipment
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You’ll need the following items to make this recipe successfully.
- Mixing bowl
- Electric hand mixer
- Parchment paper
- Loaf pan 9X5-inch
- Baking sheets
- Measuring spoons
- Dry measuring cups
👩🏻🍳 Tips
- You can chill the assembled dough for 3 hours or overnight in the fridge. If you’re in a rush, add the pan with dough into the freezer for 1 hour.
- The parchment sling helps to lift the chilled assembled cookie dough from the loaf pan with ease. Parchment paper won’t leave any wrinkles in the chilled dough, unlike plastic wrap.
- Allow the freshly baked cookies to cool on the baking tray for 2 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. This allows the cookies to harden slightly so that they don’t break apart as you move them to the cooking rack.
- You can intensify the pink cookie dough by adding more food gel coloring.
- Serve these cookies at holiday cookie exchange parties or gift them to friends, family, and neighbors during the holidays.
- Make sure enough space is allowed between each cookie to allow for normal spreading while baking.
- To prevent cookies from spreading while baking, line the cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat instead of applying cooking spray.
📚 Variations
- For crispier cookies, slice the cookies thinner. For more chewy and chunky cookies, cut thicker slices. You may need to adjust the baking time slightly if you have chosen to slice the cookies a different thickness.
- I’ve assembled the cookie dough with the chocolate dough on the bottom, followed by vanilla and strawberry. You could start with the strawberry, vanilla, and then chocolate - you will get the same result!
- Some recipes call for a light brush of egg wash over the sliced unbaked cookies with a sprinkling of sparkling sugar. You can add the egg wash if you like, but I didn’t, and they still turned out great.
- Dip one corner of the baked and cooled cookies into melted chocolate to add extra decadence to these treats.
- Make gluten-free Neapolitan cookies using Bob’s Red Mill flour or the gluten-free flour of your choice.
🥫 Storage
These Neapolitan cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. The Neapolitan sugar cookies can also be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months.
When stacking these Neapolitan Christmas cookies, place sheets of parchment between each layer.
📗 Related Recipes
These fun Neapolitan cookies are great for parties and special holidays like Christmas. If you want to add to your Christmas baking, try these cookie recipes:
- The Best Italian Christmas Cookies - These soft, buttery anise-flavored cookies are dipped in a creamy glaze and topped with colorful sprinkles.
- Italian Chocolate Toto Cookies - Totos are chocolate cookies studded with chocolate chips and walnuts. They’re loaded with cinnamon, cloves, and pepper spice with an underlying note of orange and vanilla.
- Chocolate Crinkle Cookies - Chocolate Crinkle Cookies are classic holiday cookies with a fudgy center and cracked exterior with powdered sugar coating.
- Ricciarelli Italian Almond Cookies - This is a taste of Italian Christmas magic with this gluten-free almond-flavored treat.
- Pizzicati- My favorite Christmas buttery cookies are pinched around a thick jam.
🍽 Serve with
Enjoy these Neopolitan sugar cookies as a sweet treat with a tall glass of creamy milk, or add them to a bowl of ice cream (plain flavored or Neapolitan ice cream to keep in the theme!).
📞 Chiacchierata (chat)
Neapolitan ice cream is a childhood treat that instantly transports me back in time. This Neapolitan cookie recipe takes inspiration from this iconic ice cream flavor combination that’s great for parties and holidays, enjoyed as is, or crumbled over vanilla ice cream!
If making new variety of cookies is your jam, you've got to try our amazing Espresso Coffee Cookie recipe. The Maple drizzle on top gives it additional sweetness without being overpowering. They are so good!
Tutti a tavolo, è pronto!
What's new? Check out my All Our Way Store on Amazon. We'll be adding more items we love and use or wish we had to make cooking fun and easy.
📝 Recipe Card
Neapolitan cookies are soft and chewy in the middle with a crispy outer edge. The different layers of chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry are easily made from one cookie dough and assembled in a loaf pan.
If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.
📖 Recipe
Italian Neapolitan Cookies
Equipment Needed
Ingredients
For the vanilla dough:
- 2¾ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 16 Tablespoons unsalted butter softened (2 sticks)
- 1⅓ cups granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
For the strawberry dough:
- 1 Tablespoon strawberry preserves
- ¼ teaspoon pure strawberry extract
- Pink gel food color
For the chocolate dough:
- 1 Tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 ounce semisweet bar chocolate finely grated
- Sparkling sugar
Instructions
For the vanilla dough:
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- In a medium-sized bowl cream together the butter and sugar with a hand mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. About 5 minutes.
- Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla; beat until combined.
- Add the flour mixture; beat just until combined.
- Divide the dough into 3 equal parts; set aside one portion of dough.
For the strawberry dough:
- Stir preserves, strawberry extract, and desired amount of food color gel into one dough portion until combined.
For the chocolate dough:
- Stir cocoa and chocolate into the remaining dough portion until combined.
Assembling the dough:
- Fit a 9X5-inch loaf pan with a parchment sling.
- Press chocolate dough into the bottom of the pan, followed by the vanilla dough, then the strawberry dough.
- Cover the pan with plastic wrap; chill for 3 hours or overnight. You may also freeze for 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 350 °F. Line baking sheets with parchment.
- Remove the dough loaf from pan; cut into ¼-inch-thick slices. Place slices on prepared baking sheets; sprinkle with sparkling sugar.
- Bake cookies until edges are set, 11-12 minutes. Let cookies cool on baking sheets 2 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.
Notes
- You can chill the assembled dough for 3 hours or overnight in the fridge. If you’re in a rush, add the pan with dough into the freezer for 1 hour.
- The parchment sling helps to lift the chilled assembled cookie dough from the loaf pan with ease. Parchment paper won’t leave any wrinkles in the chilled dough, unlike plastic wrap.
- Allow the freshly baked cookies to cool on the baking tray for 2 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. This allows the cookies to harden slightly so that they don’t break apart as you move them to the cooking rack.
- You can intensify the pink cookie dough by adding more food gel coloring.
- Serve these cookies at holiday cookie exchange parties or gift them to friends, family, and neighbors during the holidays.
- Make sure enough space is allowed between each cookie to allow for normal spreading while baking.
- To prevent cookies from spreading while baking, line the cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat instead of applying cooking spray.
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