Neapolitan Cookie Recipe | Sarah Kieffer | Vanilla Bean Blog (2024)

Last updated September 14, 2022

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Neapolitan Cookie Recipe | Sarah Kieffer | Vanilla Bean Blog (1)

As noted in the headnote of 100 Cookies, this Neapolitan cookie was inspired by Pink Door Cookies owner Mathew Rice’s Neapolitan cookie. I stumbled upon the cookie while searching Pinterest for the color pink; this cookie popped up, and I was intrigued by the pretty colors and flavors of Neapolitan ice cream all rolled together.

Mathew originally shared his recipe here, but he now makes them at his cookie shop, Pink Door Cookies in Nashville, which he opened in late 2020. “Cookies have always been my favorite thing to make,” Rice told the Nashville Scene. “I feel like they’re humble, but you can elevate them in really wild ways. Having been a pastry chef for almost 20 years at this point, I bring a lot to cookies that’s unexpected, and I’m incorporating the components and flavors of plated desserts but in cookie form.”

If you live in the Nashville area, please check out Pink Door Cookies! Along with his Original Neapolitan Cookie, Mathew also has a variety of other flavors: Pink Lemonade, Strawberry Corn, Cotton Candy, Rainbow Brownie, Blueberry Pancake, Cinnamon Toast Snickerdoodle, and classic Chocolate Chip, just to name a few.

Neapolitan Cookie Making Tips:

  • Use black cocoa powder for a darker color.
  • I buy freeze-dried strawberries at Target. The powdered strawberries on their own won’t give a bright pink hue, so I like to add a little food coloring.
  • I also like to roll each individual color of dough into the same color of sprinkles, but you can mix and match however your heart desires.
Neapolitan Cookie Recipe | Sarah Kieffer | Vanilla Bean Blog (2)

How to Make Neapolitan Cookies:

Neapolitan Cookie Recipe | Sarah Kieffer | Vanilla Bean Blog (3)

Divide the dough into three equal portions (about 320 g each), keeping one vanilla, and then adding powdered freeze-dried strawberries to one portion and cocoa powder to the remaining portion.

Neapolitan Cookie Recipe | Sarah Kieffer | Vanilla Bean Blog (4)

Pinch a small portion (about 15 g) of each of the three doughs and separate them into piles.

Neapolitan Cookie Recipe | Sarah Kieffer | Vanilla Bean Blog (5)

For more of a striped look (where the colors overlap into each other more) gently press the pieces together and then press the piece into a cookie scoop or roll into a ball.

Neapolitan Cookie Recipe | Sarah Kieffer | Vanilla Bean Blog (6)

For a cookie with more distinct flavor sections but slight overlap, roll each different flavored piece into a ball, then gently press together. Place the pieces into a cookie scoop or roll into a ball.

Neapolitan Cookie Recipe | Sarah Kieffer | Vanilla Bean Blog (7)

For a cookie with very distinct flavor sections and no overlap, roll the different flavor pieces into separate balls and then gently press together.

Use your hands to gently cup the shape into a circle, and then bake as shown above.

Neapolitan Cookie Recipe | Sarah Kieffer | Vanilla Bean Blog (8)

Cookies will differ slightly depending on which method you chose! Cookies can also be rolled in sprinkles or granulated sugar before baking. I used a pastel pink food coloring here for a lighter color, but the strawberry portion can be made more vivid with more food coloring.

Making Cookie Dough Ahead of Time

The cookie dough can be shaped and held overnight in the refrigerator (make sure to cover the dough with plastic wrap), and then baked the next day. If baked straight from the fridge, you may need to add a minute or two to the baking time.

To make these Neapolitan Cookies, I used my sugar cookie recipe (#6 in 100 Cookies) as a base and came up with this version.

More Cookie Recipes:

  • Pan-banging Chocolate Chip Cookies
  • Pan-Banging Ginger Molasses Cookies
  • Brown Sugar Cookies

Neapolitan Cookie Recipe | Sarah Kieffer | Vanilla Bean Blog (9)

Neapolitan Cookies

Servings: 15 cookies

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Additional Time: 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes minutes

Stunning Neapolitan cookies with made with strawberry, vanilla, and chocolate dough. A cookie with three flavors in one bite!

Sarah Kieffer

4.97 from 107 votes

Print Pin Rate

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon [364 g] all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup of freeze-dried strawberries, which equals 8 grams (measured before pulsing)
  • 1 cup [2 sticks | 227 g] unsalted butter room temperature
  • 1 3/4 cup [350 g] granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg plus 1 large yolk
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 2 or 3 drops red food coloring optional
  • 2 tablespoons Dutch-process cocoa powder
  • Sprinkles or granulated sugar for rolling

Instructions

  • Adjust an oven rack to the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350F [180C]. Line three baking sheets 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 1/2 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 or granulated sugar. 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.

Notes

*Recipe adapted from Mathew Rice

*Use black cocoa powder for a darker color. The powdered strawberries on their own won’t give a bright pink hue, so I like to add a little food coloring. I also like to roll each individual color of dough into the same color of sprinkles, but you can mix and match however your heart desires. I buy freeze-dried strawberries at Target.

chocolatestrawberryvanilla

Neapolitan Cookie Recipe | Sarah Kieffer | Vanilla Bean Blog (2024)

FAQs

How many calories in a Neapolitan cookie? ›

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
63Calories
3gFat
8gCarbs
1gProtein
Aug 22, 2022

How to make chewy vs crunchy cookies? ›

Cookie chemistry: We're taking a 180° turn from our crunchy cookies, substituting higher-moisture brown sugar and butter for their lower-moisture counterparts: granulated sugar and vegetable shortening. That, plus a shortened baking time, yields a cookie that's soft and chewy all the way through.

How to thicken cookies? ›

Use Bleached Flour (Instead of Unbleached)

Bleached flour absorbs more moisture than unbleached flour, making for THICK Cookies. If you struggle with your cookies spreading out more than you want, try using bleached flour.

What makes cookies fluff up? ›

Room temperature butter is just the right consistency to incorporate air when it's creamed with sugar. These trapped air pockets result in risen, fluffy cookies. If the butter is any warmer, it won't incorporate enough air and your cookies will have less rise.

Is Neapolitan pizza less calories? ›

An entire Neapolitan pizza, on average, has about 700-1000 calories which isn't much at all, considering the calorie intake of other pizzas. It will depend on the amount of cheese and the size of the pizza to determine the exact calorie level.

Is Neapolitan pizza healthier? ›

Only the basic ingredients of salt, flour, and water are used to make dough for authentic Neapolitan pizzas. The lack of additional preservatives in this approach results in a dough that is both incredibly nutritious and delicious.

What ingredient makes cookies more chewy? ›

Cornstarch helps product soft and thick cookies. Using more brown sugar than white sugar results in a moister, softer cookie. An extra egg yolk increases chewiness. Rolling the cookie dough balls to be tall and lumpy instead of wide and smooth gives the cookies a bakery-style textured thickness.

Why put corn syrup in cookies? ›

So, when you mix corn syrup into your cookie batter, all of that moisture will make and keep your baked cookies deliciously tender. The texture of cookies benefits from corn syrup as well. As you combine your ingredients to make your cookie batter, corn syrup will pull some of the surrounding air into your batter.

Should I use baking soda or baking powder in cookies? ›

Baking soda is typically used for chewy cookies, while baking powder is generally used for light and airy cookies. Since baking powder is comprised of a number of ingredients (baking soda, cream of tartar, cornstarch, etc.), using it instead of pure baking soda will affect the taste of your cookies.

What is the secret ingredient to keep cookies soft? ›

Light corn syrup is another ingredient that you can add to cookie dough that will help it stay softer longer. The corn syrup you buy at the grocery store is not the high-fructose corn syrup that soft drinks are made with; it's a sugar that is liquid at room temperature and helps other sugars say liquid at high heat.

What is the best flour for cookies? ›

All-purpose flour is the most commonly used flour in cookie recipes due to its moderate protein content (usually around 10-12%). This balanced protein level makes it versatile enough to produce both soft and chewy cookies as well as slightly crisp ones.

What happens if too much butter is in cookies? ›

Too much butter makes cookies turn out just as you'd expect: very buttery. This batch of cookies was cakey in the middle, but also airy throughout, with crispy edges. They were yellow and slightly puffy in the middle, and brown and super thin around the perimeter.

How can I make my cookies fluffy instead of flat? ›

Try using baking powder instead of baking soda. Baking soda encourages spreading while baking powder puffs the cookies up. If your recipe calls for 1 teaspoon of baking soda, you would use 3 to 4 teaspoons of baking powder. Caution: This could result in an unwanted flavor shift.

Why do my cookies taste eggy? ›

The egg taste might be due to using low-quality eggs, not fully incorporating the eggs into the batter, overmixing, or other factors. Here are some steps you can take to help get rid of the egg taste: Use Fresh Eggs: Ensure you're using fresh eggs. Older eggs can sometimes have a more pronounced taste.

Why do my cookies taste like cake? ›

Adding too many eggs can result in gummy, cake-like cookies. Adding too few eggs can result in dry, crumbly cookies. Beat each one in separately and thoroughly. If you run out of eggs while baking and find that you need more, you can add 1/4 cup vegetable oil for each egg required.

How many calories in a Neapolitan? ›

In general, the number of calories in 10 inch Neapolitan pizza range from around 640 calories to 990 calories. This is a wide range but of course the number of calories will depend on the toppings on the pizza. A 10 inch Margherita Neapolitan pizza contains around 930 calories.

How many calories in a turkish cookie? ›

Calories in Turkish Almond Cookies
Calories83.0
Total Carbohydrate11.5 g
Dietary Fiber0.5 g
Sugars4.7 g
Protein1.5 g
8 more rows

How many calories in a Neapolitan dessert? ›

Napoleon dessert contains 170 calories per 57 g serving. This serving contains 9 g of fat, 2 g of protein and 21 g of carbohydrate. The latter is 10 g sugar and 0 g of dietary fiber, the rest is complex carbohydrate. Napoleon dessert contains 5 g of saturated fat and 20 mg of cholesterol per serving.

How many calories are in one Italian cookie? ›

Tudor Bakery
Nutrition Facts
For a Serving Size of 1 cookie (30g)
How many calories are in Italian Cookies? Amount of calories in Italian Cookies: Calories 140Calories from Fat 72 (51.4%)
% Daily Value *
How much fat is in Italian Cookies? Amount of fat in Italian Cookies: Total Fat 8g-
15 more rows

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