Neapolitan Shortbread Cookies
Neapolitan shortbread combines chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla in one buttery cookie. It's slightly less tedious than the sugar cookie version and the shortbread texture makes them crisp and light - perfect with coffee.
Ingredients
Ingredients (~45 cookies)
- 2 1/4 cups unsalted butter 4 1/2 sticks, at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
- 1 3/4 tsp fine salt
- 3 large egg yolks
- 1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
- 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 6 Tbsp freeze-dried strawberries
- 2-3 drops pink food coloring optional
- 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp Dutch-process cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 tsp water room temperature
- Sanding sugar for coating
Instructions
- Pulverize freeze-dried strawberries into powder.
- Beat butter until creamy. Add sugars and salt, mix until fluffy.
- Add egg yolks and vanilla, mix. Add flour and mix until just combined.
- Divide dough into three portions.
- Mix strawberry powder and optional food coloring into one portion.
- Mix cocoa powder into another portion, adding water if needed.
- Divide each flavored dough into two pieces.
- Stack one chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla piece. Form into log.
- Sprinkle sanding sugar on log, wrap in plastic. Refrigerate 2 hours.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment.
- Slice chilled log into 1/2-inch pieces. Space 2 inches apart.
- Bake 13-15 minutes until edges are golden. Rotate pan halfway.
- Cool completely on baking sheet.
Notes
Cookies are delicate when warm and will firm up as they cool.