The Trifecta Cookie-Neopolitan Cookie
As a kid, I loved Neopolitan Ice Cream Sandwiches. I mean who didn’t? It was like getting three different flavors of ice cream all at once AND a chocolate cookie. Dessert Jackpot. I would eat my ice cream sandwich slowly, savoring every bite. By the last bite, rivulets of ice cream would be running down my hand and arm. A favorite childhood treat…
…that went long forgotten until I came across the Neopolitan Cookie in Sarah Kiefer’s 100 Cookies book. Her Neopolitan Cookies shot to the top of the Gotta Make It Bucket List as soon as I saw them.
A while back we made Irvin Lin’s Strawberry and Cream Cookies, from Marbled, Swirled, and Layered. They were delicious, but a lot of work including melting chocolate and making two different doughs, hai-yah. The beauty of Sarah Kiefer’s Neopolitan Cookies is it’s not that much more effort for a showstopper cookie. These cookies start with just one dough, a sugar cookie dough. It is then divided into thirds, freeze-dried strawberry powder is added to one portion and cocoa powder to another. Boom, done. It is helpful to have a scale to divide the dough into thirds. I love my scale.
You can find freeze-dried berries at Trader Joe’s, feel free to use raspberry instead of strawberry. Dutch-process cocoa created a rich chocolate color that looked just like the Neopolitan chocolate. The cocoa powder did make the chocolate dough a bit crumbly, which we fixed by adding a touch of water (up to a tablespoon max, add a teaspoon at a time), use just enough to bring the dough together. Try not to overwork your dough.
To shape the cookies, portion out each dough with an ice cream scoop (we used a #70 which is 2.75 teaspoons), then gently smoosh the three balls of dough together and roll into one round ball keeping the colors separate.
If you are a Star Trek fan, don’t these remind you of Tribbles?
Roll the balls in sanding sugar to give it a nice festive look. Sarah suggests sprinkles that match each color of dough. It’s your choice. These cookies spread quite a bit so don’t crowd them on the baking sheet. Don’t overbake, you want a cookie with crispy edges but a chewy center. These are smashing to look at, delicious, and worth the extra step.
Neopolitan Cookies
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 [8 g] freeze-dried strawberries substitute raspberries
- 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 or Cocoa Noir (black cocoa)
- Sprinkles, sanding sugar or granulated sugar for rolling
Instructions
- Adjust an oven rack to the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350F [180C]. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- Pulverize the berries into a powder with a rolling pin or in a food processor
- Using a stand mixer, beat butter on medium speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Add sugar and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add egg, egg yolk, and vanilla, and beat on medium speed until combined. Add the flour mixture and beat on low speed until just combined.
- Take the dough out and divide into three equal portions, I use a scale. Put one-third of the dough back into the mixer and add the powdered strawberries/raspberries and food coloring, if using. Mix on low speed until totally combined, then remove the dough and wipe out the bowl.
- Add another third of dough to the mixer. Add the cocoa powder and mix on low speed until totally combined. If it is too crumbly add a teaspoon of water to bring it together. Try taking it out of the mixer and kneading it a little.
- Use a #70 ice cream scoop to form balls of each of the three doughs or pinch a small portion (about 1/2 oz [15 g]) of each, and press them gently together, so they adhere to each other, but colors remain distinct. Shape each 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. Rap the cookies on the rack as you pull them out so they deflate. This will improve the crackle appearance. If the cookies are baked too long they will have fewer cracks.
- 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.