Neapolitan Shortbread Cookies
This beautiful, buttery shortbread recipe combines the classic flavors of chocolate, strawberry and vanilla — reminiscent of Neapolitan ice cream. They are crisp and light, perfect for eating with a cup of coffee. These shortbread are stunning in a holiday cookie tin!
Servings 30 cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups [3 sticks or 339 g] unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup [200 g] granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup [60 g] confectioners' sugar
- 1 1/4 teaspoons fine salt
- 2 large egg yolks
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 3 cups [426 g] all-purpose flour*
- 1/4 cup [8 g] freeze-dried strawberries
- 1 to 2 drops pink food coloring, optional
- 3 tablespoons Dutch-process cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon water, room temperature
- sanding sugar
Instructions
- In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a blade, pulverize the strawberries into a powder. (You can sift the seeds out if desired, but don't need to).
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Add the granulated and confectioners' sugar and salt, and beat again on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape down the bowl and add the egg yolks and vanilla, and mix on low speed until incorporated. Then add the flour and mix 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.
- Add another third of dough to the mixer. Add the cocoa powder and mix on low speed until totally combined. If the cocoa powder is not incorporating quickly, add the teaspoon of water to the mixing bowl.
- Divide each of the three flavor portions of dough into two equal pieces, for six pieces of dough total. Stack one chocolate, one strawberry, and one vanilla on top of each other, and gently press the pieces together. Pat and form into a log, about 2 in [5 cm] wide and 8 in [20 cm] long. Place the log on a large piece of plastic, a few inches longer than the log. Sprinkle about a teaspoon of sanding sugar over each side of the log, covering the outside of the dough. Gently press the sugar into the dough with your hands. Wrap the log in the plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours, or overnight. Repeat with the remaining dough.
- When ready to bake, adjust an oven rack to the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350F [180C]. Line two sheet pans with parchment paper.
- Sprinkle some more sanding sugar over each side of the log, if desired. Slice the chilled log into ½ in [12 mm] thick pieces (you can go up to 3/4 in if you want them a little thicker). Space the pieces about 2 in [5 cm] apart on the sheet pans. Bake one pan at a time, rotating halfway through baking. Bake until the edges are light golden brown but the centers are still pale, 13 to 15 minutes. Move the pan to a wire rack and let the cookies cool completely on the pan. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Notes
Throughout my recipes posted on this website, 1 cup of flour equals 142g. Please note that 1 cup of flour can range anywhere from 120g to 142g, depending on the baker or website. I found that after weighting many cups of flour and averaging the total, mine always ended up around this number. If I am posting a recipe from another cookbook, I will use whatever gram measure of flour used in that book, which is why you may see a few posts with a different cup measurement.
Different brands of flour have varying levels of protein, ranging from low to high, which can result in very different outcomes when baking. I’ve found Gold Medal all-purpose unbleached flour to be the best option for many of my recipes; I use it in all the baked goods that don’t use yeast.