Neopolitan Sandwich Cookies

I believe Neopolitan ice cream was invented for those of us you can't really choose between their favorites--Vanilla, Chocolate and Strawberry!

photo borrowed from the internet 

However, to be exact, in the late 19th century, these were the top three flavors of ice cream in the United States. This combination is thought to have come from Neopolitan immigrants, who brought with them their expertise in frozen desserts and molding three flavors together--Spumoni which was introduced in the 1870s, resembled the Italian flag.  Well, it was the inspiration of the cookies I made today to celebrate team work...among people and flavors!

Neopolitan Sandwich Cookies
Vanilla Dough:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp. Vanilla extract
1 extra-large egg
2 cups King Arthur all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
pinch of salt

Chocolate Dough:

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. Vanilla extract
1 extra-large egg
1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa
1 1/2 cups + 1T King Arthur all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
pinch of salt

Strawberry Filling:

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar (icing sugar)
2 T strawberry jam
1/2 tsp. Strawberry Flavoring
1-2 tsp. heavy whipping cream

Mix up the Vanilla Dough first (then you won't have to wash the bowl). In a stand mixer, using the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together.  Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat again on medium speed.  Scrape sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as necessarily.  Add the dry ingredients and beat on low to completely combine.

The dough needs to chill and I was given a tip from a friend who makes a lot of sugar cookies, except instead of putting the dough in a gallon-sized freezer bag and rolling it flat to the 1/4-inch, I use my pie crust bag with a zipper. 

This dough needs to chill and having it already in a "rolled-out" form will give you those perfect edges on your cookies; the dough softens from the heat of the rolling pin if you just store it in a ball.  However, more importantly, I don't need to add any extra flour to roll out the dough and trust me, the cookies are tender and not hard or overworked!

Make up the Chocolate Dough the same way and roll it in the freezer bag or pie crust bag to 1/4-inch, just like the Vanilla Dough.

Chill 30 to 40 minutes.  Preheat oven to 350F-degrees.  Remove one of the bags and unzip (or cut) to open it up.  I used a 1 1/2-inch round cookie cutter, then transferred the cut out rounds to a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Bake for 10 minutes; edges and bottoms are just lightly golden.  Let rest for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.  Cookies need to cool completely before filling.  Recipe makes approximately 3 dozen sandwich cookies.

After the cookies are baked, mix up the filling in a stand mixer using the whisk attachment.  Spread about 1 1/2 tsp. of filling on the underside of the Vanilla cookie and top with a Chocolate one.

These are perfect little bite-sized cookies that will thrill your family--who doesn't like Vanilla~Chocolate~Strawberry? Enjoy!