I was intrigued by the concept of these cookies; in that they replicate the flavor profile of the ‘nostalgic’ Neapolitan ice cream. The name ‘Neapolitan’ comes from Naples, Italy. Many believe the history of Neapolitan ice cream can trace its roots back to ‘spumoni’ – a traditional form of ice cream originating in southern Italy and made of multiple blocks of ice cream put together. The most popular flavors of spumoni are cherry, chocolate and pistachio. Historically the colors of the Italian flag – green (pistachio), white (vanilla), and red (cherry pink).
As legend goes, in the 19th century, immigrants to North America from southern Italy (namely Naples) brought along the recipes popular in their homeland including spumoni. The dessert likely adapted to popular local flavors at the time being, chocolate, vanilla and strawberry.
Over time, this flavor trio has evolved into much more, such as cookies, drinks, cheesecakes, trifle, fudge, rice krispie treats, parfaits and the list goes on.
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COOKIES
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- 3/4 cup + 2 Tbsp (200 gm) unsalted butter
- 1 cup (125 gm) powdered sugar
- 1 large egg
- pinch of salt
- 1 Tbsp cornstarch
- 2 3/4 cups (350 gm) flour
- 20 gm dark chocolate, melted
- 1 Tbsp cocoa powder
- 1 tsp pure vanilla
- 1 tsp LORANN strawberry flavor
- red food gel
Ingredients
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- Cream together butter & powdered sugar. Add egg & mix thoroughly. Sift in the flour, cornstarch & salt.
- Combine into a dough consistency. Divide dough into 3 equal portions.
- Add vanilla to the first one & combine well. To the second portion add strawberry flavor & red food gel; combine until evenly colored. To the third portion, add the melted chocolate & cocoa powder.
- Place each flavored ball of dough between parchment paper & roll out in a circle to an 1/8-inch thickness. On the chocolate piece place the vanilla layer & then the strawberry layer. Roll up in a 'cinnamon roll' fashion & place in the freezer for about 10 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Using string, cut cookie roll in slices. This should create a nice 'feathery' look.
- Bake the cookies for about 10-12 minutes or until just lightly browned on the bottom.
- I make use of the Lorann flavorings whenever I can. Lorann's professional strength flavorings and essential oils are 3x to 4x stronger than typical alcohol-based extracts. They smell & taste amazing!