Neapolitan Cookies

Some of you may have noticed that I haven't had a dessert recipe in a while. I've been trying to eat better and I've been doing pretty good--not perfect, but I'm trying. I still wanted to give away some yummy treats.

I recently saw this recipe on justJENN Recipes and thought it would be fun for Valentine's day. But I added a little almond extract to the white layer and raspberry extract to the pink. I didn't measure how much, but it was a bit more raspberry extract than I should have added. I couldn't even taste the almond extract. But that's okay. It was still good. I didn't have any mini chocolate chips so I used regular ones. They were too big to cut the little hearts well so next time I'll be sure to buy mini chocolate chips. It's a crisp, pretty cookie.

Make sure to cut the long slice thin since these spread and the shape gets a bit deformed if it's too thick to begin with. I dipped a few of the cookies in chocolate. Then I was going to make a white filling and sandwich it between two cookies and roll that in coconut, but I never got time for that. Maybe next time. Neapolitan Cookies
1 c. butter, softened
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 egg
1 t. vanilla
2 1/4 c. flour
1 1/4 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
Pink gel food coloring
2-4 T. cocoa
3 T. mini chocolate chips

Prepare a loaf pan by lining it with plastic wrap for easy removal later. Make sure the plastic wrap is long and hangs over the edges.

In a bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Add the egg, then the vanilla. In a separate bowl sift the flour, baking powder and salt. Add to the butter mixture and mix.

Divide the dough into three bowls. Add the gel coloring to one for the pink layer. In the second bowl, mix in the cocoa powder. Add in the mini chocolate chips.

Spread the chocolate dough on the bottom of the loaf pan first, followed by the vanilla. Then the pink.

Cover and refrigerate a few hours until firm. Once the dough is firm, preheat your over to 350º. Using the hanging plastic wrap, carefully pull your dough out and take off the wrap. You might need to place in a larger, shallow pan with some hot water to remove the dough.

With a sharp knife, cut the dough into 1/4 inch slices. Then slice into cookies or use cookie cutters. Place on ungreased cookie sheets at least 1 inch between cookies.
Bake for 10-12 minutes. Remove while still soft, before white layer browns.