This recipe was inspired and adapted from Sarah Kieffer’s super popular Neapolitan cookies, which was in turn, were adapted from a recipe by Mathew Rice. I found some freeze-dried strawberries at Target and thought, “I bet they would taste good as the solo star.” I was right! I used a #40 cookie scoop. Feel free to make them larger or smaller but adjust your cooking time accordingly.
Makes about 45 cookies
Ingredients
- 16 tablespoons (227 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 ¾ cups (347 grams) granulated sugar, plus more for rolling
- 1 large egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste or extract
- 2 1/2 cups (325 grams) all-purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup (12 grams) freeze-dried strawberries
- 2 – 3 drops red food coloring (optional)
Instructions
Make the Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line sheet pans with parchment paper and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes.
- Add the egg, yolk and vanilla, and beat on medium speed until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt and then add it to the butter mixture on low speed until just combined. Divide the dough in half, leaving half of it in the mixing bowl.
- In the bowl of a small food processor, blitz the strawberries into a powder. Add them to the half mixture still in the mixing bowl along with the red food coloring if using. Mixing on low until just combined.
- Alternating pieces of the vanilla and strawberry dough, press them gently into a cookie scoop. Roll them in sugar and then place on the prepared baking sheets. Bake until the cookies are set, about 8 to 10 minutes. Allow them to cool on the cookie sheets for 2 mintues before transferring them to racks to cool completely. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.
