Friday, December 24, 2010

Neapolitan Cookies

Can I show you one more cookie? I hope you said yes because this was my favorite cookie I baked for Christmas this year. That sounds like I'm being mean to the other cookies, but I'm really not. Of course I liked them all, but this one with the stacked doughs was a different kind of cookie. The technique got me thinking as well. If two doughs can be stacked as they are here, why not three? And, next time, I can try different flavors depending on the season or the occasion. I followed the original recipe for these from the December 1998 issue of Living magazine. I found the page in my files when I was checking to see if there was something I'd tucked away from years past that I should try. I love it when I find a gem like this hiding in my files. So, the two types of dough in this cookie are orange-sable dough to which dried cranberries were added and a chocolate-espresso dough to which toasted walnuts were added.

I started with the orange-sable dough, and it was made with almond meal, confectioners' sugar, butter, orange zest, an egg, lemon juice, and flour. You can grind blanched almonds in a food processor or use almond meal as I did. Once the dough came together, dried cranberries were stirred into it, and it was pressed into an eight-inch square pan lined with plastic wrap and set aside. Next, the chocolate-espresso dough was made with flour, Dutch-process cocoa powder, finely ground espresso, butter, confectioners' sugar, and vanilla extract. I used a mix of ordinary Dutch-process cocoa powder and some very dark and rich black onyx cocoa powder which gave the dough a deep, black color. Toasted and chopped walnuts were added to the chocolate dough, and it was pressed on top of the orange-sable dough. The pan was chilled at least two hours or overnight in my case. The next day, I removed the stacked doughs, cut two-inch wide rows which were then cut into skinny, one quarter inch cookies to be baked.

I liked the color contrast in each cookie, and the extra dark cocoa powder helped with that. I also liked the specks of dried cranberry adding touches of red on the orange-sable side. Mostly though, I really liked the flavors. The citrus and tart cranberry on one side and the deep chocolaty, coffee flavor with walnuts on the other was a great mix. I'm already thinking of other combinations for this technique. Maybe a third layer full of finely chopped pistachios would work, or maybe a version with layers of flavors that are a take on a banana split would be good. The possibilities are endless, and that's why this was my favorite. I hope you're all enjoying the holidays, and I wish you a very Merry Christmas.



32 comments:

  1. You take the cake with your cookies! Okay, maybe that doesn't make sense but your cookies that you have been posting are so beautiful! Your loved ones are lucky to be eating them! Have a very Merry Christmas!

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  2. HAPPY HOLIDAYS Lisa - to you and yours I hope you have a happy and generous New Year....

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  3. Those are so pretty and surely taste divine!

    Happy holidays!

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  4. Beautifully done. I think I'd like to try making these too now.
    Have a merry christmas.
    *kisses* HH

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  5. These cookies are a very creative combination of flavors cleverly delineated with these two layers.

    Merry Christmas Lisa!

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  6. I'm so intrigued! I've never seen this kind of cookie before. I love that you can alter the doughs depending on the season!

    Merry Christmas girl!

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  7. What a pretty cookie! Merry Christmas!

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  8. These are gorgeous! What a find! Of course, almost any Martha approved recipe will still be awesome even 13 years later! Gotta love her for that. Have an awesome Christmas!

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  9. Gorgeous cookies!! I bet they're addictive!

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  10. These look amazing!
    Happy Holidays Lisa!

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  11. These cookies are wonderful! They remind me of some I used to make years ago that were in three colors. Love the orange flavor and cocoa and berries. They deliver in taste and in looks.

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  12. These cookies are so pretty. I love the flecks of cranberry. So festive! Hope you Christmas was warm and wonderful.

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  13. This sounds like a treat for those who cant make up their minds if they wanted something chocolatey or fruity. And that happens to me all the time!

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  14. What a wonderful idea! I've never seen anything like this. Would love to have one (or two...) right now with my morning coffee. Merry merry Christmas, Lisa! xo

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  15. this looks very pretty:) i am so craving for one of these right now.

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  16. Very pretty cookie... I love the layered look.

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  17. Happy Holidays Lisa! I have been looking through your goodies on here, and of course they are all spectacular!

    Happy New Year too!

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  18. What a fabulous cookie Lisa, I'm loving the sound of these.

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  19. your first line was most assuredly a rhetorical question--YES, always yes! and what a great cookie this is, combining lots of flavors into a nifty-looking package. bravo!

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  20. Wow...these are simply stunning. Wonderful job.

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  21. Your cookies (all of the recently posted cookies, not just these) look delectable. This is such an interesting idea for making cookies--as you said, it opens up all kinds of possibilities.

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  22. What a stunning cookie! Love the flavor combination. This is a winner and a must make! Happy Holidays!

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  23. Beautiful! I bet they taste as good as they look too. ...Susan

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  24. OMG, I love those! Yes, thank you for showing us another cookie and please, feel free to show us more! What a wonderful idea. I love the way they look and I know they tasted amazing. I hope you had a wonderful holiday Lisa. Happy New Year!

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  25. I would love this one too with so much orange zest and walnuts! Happy New Year! ♥

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  26. Lisa - You can just have cookie recipes for the rest of the life of this blog and you'd get no complaints from me. Everything you offer is brilliant. These little beauties look just gorgeous.

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  27. Ok, I know I have to make this in 2011. It looks delicious.
    Season's greetings and best wishes for a very happy new year.

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  28. Just from the zest and chocolates i can say I am going to love this one.

    Have a lovely year ahead Lisa. I am too late, and the holidays are almost over. best wishes from our family to yours.

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  29. What a pretty cookie! And delicious too! I never heard of this cocoa powder before - can't wait to try it for myself.

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  30. You can definitely show us more cookies! We want more cookies!

    Happy New Year to you and your family.

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  31. Love the different layers of cookies! The flavors sound wonderful together! I love the color contrast as well :)

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