Easy Neapolitan Sandwich Cookies Recipe Made with a Cake Mix
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Tips & tricks to achieve the most delicious cookies of your life!
What are Neapolitan Cookies?
Neapolitan Cookies are based on Neapolitan ice cream which contains three different flavors {chocolate, vanilla and strawberry} that are arranged in layers.
Just like the iconic ice cream, these Neapolitan Cookies have three flavors. Starting with one chocolate cookie, one vanilla cookie and then sandwiched together with homemade strawberry buttercream.
The best part about these cookies however, is that they are made with a cake mix which makes them super easy to bake for friends and family.
Ingredients Needed for your Neapolitan Sandwich Cookies:
- Vanilla Cake Mix-The perfect start for these Neapolitan Cookies.
- Butter-Used in both the cookies and the buttercream, the butter adds richness and helps bind ingredients together.
- Egg Whites-Use only the egg whites so that we get a nice and whitish vanilla cookie.
- Sour Cream-Added for a bit of tang to the cookies which helps balance the sweetness.
- Cocoa Powder-A couple of tablespoons added to half of the cookie dough gives you the perfect chocolate cookie dough.
- Powdered Sugar-Added to the strawberry buttercream for sweetness and to help give it a nice consistency.
- Strawberry Jam-The perfect addition to the buttercream for a wonderful strawberry flavor.
How to make Neapolitan Cookies with 1 Cake Mix Cookie Dough
1. Combine vanilla cake mix, softened butter, eggs whites and sour cream in a large bowl. Use a hand held {or stand} mixer to mix the ingredients. The dough will be thick and a bit sticky. Divide the dough in half.
2. Add cocoa powder to half of the cookie dough and mix into the dough using a hand held {or stand} mixer until it is completely incorporated into the dough.
3. Use a medium cookie scoop to scoop 12 vanilla cookies and 12 chocolate cookies onto a baking sheet that has been lined with a silicone mat {or parchment paper} and refrigerate for 1 hour.
4. After 1 hour, roll all of the cookie dough mounds in your hands until smooth and place 8-10 cookie dough balls onto a baking sheet that is lined with a silicone mat {or parchment paper}.
5. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 9-11 minutes or until the cookies are set. Remove from the oven and allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Then move the cookies to a cooling rack.
Assembling your Neapolitan Sandwich Cookies
To assemble the Neapolitan Sandwich Cookies begin by making the strawberry buttercream. Combine the ingredients in a large bowl and mix with a handheld mixer until the frosting is creamy and smooth. Add the strawberry buttercream to a piping bag {or zipper bag}, cut a triangle off of the corner and pipe frosting onto one of the cookies. Pipe on the bottom of the cookies.
6. Then place another cookie on top of the strawberry buttercream. Just be sure that if you added the buttercream to the top of a chocolate cookie, you are adding a vanilla cookie to the top.
6 Neapolitan Cookie Baking Top Tips
- Don’t use the egg yolks in the dough. The yolks will make the cookie dough too yellow and not the vanilla color we are going for.
- Mix the cocoa powder into the dough well. Make sure there are not any lumps of cocoa in the batter.
- Don’t skip refrigerating. Normally I don’t like to wait for cookie dough to refrigerate but in this case it is important to get the nice and thick soft cookies.
- Roll the cookies in your hands before baking to make them smooth. This will ensure you have nice consistent cookies.
- Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before moving to a cooling rack. The time on the baking sheet will set the cookies up nicely using the residual heat.
- Add a good amount of strawberry buttercream to the middle of the cookies. That way you get a taste of every flavor in each bite.
How to Store Neapolitan Cake Mix Cookies
The very best way to store Neapolitan Cake Mix Sandwich Cookies is to place them in an airtight container in a single layer {don’t layer them} and refrigerate them.
They should stay fresh in the refrigerator for 4-5 days. You can leave them at room temperature but they will not last as long.
Can I Freeze Neapolitan Sandwich Cookies?
Yes, these Neapolitan Sandwich Cookies can be frozen. The cookies themselves freeze really well. So you could make the cookies, freeze them and frost before serving.
You could also freeze the whole cookies {with frosting in the middle}, they will have to be covered well and should last for up to 3 months.
Do you love cake mix cookies? Try these recipes…
- Thumbprint Cookies
- Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies
- Copycat Crumbl Cookies and Cream Cookies
- Texas Sheet Cake Cookies
- Copycat Crumbl Raspberry Cheesecake Cookies
- Red Velvet Sandwich Cookies
Easy Neapolitan Sandwich Cookies made with a Cake Mix
Ingredients
Cookies
- 1 box vanilla cake mix {15.25 ounces}
- ½ cup butter {softened}
- 4 egg whites
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 2 Tablespoons cocoa
Strawberry Buttercream
- ½ cup butter {softened}
- 2 ¼ cups powdered sugar
- â…“ cup strawberry jam
Instructions
Cookies
- In a medium bowl combine cake mix, butter, eggs and sour cream. Using a hand held mixer {stand mixer or mix by hand}, mix the ingredients until just combined. There may be small bits of butter in the dough.
- Divide the dough in half and add 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder to one half of the dough. Mix to make sure that the cocoa powder is completely dissolved into the dough.
- Use a medium cookie scoop to scoop 12 vanilla and 12 chocolate cookies onto a parchment lined baking sheet and refrigerate for one hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350°.
- After one hour, roll the cookie dough mounds in your hand until smooth. Place the 8-10 cookie dough balls onto a silicone mat {or parchment lined baking sheet} and bake for 9-11 minutes or until set. Remove from the oven and allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before moving to a cooling rack. Continue until all of the cookies are baked.
Strawberry Buttercream & Assembly
- Once the cookies are cool, add the strawberry buttercream ingredients into a large bowl. Mix using a hand held mixer until the frosting is creamy and smooth. Put the frosting into a piping {or zipper} bag and pipe frosting on the top {which is really the bottom of half of the cookies}.
- Place another cookie on top of the strawberry buttercream, making sure that each cookie has one chocolate and one vanilla cookie. Serve or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4-5 days. The cookies can also be frozen for up to 3 months.
