Neapolitan Cookie Bars – dairy-free and egg-free

By lucylox on October 6, 2024

Vegan Neapolitan Cookie Bars

These delicious vegan Neapolitan cookie bars are a must make, combining soft, almost cake like chocolate and vanilla cookie layers with the prettiest pink and divinely flavoured strawberry buttercream topping.

Do you remember Neapolitan ice cream? It used to be one of the main exciting ice cream flavours combining chocolate, strawberry and vanilla. In fact, Swedish Glace used to make a lovely dairy-free version and it was always a huge hit in this house because everyone could have their favoured flavour combination. Big S would go for strawberry and vanilla, whilst Little S would always choose the chocolate and vanilla!

It seems that Neapolitan as a flavour combination is less popular these days, but it really shouldn't be because they just work so well together.

When I was gifted some of the wonderful pulse dried strawberry snacks from New Forest Fruit Snacks and was thinking about how I could use this stand out product in some interesting new recipes, the idea of the Neapolitan ice cream came to mind. There's something so appealing about the colour and flavour combination of chocolate, vanilla and strawberry.

But since it's October, I wanted Neapolitan to work in a less chilly format - and hey presto, it does! So let me introduce to you, these wonderful Neapolitan Cookie Bars. You get all the flavour profiles of the ice cream, but with added oomph and a really fabulous texture combination too. The cookie layers are soft, almost like half way between and cookie and a cake, all topped with a creamy icing which is packed full of strawberry flavour. You definitely know you're eating chocolate, vanilla and strawberry with these bars!

These strawberry snacks may have been gifted but I've previously bought and used them because I think they're such an amazing product. Not only are they local to me, but they use the wonky fruit that couldn't be sold to supermarkets and you end up with these amazing crunchy strawberry snacks that are free-from all allergens. They make a great snack but also the flavour you get when they're used in icing or fillings is just spectacular. It's strawberry, but with the dial turned up a notch! So if you come across them, and they are now stocked in Waitrose, do buy them, you certainly won't regret it!

cookie layers, before baking

You might think that a three layer bar would be fiddly to make, but these really are pretty easy. The cookie dough is simply split into two, with cocoa and a little more milk added to one half. These are then layered into a lined baking tin and baked as one. So that's two layers made in almost the same time it would take to make one.

Baked cookie layers

Then you simply top with the thick creamy buttercream once the base has cooled. A little chill in the fridge helps with getting even bars, but these can easily be made from start to finish, with cooling/chilling time, in just over an hour.

strawberry sugar, made by blitzing together freeze-dried strawberries and icing sugar

Neapolitan Cookie Bars

Chocolate and vanilla layered cookie bars topped with a delicate strawberry pink buttercream

dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free, soya-free, sesame-free, vegetarian and vegan

2 lb loaf tin

100 g dairy-free margarine
60 g caster sugar
40 g soft brown sugar
1 tsp dairy-free milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
180 g plain flour
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
½ tsp salt
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp dairy-free milk

for the strawberry buttercream

50 g dairy-free margarine
200 g icing sugar
10 g freeze dried strawberries or strawberry powder

Preheat the oven to 180℃ and line a loaf tin with parchment
Cream together the margarine and caster and soft brown sugars until light and fluffy
whisk in the 1 tsp milk and vanilla extract
Add the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt and combine to form a lovely soft dough.
Divide into two portions (each will be about 190g)
To one half stir in the additional 1 tsp milk and the cocoa powder
First, spread the chocolate cookie mixture onto the base of the lined tin
Next, place the vanilla cookie layer on top and smooth over to make a nice even layer. (This is easiest by breaking the dough into small pieces and dotting over the chocolate layer and then smoothing over)
Prick all over with a fork and place in the oven for 20-25 minutes until risen and golden. Leave to cool.
Meanwhile, make the strawberry icing layer.
Blitz the freeze dried strawberries (keeping 2 aside) with 100g of the icing sugar to make a strawberry sugar. (leave out this step if using strawberry powder and just stir into the 200g icing sugar instead)
Whisk the margarine, icing sugar and strawberry sugar until you have a thick, but smooth buttercream
Spread over the cooled cookie base and level off.
Decorate with finely grated freeze-dried strawberry.
Place in the fridge for at least half an hour to firm up
Cut into 8 even squares. These cookies are best kept in the fridge and eaten within 3 days

This recipe is easily multiplied - to fill a 20cm square tin simply double the recipe
If you can't locate any freeze dried strawberries make a coulis from fresh strawberries and add 1 tbsp to the icing instead (you may need to add up to an additional 50g icing sugar)

cookie, Dessert

Neopolitan, cookie bars