VANILLA SUGAR COOKIES

Cream butter in the bowl of a stand mixer until soft. Add egg, vanilla and sugar cookie mix, and mix until well combined, scraping down bowl as needed for uniform color of dough. Form into a rectangle or square log and wrap in plastic and chill for at least 60 minutes.

CHOCOLATE SUGAR COOKIES

Whisk together the sugar cookie mix and cocoa and set aside. Melt 2 TBSP butter and baking chocolate together, preferably in a double boiler, and allow to cool. Cream remaining 8 TBSP (1/2 cup) butter in the bowl of a stand mixer until soft. Add sugar and mix until light and fluffy. Add egg, vanilla, melted chocolate and dry ingredients to stand mixer, and mix on low until well combined, scraping bowl as necessary for uniform color of dough. Form into a rectangle or square log (should measure and roughly match the dimensions of log made above), wrap in plastic and chill for at least 60 minutes.

STRAWBERRY SUGAR COOKIES

Cream butter in the bowl of a stand mixer until soft. Add egg yolk, vanilla, strained preserves, strawberry extract if using, food coloring, and sugar cookie mix, and mix on low until well combined, scraping bowl as necessary for uniform color of dough. Form into a rectangle or square log (should measure and roughly match the dimensions of log made above), wrap in plastic and chill for at least 60 minutes.

ASSEMBLY

Make Neapolitan Bars by using rectangle shapes of each flavor and Neapolitan Checkerboards by using two square shapes of each flavor. For either cookie: cut rectangle or square logs, the same size dimensions, for each flavor. Whip egg and water together with fork, brush onto edges of cookie log and stick logs together to form stripes or checks. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and chill again until completely firm, at least 60 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350°. Carefully cut, with a sharp knife, ¼" slices off the end of the cookie bar. Place onto parchment lined cookie sheet and bake 11 to 13 minutes, until starting to brown on the edges. Cool slightly before removing to wire rack to cool completely.

Chef’s Note: Use ¼ tsp strawberry extract to boost the flavor if you like. For stripes: use the chocolate flavor in the middle, it seems to expand the least, and will keep the cookies more symmetrical.

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