Chocolate Coconut Neapolitans

Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt together and then stir these into the creamed mixture. Divide the dough into 3 bowls. In one bowl, mix in the almond extract and red coloring. In the second, stir in the coconut; in the third, the chocolate syrup.

Now find yourself two 8×4 inch loaf pans and line them with waxed paper. Take the red dough and divide it between the two pans. Spread it in a thin, very even layer. Top it with the white dough and then the brown. Keep the layers as even as possible. Your resulting cookies will look that much prettier. Cover with plastic and freeze for 4 hours, or up to a few weeks.

When ready to bake, remove the dough from the pans. Slice the “loaves” in half lengthwise. Then cut them into 1/4 inch slices crosswise. Lay them on parchment-lined cookie sheets and bake at 350F for 11 to 12 minutes or until just slightly browned. Remove from cookie sheets and cool on wire racks.

Meanwhile, melt the chocolate chips and shortening in a double boiler or in the microwave. Dip the ends of the cookies in (about 1/2 inch), shake/scrape off any excess, and set them on the COOLED parchment-lined cookie sheets (if the sheets are still warm, put them in the freezer for a few minutes). Let the cookies set until the chocolate is hard and then store in a container between layers of waxed paper. These freeze well.

Yield: I do apologize, but I forgot to count before my husband got his fingers on them. I do know it’s a lot—maybe 8 dozen?