Neapolitan Coconut Strips Food

NEAPOLITAN BARS

Steps:

• Line a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan with waxed paper; grease the paper and set aside., In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. , Divide dough in thirds. Tint one portion green and one portion red; leave the remaining portion white. Add chocolate chips to green portion, cherries to red portion and coconut and rum extract to white portion. Spread one portion into prepared pan. Bake at 350° for 7-9 minutes or until edges are golden brown., Immediately invert onto a wire rack and remove waxed paper. Place another wire rack on top and turn over. Cool completely. Repeat with remaining portions, preparing pan each time., Place pink layer on a large piece of plastic wrap, about 30 in. long. Spread with cherry preserves. Top with white layer and spread with apricot preserves. Top with green layer. Bring plastic over layers. Slide onto a baking sheet and set a cutting board on top to compress layers. Refrigerate overnight., With a sharp knife, trim 1/4 in. from each edge. Cut into bars. Store in an airtight container.

COCONUT NEAPOLITAN COOKIES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350ºF.
• Spread coconut onto rimmed baking sheet. Bake 5 min. or until dry but not browned, stirring occasionally; cool. Turn oven off.
• Combine flour and baking powder. Beat butter and sugar in large bowl with mixer until light and fluffy. Blend in egg and vanilla. Gradually add flour mixture, mixing well after each addition.
• Divide dough into thirds; place each in separate bowl. Add one of the following to dough in each bowl: dry drink mix, melted chocolate and coconut; mix well.
• Line 9x5-inch loaf pan with parchment, with ends of parchment extending over sides. Press red-colored dough onto bottom of prepared pan. Cover with layers of coconut-flavored dough, then chocolate dough, gently pressing layers together to seal. Refrigerate 4 hours or until firm.
• Heat oven to 350°F. Use parchment handles to remove dough from pan; remove and discard parchment. Cut dough into 3 lengthwise strips, then cut each strip crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Place, 1 inch apart, on parchment-covered baking sheets.
• Bake 9 to 11 min. or until edges of cookies are firm to the touch but not browned. Cool on pan 1 min. Remove to wire racks; cool completely.

LAYERED NEOPOLITAN SQUARES

Steps:

• Bottom: Mix the 4 first ingredients together. Put in a greased 9x9 baking pan (grease the sides also). Cook in the oven at 350 F for 10 minutes.
• Second Layer: In a clean bowl, mix coconut and condensed milk. Spread this mixture on the bottom, in the pan. Cook in the oven at 350 F for 20 minutes, or until the cookie begins to golden on the sides. Let cool before icing.
• Icing: Beat all ingredients of the icing together, adding juice, if needed to have a good consistency. Put the icing on the cold cookie. Put in an hermetic container and let rest at least one day to let the cookie soften. You can eat the squares the same day but they're harder to cut when fresh.

NEAPOLITAN COCONUT STRIPS

Steps:

• Line an 8-inch square cake pan with plastic wrap, leaving a 2-inch overhang on 2 sides. Combine white chocolate, condensed milk, butter, salt, and vanilla seeds in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, until smooth. Remove from heat, and stir in both types of coconut.
• Divide mixture among 3 bowls. Stir milk chocolate into 1 batch and food coloring into another. Leave third plain.
• Spread milk-chocolate mixture into bottom of pan. Gently dollop plain mixture over top, covering as much surface as possible. Gently spread, then repeat with the remaining mixture. Refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours.
• Unmold coconut square using plastic overhang, and discard plastic. Trim about 1/4 inch each from 2 parallel sides. Cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-wide slices. Cut each slice into 1 1/2-inch-long strips. Cover, and refrigerate for up to 1 week.

NEAPOLITAN CHEESECAKE AND COCONUT WHIPPED CREAM

Steps:

• To make the crust: Place all the ingredients in a food processor except for the coconut oil. Process until a fine crumb is formed. Slowly pour in the melted coconut oil, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the crust holds together when you squeeze it. Place the crust in a 9-inch spring form pan, pressing it firmly into the bottom of the pan in a single, even layer. Put the crust in the freezer until ready to top it with the filling.
• To make the cheesecake filling: Bring a pot of water to a boil. Remove from heat and add in the cashews. Let the cashews soak for 2 hours. Drain the cashews.
• Place the soaked cashews, 1 cup dates, coconut oil, lemon juice, vanilla and sea salt in a food processor. Process until the dates and cashews have broken down into small pieces. With the food processor running, slowly stream in 2 1/4 cups coconut milk. Continue to process for 5 minutes or until the filling is smooth.
• Remove 1/2 cup of filling and set aside, this will be the vanilla layer.
• Remove another 2 1/2 cups of filling to a large bowl. Whisk in the unsweetened cocoa powder, cacao nibs and 3 tablespoons chopped dates. Set aside.
• To the remaining filling in the food processor add half the cherries. Process for 1 minute or until the cherries have completely broken down. Add in the remaining cherries and pulse a few times until there are small pieces of cherry visible in the filling.
• Check the consistency of each of the fillings and make sure they are pourable. If they do not easily pour, stir in some additional coconut milk to get the right consistency.
• Pour the cherry filling into the spring form pan. Then, gently pour the chocolate filling into the center of the cherry filling. Take your time pouring the filling so that it stays in the middle. Tap the spring form pan on the table as needed to settle the filling. Next, slowly pour in the vanilla filling into the center of the chocolate filling. Again, tap the pan on the table to settle the filling. Use a toothpick to drag the top of the cheesecake to make a design on top.
• Place the cheesecake in the freezer for at least 4 hours to set but ideally overnight.
• To make the coconut whipped cream: Carefully open the cold coconut cream. Gently scoop out the thick coconut cream to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whip attachment and add in the vanilla beans. Whip the coconut cream on high until it doubles in volume. If necessary, add in up to 1 tablespoon of the coconut liquid from the can to get a smooth texture.
• To serve: When ready to serve, remove the cheesecake from the freezer and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before removing the sides from the spring form pan. Cut the cake into slices and serve with 1 tablespoon coconut whipped cream. Sprinkle flakey sea salt on top and serve immediately.
• Nutrition Info Per Serving.
• Calories: 993.
• Total Fat: 74 grams.
• Saturated Fat: 41 grams.
• Total Carbohydrate: 84 grams.
• Sugars: 54 grams.
• Protein: 15 grams.
• Sodium: 108 milligrams.
• Cholesterol: 0 milligrams.
• Fiber: 11 grams.

CHOCOLATE COCONUT NEAPOLITANS

Steps:

• Line a 9x5-in. loaf pan with waxed paper; set aside. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well., Divide dough into thirds. Add almond extract and red food coloring to 1 portion; spread evenly into prepared pan. Add coconut to second portion; spread evenly over first layer. Add chocolate syrup to third portion; spread over second layer. Cover with foil; freeze for 4 hours or overnight., Unwrap loaf and cut in half lengthwise. Cut each portion widthwise into 1/4-in. slices. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350° until edges are lightly browned, 12-14 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool., In a microwave, melt chocolate chips and shortening; stir until smooth. Dip 1 end of each cookie into chocolate; allow excess to drip off. Place on waxed paper; let stand until set.