Marble | Swirl Cookies

Recipe: Marble | Swirl Cookies
Marble | Swirl Cookies are soft buttery, chocolatey and easy to make. Perfect cookies to bake for festivals, parties, or as every day tea time treat. What I like about these cookie recipe is the versatility. Make them into swirl cookies, which is a bit time consuming but very pretty. Or make them into marble cookies where you gently roll the vanilla and chocolate dough together to create random patterns. Play with colours and instead of chocolate make them more festive by adding edible colour to one part of the dough. Leave the dough in the freezer and bake as and when you want them.
Memories
I seriously cannot remember the number of times I’ve baked these cookies when my kids were growing up. Birthday parties at home and request for these cookies was understood. We’d bake them for Diwali too. Nowadays with all my kids now adults, hardly bake them. I would but I would land up eating all the cookies… yes you caught me out, I love home baked cookies. During a recent trip to Montreal to visit my son and his partner, I thought of taking some home baked cookies. You should have seen that child like smile on my son’s face. For a brief moment he was like a little kid!
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Sharing This Recipe With Foodies_ Redoing Old Recipes
I posted this recipe a long time ago – 24/08/2012. So an update was necessary. What better way to update it then for the group, Foodies_ Redoing Old Posts. This time round I decided to show how the swirl pattern is created for the cookies. Feel free to use the marble or swirl method. In fact you can also also make them into pinwheel cookies.
Updating this recipe on 06/10/2023
Ingredients Required For Marble | Swirl Cookies
Plain Flour – All purpose flour, maida. You may use wheat flour, but I like using plain flour for that melt in the mouth texture.
Cornstarch – cornstarch or cornflour, the fine white kind makes the cookie texture soft and yet crispy.
Butter – use unsalted or salted. I like using salted for that little saltiness it adds to the cookies.
Powdered Sugar – use ready made icing sugar, confectioners’ sugar or simply powder refined sugar in a food processor.
Salt – add a pinch if you are using salted butter that is not too salty. Or add ¼ tsp if using unsalted butter.
Vanilla Extract – for the white part of the dough.
Yogurt – as we are not using egg, add a bit of yogurt to make them soft.
Baking Soda – A little is added as we are not using egg. Helps to leaven the cookies.
Cocoa Powder – I use unsweetened cocoa powder.
Dark Chocolate – here is my secret to the more chocolatey taste. I add melted dark chocolate to the dough along with cocoa powder. This means that you may need to add an extra tbsp or two of flour or cocoa powder to the chocolate dough.
Three Different Patterned Cookies
Marble Cookies
Divide the white dough into 15-20 parts. Roll them into balls. Do the same with the chocolate dough. The size of the balls will depend on how small or big you want the cookies to be. Take one white and one chocolate ball. Press them gently together and roll. This creates the marble effect.
Pinwheel Cookies
Roll out the white dough into a thin sheet of about ¼-⅛ inch thick using parchment paper. Do the same with the chocolate one. Place the chocolate one on the white one. With the help of the parchment paper, roll it into a tight log shape. Refrigerate it and then cut into slices about ½ inch in thickness. Bake the cookies. Hopefully, I will update this post soon with the pinwheel method.
Swirl Cookies
These cookies take longer as you have to make very small balls with the white and chocolate dough. Almost the size of a small marble and must be the same number. Then you place the balls alternately, one white, one brown, one white, one brown, one white, one brown till you have 6 of them in a ring shape. Push them slowly together to fill the gap. Roll gently to create the swirls. Check out the video for the method.
Watch How To Bake Marble | Swirl Cookies

MARBLE | SWIRL COOKIES
Ingredients
- 2¼ cups all purpose flour
- 2 tbsp cornflour/cornstarch
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- 1 cup powdered sugar 125g
- ⅛ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder unsweetened
- 200 g butter
- ¼ cup plain yogurt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 30 g dark chocolate melted
Instructions
- Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl in the microwave oven for about 30 to 40 seconds. Allow it to cool down.
- Sift or sieve all purpose flour, cornstarch, salt and baking soda together in a mixing bowl.
- Cream butter and sugar in another mixing bowl till it is creamy and pale in colour.
- Add vanilla extract and yogurt. Whisk to mix.
- Add the flour mixture. Fold in the flour with the butter sugar mixture, using a spatula or spoon.
- Cover the dough with a lid or cling film and allow it to chill for 10-15 minutes in the fridge.
- Divide the dough into two equal parts. Can use weighing scales for this.
- Keep the one part on the side. That is the white or vanilla one.
- To the second part of the dough add the melted chocolate and cocoa powder.
- Mix well using a spatula. Allow the dough to rest for 5 minutes.
- After that if you still find that the dough is too soft to roll into balls then add 1 -2 tbsp of flour of cocoa powder. Add one first.
- Working with the white dough first, make about 90 small balls. I used a ½ tsp measuring spoon as it was easy to scoop out the dough.
- Do the same for the chocolate dough, make 90 small balls.
- Before you begin preparing the swirl cookies, preheat the oven at 180°C.
- Prepare the baking trays by lining them with a silicone mat or with parchment paper.
- On your worktop place one white, one brown, one white, one brown, one white and one brown ball in the ring form.
- Slowly push the balls with your fingers into the middle, closing the gap.
- Take the dough into your palm. Roll gently and it will create the swirls.
- Press it down very gently between your palms.
- Place the shaped dough on the prepared tray.
- Repeat the above with the remaining balls. Watch the video for the method.
- Bake the cookies for 12-15 minutes.
- At first they will appear soft, but on cooling will become a bit hard. Remember these cookies are soft cookies.
- Allow the cookies to rest on the hot tray for 5 minutes. Then remove them and place them on a wire rack to cool completely.
- Store them in an airtight container.
Notes
- If your kitchen is hot, then leave the small dough balls in the fridge for 5 minutes.
- Don't remove baked cookies immediately from the tray. The hot tray allows the cookies to bake a bit more.
- For more crispier cookies, return them in the oven at 150ºC for 3-5 minutes.
- If the white dough is too soft, add 1 tbsp more of flour.
Pin For Later
A Little Request:
If you do try this recipe then please either
- add a comment below,
- send a picture to my email mayuri.ajay.patel62@gmail.com
- tag me as #mayuri_jikoni on Instagram
- or tag me on Twitter as #Mayuri1962
6 Comments
Priya Vj
October 11, 2023 at 12:33 pm
I have always been fascinated with these kind off swirl of marble effect cookies or cakes . As you said I too became a kid and was awestruck seeing those pics of such melt in mouth cookies.. childhood memories of munching on these cookies are etched and fresh in mind.
mayurisjikoni
October 11, 2023 at 2:50 pm
Thank you so much Priya.
Kalyani
October 12, 2023 at 12:19 am
Awww.. that’s such a sweet gesture to take it for your son and his family.. am sure that moment would be priceless seeing his awestruck face.. only a mom can do it ❤️❤️ and honestly amazed at the collection of homemade cookies you have here, Mayuri !
mayurisjikoni
October 13, 2023 at 7:34 pm
Thank you so much Kalyani. He has asked me to keep them ready when he comes to visit us so he can take with him. I love home baked cookies.
Renu
October 20, 2023 at 4:57 am
I can understand how happy you would have been when you baked for your son and he gave that smile to you. My mom too eagerly makes a few stuff for me when I go. The cookies look awesome and I love the swirl pattern on them. I would try to bake this for my kids, they would love this.
mayurisjikoni
October 21, 2023 at 9:36 pm
Thank you so much Renu,it is something both your kids can help you with as first we have to make the small balls. Put them together in a ring form and then roll gently. Am sure they will be happy to help…with upcoming Diwali or Christmas a good weekend project with them.