Marble cookies

Marble cookies swirl vanilla cookie dough and chocolate cookie dough together to make a delicious and decadent cookie.

Marble cookies might look fancy but they simply take our easy vanilla cookie and our chocolate cookie dough and swirl them together. They’re deliciously soft and chewy on the inside while being a little bit crispy on the outside (just like every good cookie should be) but best of all super easy to make.

We’ve used our favourite easy cookie recipe but added chocolate to half of it before swirling the two parts together. It’s an easy way of making this basic cookie much more fun looking.

Their eye catching marbling effect makes these perfect for cake sales and parties.

How can kids help to make marble cookies?

Cookies are great bakes for kids and these fun marble cookies are no exception. Although they look more fun than regular chocolate chip cookies, they’re no more difficult to make.

This recipe is based on our favourite easy chocolate chip cookies which I love because not only are the delicious, they mix everything together in one bowl. I always look for this when I’m baking with my kids as it makes them really easy and it also means less washing up for you!

While making these cookies, your kids will get to measure everything out and mix it all together to make the basic cookie dough. There’s also the chance to practice cracking an egg, which is an important kitchen skill to all young bakers to master.

Scooping out the balls of cookie dough before marbling them together is a fun job, and if your kids like playing with playdough they should be good at it. It’s also a lot easier than recipes which need you to roll and cut out biscuits, so it’s perfect for even young children and toddlers.

What can I use instead of self raising flour?

If you don’t have any self raising flour (which you should be able to pick up in the supermarket here in the UK), you can use an equal quantity of plain or all purpose flour and add a teaspoon of baking powder and a pinch of salt.

How long do marble cookies keep?

Marble cookies will keep in an air tight container, at room temperature for around three days.

If you want to keep them for longer or make them ahead of time, you can freeze them for up to 3 months. To freeze them, wrap them individually in cling film and pop them in a freezer bag. Defrost them fully at room temperature before you serve them.

You can also freeze the raw cookie dough, again for up to three months. Bake them straight from frozen.

What can I use instead of brown sugar?

You could swap the soft brown sugar for an equal quantity of caster sugar. The brown sugar keeps the inside of the cookies nice and soft and adds a bit more flavour but caster sugar will also work.

If you want you can also use a mix of brown (100g) and caster sugar (50g) which will make the cookies lovely and soft on the inside, and give the cookies a nice crisp crust.

How do you stop the marble cookies from spreading too much in the oven?

The best way of stopping cookies from spreading is by putting them in the fridge to chill before you bake them. I recommend chilling them for at least 15 minutes.

More delicious cookies

If you liked these marble cookies why not try some of our other favourite easy cookie recipes for kids:

Nutella stuffed cookies
Fudge cookies
Sprinkles cookies
Chocolate marshmallow cookies
Raspberry and white chocolate cookies
Caramel stuffed cookies
Biscoff stuffed cookies
Double chocolate chip cookies
White chocolate chip cookies
Rolo cookies
Blueberry cookies

Useful equipment

You might need the following baking tools/gadgets to make these marble cookies

Digital scales
Freestanding mixer
Mixing bowl
Wooden spoons
Measuring cups
Measuring spoons
Baking tray
Wire rack

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Ingredients

150g (½ cup) soft brown sugar
100g (½ cup) butter
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
175g (1 1/2 cups) self raising flour
25g (¼ cup) cocoa powder
30g (1/3 cup) extra self raising flour
100g chocolate chips (50g milk chocolate, and 50g white chocolate)

How to make marble cookies

Pre-heat your oven to 180C / 170C Fan / 350F and line 2 -3 baking trays with baking or parchment paper.

Cream the butter and sugar together

Get your kids to measure out the sugar, and the butter and and add them both to a large mixing bowl or a free-standing mixer if you have one.
Before you add the butter, cut it into a few small pieces to make it easier to blend in and if it’s not soft, (we keep ours in the fridge so it’s never soft) pop it in the microwave for a few seconds to soften it – but not long enough for it to melt.

Using the k-paddle of your free-standing mixer, a hand held mixer or even wooden spoons cream the butter and sugar together until the mixture is nice and light and fluffy.

Add the egg and vanilla

Measure the vanilla extract and pour it into your bowl. If you’re making this with very young children, you might need to hold the teaspoon steady while they pour in the vanilla or vice versa.

Next, get your kids to crack the egg into a small bowl before adding it to your mixing bowl. We generally never add eggs straight into the mixing bowl just in case any shell goes in. If/when it does, use a larger piece of shell or a tea spoon to fish it out (it will stick to this better than it will your finger and it’s less messy!)

Mix the vanilla extract and egg in. Don’t worry if your mixture looks a little sloppy at this point.

Add the flour

Measure the flour out and add it to your mixing bowl along. Give everything one more mix until it all comes together in a nice stiff ball of cookie dough.

Form the marble cookies

Divide the mixture into two, and add the extra 30g flour and the milk chocolate chips to one half and mix them in. Add the cocoa powder and the white chocolate chips to the other half and mix that in.

Take a small portion (about a tablespoon) of each cookie dough and press them together. Roll them into a ball allowing them to marble together. Place it on your baking tray. Repeat with the rest of the dough, allowing space for each cookie to spread a little on your trays.