When you can’t choose between Vanilla or Chocolate, just go half and half with these Chocolate Vanilla Marble Cookies!
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Is it just me, or sometimes, you just REALLY crave for simple, delicious cookies? I am all about elaborate, intricate desserts but let’s be honest… often, ain’t no body got time for that! So my go-to sweet treats are, like most people, cookies!
This recipe started as something completely different… but like often in baking, things don’t turn out the way you wanted. But also like often, a baking fail can easily be turned into a baking miracle! Although these Vanilla Chocolate Marble Biscuits weren’t supposed to be the way the ended up being, I think they got even better than the initial idea.
How to make these Vanilla and Chocolate Cookies
When you say ‘Marble Cookies’, you usually think of beautiful sugar cookies glazed with marble-look royal icing like these super cute Heart Cookies from Sugar Spun Run. They are truely beautiful cookies, but to be honest… I know absolutely nothing about royal icing and sugar cookies decoration! So for this recipe, the marble-look is simply created with two cookie short pastries combined into one.
Ok, let’s dive into the recipe!
Making these Marbled Cookies is really quick and easy. You simply need to make two different cookie short pastries, then combine them into one:
- a Chocolate Short Pastry
- a Vanilla Short Pastry
The process of making these two short pastries is based off a recipe for Checkerboard Cookies found in my favourite French Pastry Book “French Patisserie: Master Recipes and Techniques from the Ferrandi School of Culinary Art “. On a side note, if you are super into French Pastry like I am, this book is a real bible and I highly recommend getting it!
The recipe for the two short pastries are basically the same, but one uses the Vanilla Extract while the other uses the Cacao Powder. The quantities are also the same for both pastries, but note that I have slightly reduced the quantity of Plain Flour in the chocolate one because the Cacao Powder can make the dough dry.
Chocolate Vanilla Marble Biscuits Ingredients
- Butter
- Confectionner’s Sugar (or powdered white sugar)
- Salt
- Eggs
- Almond Meal
- Plain Flour
- Unsweetened Cacao Powder
- Vanilla Extract
How to make the Marble Effect in these Chocolate Vanilla Cookies
The trickiest part of the recipe will be to combine both pastries into one to create the Marble-Effect. Though when I say tricky… it is actually quite easy! Simply roll your two pastries separately, then roughly break them into pieces. Yes, it is a fun process! You really don’t need to be precise here, the goal is just to then alternate some of the chocolate pastry with some of the vanilla one.
With the white and brown pastry pieces, re-make a single ball of pastry. There are no right or wrong techniques to do so. Just place the coloured pieces next to each other and/or on top of each other then rassemble them tightly into a ball. You will then re-roll that combined pastry ball and see the fun marble-effect!
If you find that the chocolate or vanilla pieces are too large or disproportionate, just remove some of the other coloured pastry from one of the edge, place it in the middle of the disproportionate piece and gently press on it with your rolling pin to ‘glue’ them together. Then, using a fun Fluted Cookie Cutter, simply shape your Vanilla and Chocolate Marble Cookies and bake them!
More Cookies Recipe:
Sablé Breton Cookies (Salted Butter French Cookies)
Almond Tahini Cookies
Triple Chocolate Tahini Cookies
3 Ingredients Almond Cookies
Coconut Macaroons
How to make Half Vanilla Half Chocolate Marble Cookies
Vanilla and Chocolate Marble Cookies
Ingredients
Chocolate Short Pastry
- 1/4 cup (60gr) Butter
- 3 1/2 tbsp (25gr) Confectionner’s Sugar
- 1 pinch Salt
- 1 Egg
- 1/4 cup (20gr) Almond Meal
- 2/3 cup (85gr) Plain Flour
- 1 1/2 tbsp (10gr) Unsweetened Cacao Powder
Vanilla Short Pastry
- 1/4 cup (60gr) Butter
- 3 1/2 tbsp (25gr) Confectionner’s Sugar
- 1/2 teasp. Vanilla Extract
- 1 pinch Salt
- 1 Egg
- 1/4 cup (20gr) Almond Meal
- 3/4 cup (100gr) Plain Flour
Instructions
Chocolate Short Pastry
- Dice the butter. In a large bowl, rub the Butter and Confectionner’s Sugar together until you get a fine crumb consistency.
- Lightly beat the Egg with the Salt, then work it in with the Butter/Sugar.Sift in the Almond Meal, Plain Flour and Unsweetened Cacao Powder. Assemble the pastry into a ball, cover with wrap and gently press on it to flatten the ball. Place in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes.
Vanilla Short Pastry
- Dice the butter. In a large bowl, rub the Butter and Confectionner’s Sugar together until you get a fine crumb consistency.
- Lightly beat the Egg with the Salt and Vanilla Extract, then work it in with the Butter/Sugar.Sift in the Almond Meal and Plain Flour. Assemble the pastry into a ball, cover with wrap and gently press on it to flatten the ball. Place in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes.
How to assemble the Marble Cookies
- Preheat your oven on 180’C.Line a large baking tray with baking paper or a baking mat and set aside.
- On a lightly floured surface, thinly roll the two short pastries. Roughly break the two pastries into small pieces, then re-form one large ball of dough with the pieces of chocolate pastry and vanilla pastry. Add some more flour onto the working surface if needed, then thinly roll the unified pastry a second time.
- Using a Cookie Cutter, cut small rounds out of the cookie pastry and transfer them on your baking tray (you may need to use a flat spatula to transfer them). Bake in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the cookies. When baked, place the cookies on a cooling rack and let them cool down completely.
A perfect flavour combination for a cookie if I may say so. Thank you for linking to #CookBlogShare
Thanks Jacqui! Cant go wrong with Vanilla and Chocolate 🙂
What a delicious combination of flavours – and they look absolutely beautiful!
Glad you like it Alex!
These look great Sylvie! I love that you get to ‘play’ with the 2 different pastries to make the marble effect. Nom nom!!
It was like playing with play-doh – so much fun haha!
These cookies are totally calling my name. I love the mix of chocolate and vanilla.
You definitely need to answer that call haha!
These look delicious! Love the addition of almond meal in them – am a little obsessed with that in baking at the moment !
I love to put Almond Meal everywhere too!
What pretty little cookies! The Peas would love these!
I’m sure they would!
These sound so good! And look pretty too 🙂
Thanks Sally 🙂
What pretty dappled cookies. I just love how no one mix will be the same. The kids would love to make them. Will try them in the half term holidays! Thanks so much for bringing to #BakingCrumbs.
Thanks so much Jenny! I love how original every single cookie looks too, and it is definitely a fun one to make with kids!
These sound delicious and remind me of one of my childhood favourites – Marble Cake only in a cookie form! Quick and easy cookie recipe is always en vogue and with our school holidays approaching these would be great to have on tap for myself and the kids! Thank you for sharing your cookies with #BakingCrumbs 🙂
Marble Cake is such a childhood cake for me too! I cannot wait to make these with kids too, putting them together is just too much fun!
Oops forgot to rate first time around! 🙂
These look like they will be in my oven this weekend 🤤🤤
Riiiight where they belong!
Such pretty biscuits!
thanks Kat!
My kids would love these – one loves all things chocolate and the other vanilla so it’s the perfect recipe! #bakingcrumbs
It’s like the best of both world – and if it makes your kids happy, I’m all for it 😉
Your cookies look great, I love the marble effect and mixing two great flavours together in one yummy bake!
Thank you Jenny, glad you liked the recipe!
This looks so tasty! I will definitely need to try it soon
Let me know when you do 🙂