Gorgeously gift-able marble iced sugar cookies are surprisingly easy to make, no special skills required ~ customize them to any occasion!
These pretty marble iced sugar cookies are easy to make, no fancy baking skills or fancy techniques required. On top of that, they can be coordinated to any event or holiday, just change out the colors.
I streamline the process of dipping delicious cardamom sugar cookies into a powdered sugar icing that’s been swirled with dabs of food coloring to create one of a kind cookies with little effort. It’s a homemade treat you’ll be proud to share with friends this holiday season ~ each marbled cookie is a unique masterpiece!
what’s in this post
what you’ll need for marble iced sugar cookies
the sugar cookies
The cookie is a simple vanilla cardamom sugar cookie, cut into thick rounds.
- butter
- flour
- white sugar
- egg
- salt
- baking powder
- vanilla
- cardamom
the marbled icing
You could use royal icing but I prefer to make a basic powdered sugar glaze. It’s what makes these marble iced sugar cookies such an easy project.
- powdered sugar
- milk
- water
- liquid food coloring or gel food coloring
- You want something that’s in liquid form, not a paste, so you can drip or drizzle it over your icing. I used Americolor which is a gel/paste food coloring and I actually thought it was a little too thick. (Good old grocery store food coloring will work fine.)
how to make a marbled icing
- Mix together powdered sugar with enough milk and water to create a thick but dip-able glaze. I like to flavor it with vanilla.
- Divide your icing between 2-3 wide shallow bowls (for more surface area.)
- Dab or drizzle food coloring across the surface in a haphazard manner.
- Take a toothpick or chopstick and gently swirl the colors together. Don’t over-swirl or your colors will blend together and become muddy.
related: Marbleized Chocolate Bark
how to dip cookies into marbled icing
- Dip each cooled cookie headfirst into the swirled glaze, then lift straight up, letting excess frosting drip down. Don’t sink the cookie deep into the frosting, you want to pick up the swirled colors on the surface.
- Give the cookie a twist to turn it upright, and then set on a rack to dry thoroughly.
- Each marble iced sugar cookie will be unique!
- When one bowl of icing gets ‘muddy’ and the colors have blended too much, move on to a fresh bowl.
- Let the icing dry completely before handling or storing.
tips and tricks for marble iced sugar cookies
Thicker cookies are easier to handle when dunking, so keep this in mind when rolling your dough and cutting your cookies. Aim for 1/3 inch.
Do a test dunk into your icing before adding color, just to make sure it’s the right consistency. It should coat the cookie nicely, and the excess should drip off easily. Add a bit more sugar if too thin, and a bit more water if too thick.
Rather than making one bowl of icing, divide it between 2 or 3 wide shallow bowls. Each bowl will get ‘muddy’ after several dips, so dividing it will give you prettier cookies.
Be sure to let your decorated sugar cookies dry thoroughly before stacking, storing, or freezing. This can take several hours.
You can use just one or two colors for a simpler color palette.
Add a light dusting of edible glitter or luster dust to your marble iced cookies while the glaze is wet.
why we love these marble iced sugar cookies
You get the satisfaction of producing a beautifully decorated cookie, without the fuss. I love that and I’ve got other cookie recipes that produce gorgeous results with minimal effort:
These cookies are just plain fun.
They provide a pop of pretty color to your holiday cookie collection.
It’s an easy enough project to do with kids.
Marble Iced Sugar Cookies
Equipment
- baking sheets
- parchment paper
Ingredients
dry ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp cardamom
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp kosher or coarse salt
wet ingredients
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 Tbsp vanilla paste or extract
- 1 large egg, room temperature if possible
icing*
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 6 Tbsp milk
- 6 Tbsp water
- 1/2 tsp vanilla, optional
- various colors of liquid or gel food coloring
Instructions
- Whisk the dry ingredients together in a bowl and set aside.
- Cream the butter, sugar, and vanilla together, scraping down the bowl to get everything combined. Blend in the egg.
- Fold the dry ingredients into the wet to form a soft pliable dough.
- While the dough is soft, roll it out to 1/4-1/3 inch thick. You can do this on a large sheet of parchment paper, with another sheet on top of the dough to prevent sticking. I found the top sheet unecessary, as a little dusting of flour worked fine.
- Slice the parchment paper and dough onto a baking sheet and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Remove the cookie dough from the fridge and cut into rounds with a 2 1/2 inch cookie cutter. Place 2 inches apart on your cookie sheets and bake for 12-14 minutes. They will still be pale, but just starting to turn golden around the edges.
- Cool the cookies on a rack until completely cooled before dipping.
marbled icing
- Blend together the sugar, milk, water, and vanilla to make a smooth runny icing. You can do this in a food processor, or by hand. Divide the icing into 2 bowls and cover with plastic wrap. Let sit while the cookies cool, this will allow the bubbles to surface.
- When the cookies are completely cooled, I suggest testing the consistency of your icing by dipping one cookie headfirst into the glaze, then flipping it over to set back on the rack. If the consistency seems fine** drop or drizzle a bit of each color across the surface of the white icing. Take a toothpick or chopstick and gently swirl the colors together. Be careful not to swirl too much, or the colors will blend and get muddy.
- Dip each cookie headfirst into the marbled icing, lift straight up, and give it a twist to set it upright on the rack. As the colors get too muddy in your first bowl of icing, move on to the next.
- Let the icing dry completely before serving or storing the cookies.
Notes
Nutrition
Such a fun project and tasty cookies! Our only issue was the icing as written was almost clear and watery. Had to add about two more cups of powdered sugar to make it usable. Any suggestions?
Good morning Sue! I made 2 batches of these beautiful cookies and they are delicious!
Only change I made was I used 1/2 tsp. each cinnamon and nutmeg as we aren’t lovers of cardamom. I had trouble with the dough each time as it didn’t form into a soft dough; it was very crumbly in the mixer. I had to use my hands to “knead” it for it to come together. What did I do wrong? I also found my antique cookie cutters—tree, bell and moon along with the round cutter and they look beautiful; I wish I could send a photo. I appreciate any suggestions you can give me as I plan on putting this recipe on my Christmas list for each year but can also adapt it to other occasions!
Thank you for a wonderful, delicious, recipe—You Rock!
Susan
Hi Susan, I’d love to see them, if you’re on facebook or instagram tag @theviewfromgreatisland! If your dough is super crumbly just add a small touch of liquid like milk to bring it together, but don’t add too much! If the dough comes together successfully by kneading it together with your hands, then that’s fine.
So happy you loved these!
Hi Sue, I LOVE your blog and am going to try these cookies with red and green for Christmas. How far ahead can I make if I freeze them? Does freezing affect the icing? Thanks!! They are beautiful!
I froze some of my cookies as a test and they came through fine. I would think you could freeze them now for Christmas without any issues.
Thanks so much. Merry Christmas to you and yours, and thanks for all of the inspiration!