Berry swirl cookies are made with freeze-dried blueberries and raspberries to create a fun marbled effect. They're surprisingly easy to make with one dough base and there's no chilling time, so you can have a batch ready in 30 minutes!
Heather's recipe summary
Flavor/texture: Soft, tender sugar cookies filled with real blueberry and raspberry flavors and colors (no food coloring!), coated in a crunchy sugar crust.
Key ingredients: Freeze-dried blueberry and raspberry powders.
Yield: 32 cookies
Similar to: Strawberry Sugar Cookies, Soft Sugar Cookies, Lemon Sugar Cookie Bars
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Ingredients and substitutions
- Wet ingredients - Unsalted butter, eggs, granulated sugar, and vanilla extract add moisture and flavor to the cookie dough. Unsalted butter and the listed salt can be substituted with salted butter if desired. Don't reduce the sugar, this will make your cookies dry.
- Dry ingredients - All-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt balance with the wet ingredients and add structure and lift. I've only tested this recipe with all-purpose flour. To prevent wasting ingredients, search for a recipe developed for your preferred flour instead of making an untested substitution in this recipe.
- Freeze-dried powders - You'll need two freeze-dried powders to create the swirl effect in these cookies. I used blueberry (purple) and raspberry (pink). Strawberry, apple, banana, or mango would also work. Use two different colors for best results. You can find freeze-dried fruits in the produce or nut section of your local grocery store or on Amazon.
How to make berry swirl cookies
- Add wet ingredients to a large bowl and beat until creamed and fluffy. In a separate bowl, whisk together dry ingredients.
- Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Divide dough in half. Add raspberry powder to one bowl and blueberry powder to the other bowl. Mix until fully incorporated.
- Use a medium (1.5 tablespoon) cookie scoop to scoop small portions of each color. For best results, scoop each color at least twice for each cookie.
- Roll dough balls in granulated sugar and place 2 inches apart on a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Bake until cookies begin to crack on top and edges barely begin to brown. Cookies will feel set on top when gently pressed.
Heather's Top Tip
For accurate results every time, use a kitchen scale to measure flour by weight. If you don't have a kitchen scale, use the spoon and level method. Stir the flour (especially if it's been packed down in a bag/container), then gently spoon into the measuring cup, leveling off the top with a knife. Scooping with a measuring cup compacts flour into the cup and adds up to 25% extra to the recipe, resulting in dry, bland cookies that don't spread properly.
Tips and tricks
Use a medium cookie scoop - To achieve the same cookie yield, use a medium 1.5 tablespoon cookie scoop. I used an OXO Good Grips Medium Cookie Scoop (Amazon).
Scoop each color multiple times - I scooped a small amount of each color 1-2 times alternating for each cookie shown in the photos.
Don't chill the dough - This recipe doesn't require any chilling time. If you do need to chill your dough before preparing your cookies, allow it to come back to room temperature before baking. Chilled/frozen dough won't spread nearly as much as room temperature dough.
How to marble with half plain dough - If you've only got one fruit powder on hand, you can still create a fun fruit swirl cookie. Divide your dough and add fruit powder to one half and 2 tablespoons of flour to the other half. This accounts for the lack of additional powder and prevents the plain dough from spreading too much in the oven.
Frequently asked questions
Baked cookies will keep for 3 to 5 days at room temperature. To help keep your cookies soft, place a slice of bread in the container and replace as it gets hard.
Yes, cookies (and dough) can be frozen for up to 3 months in a sealed, freezer-safe container. To thaw, place on the counter top, uncovered, for 1-2 hours.
I ordered my powders online from Amazon. Here are the exact powders I used to make my cookies:
- Jungle Powders Organic Wild Blueberry Powder
- Jungle Powders Organic Raspberry Powder
No, this recipe was developed to be made with freeze-dried fruit powders only. Adding a very wet ingredient, like fresh/frozen berries or jam, changes the texture of the dough considerably and will result in a runny dough that is likely to spread and burn in the oven.
Sure! If you'd like more vibrant colors, feel free to add a few drops of food coloring along with the vanilla extract.
Cookies won't spread in the oven if too much flour was added or the dough is chilled/frozen. If your dough looks very thick and dry at room temperature, it sounds like too much flour was measuring into the recipe. Try adding 1-2 tablespoons of milk to thin the dough. Allow cold dough to come to room temperature before baking.
Cookies can spread too much if they're baked on a greased baking sheet instead of parchment paper, or if too many liquid ingredients are added (like butter, sugar, or trying to use fresh berries instead of freeze-dried powder). Try chilling your dough and baking on parchment to help your cookies spread less in the oven.
Recommended
📖 Recipe
Berry Swirl Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 ¼ cups (250 g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 ¾ cups (330 g) all-purpose flour, *measured properly
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 ½ tablespoons (21 g) freeze-dried blueberry powder, or .75 ounces
- 2 ½ tablespoons (21 g) freeze-dried raspberry powder, or .75 ounces
- ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar, for rolling
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉ and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- If you haven't yet, add your freeze-dried blueberries and raspberries, one at a time, to a food processor and pulse until you have fine powders of each. Set them aside for a later step.
- In a large bowl, add butter and sugar. Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, cream together until light and fluffy, about a minute. Add eggs and vanilla extract and beat until fluffy, about a minute.
- In a separate bowl, whisk (or sift) together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Gradually stir dry ingredients into butter mixture until just combined.
- Divide dough in half (use a kitchen scale for accurate results). Add blueberry powder to one half and raspberry powder to the other half. Stir to incorporate powders.
- Use a medium (1.5 tablespoon) cookie scoop to scoop small portions of each color to create a marbled effect (scoop each dough twice per scoop). Alternatively, pinch a scant tablespoon of each color and roll into a ball with your hands. Roll balls in granulated sugar.
- Place cookie dough balls 2 inches apart onto a parchment lined baking sheet (find the best marbling and place it face up).
- Bake for about 12-14 minutes, or until cookies begin to crack on top and barely begin to brown around the edges. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
Equipment Recommendations
Notes
- Freeze-dried fruits - Freeze-dried blueberries and raspberries can be substituted with your favorite freeze-dried fruit like strawberry, mango, or banana. Fruits must be freeze-dried, not fresh or frozen. Adding fresh fruits to this recipe will result in a wet, messy dough.
- * How to measure flour properly: Use a kitchen scale to measure flour for accurate results every time. If you don't have a kitchen scale, use the spoon and level method. Stir the flour (especially if it's been packed down in a bag/container), then gently spoon into the measuring cup, leveling off the top with a knife. Scooping with a measuring cup compacts flour into the cup and adds up to 25% extra to the recipe, resulting in dry, bland cookies that don't spread properly.
- Storage: Cookies will keep for 3-5 days in a sealed container. To help keep cookies fresh, place a slice of bread in the container with the cookies. Replace the bread slice as needed.
- Storing dough: Raw cookie dough will keep in the refrigerator for 3 days. Cookie dough balls (and baked cookies) freeze well, up to 3 months in a sealed plastic container or freezer bag.
- More tips: Be sure to check out my 10 tips for baking cookies, based on reader comments and questions!
I had so much fun creating this recipe! I hope you give it a try and love it as much as I do. If you have a question, check out the post above, which is packed with information about the recipe. Tried the recipe? I'd love to hear your thoughts — leave a comment and a star rating to share your feedback!