Ube cookies are delightfully soft and chewy, packed with real ube halaya, and studded with white chocolate chips for the perfect ube treat. It’s very easy to make too!
(Looking for ube crinkles? Check out this easy and very popular ube crinkle cookies recipe.)
Don’t you just love ube?
When I started my blog all those years ago, I felt alone in my obsession with the humble Filipino purple yam but, happily, it’s gone mainstream since then that even Trader Joe’s sells ube sugar cookies and other treats.
And lemme tell you, I’ve been a busy bee all summer working on all kinds of ube recipe ideas.
These are just some of my newest ones that are fast becoming reader favourites:
- Ube brownies recipe — perfectly chewy and fudgy
- Ube cheesecake bars — a mouthwatering combination of ube brownies and my much beloved ube cheesecake
- Ube pie recipe — Jollibee-style
Today I have ube cookies for you.
Imagine your favourite chewy and fudgy favourite chocolate chip cookie, but ube. It’s so good!
And it’s hard to resist that lovely purple colour, which makes this perfect for celebrations like Christmas and Easter. Let’s get to it.
As much as I love my ube crinkles recipe, I’ve had requests to come up with an ube cookie recipe that’s not a crinkle.
Crinkles are awesome, but I understand a lot of you want good old fashioned ube cookies. Hey, me too!
So this recipe is closer to ube chocolate chip cookies, but with white chocolates. So I suppose we can call it an ube white chocolate cookies recipe if we’re being all formal lol.
Regardless of what you end up calling them, these cookies have the same tender, chewy and fudgy consistency of a chocolate chip cookie but packed with that delicious ube flavour we love.
Making ube cookies is the easiest thing ever. You’ll want to make them all the time.
- No powdered sugar. Unlike crinkles, you don’t need to roll the cookie dough in powdered sugar.
- Don’t need to crackle. And you don’t need to worry about whether they will properly crackle or not. Just place on your baking sheet, bake and enjoy.
- Packed with ube flavour. Like all my ube recipes here on TUB, these cookies are packed with ube flavour not just from ube extract but from a generous amount of ube jam or ube halaya.
- Pretty purple. It’s seriously hard to ignore that purple colour. These will definitely stand out in your cookie tray, at bake sales, and will make for stunning holiday gifts.
- Keeps well. Plus, they keep well. You can leave the cookies in your cookie jar on your counter for up to five days or chill in the fridge for up to 3 weeks. They’ll disappear sooner than that though!
- Delicious. Because they are very, very good cookies. Perfect with coffee, tea or, my personal favourite, milk. Even Santa will appreciate it.
Making ube cookies is easy. The cookie dough needs to chill before baking so you’ll need to plan around that but otherwise, each step is simple and straightforward.
First you’ll want to gather your ingredients.
Ingredients
To make these pretty purple cookies with white chocolate chips, you’ll need:
- All purpose flour
- Cornstarch
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Unsalted butter
- Granulated sugar
- Brown sugar
- Ube jam or ube halaya
- Eggs
- Ube extract
- White chocolate chips
Baking tools
I like using my stand mixer when making these cookies but a handheld electric mixer will also work. Note that the batter is very thick and sticky so you might be in for a little arm workout if using a handheld mixer.
I also use:
- A cookie sheet — I usually use a commercial-sized cookie sheet but a regular-sized one will work as well (see tips below)
- Parchment paper or a Silpat mat
- Mixing bowls
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Rubber spatula
- Cookie scoop — I use a medium-sized cookie scoop. You can also use a regular spoon or even your fingers; a cookie scoop just ensures your cookies are the same size.
I also always recommend using a kitchen scale and an oven thermometer when baking for better results.
Easy recipe with step-by-step photos
1 DRY INGREDIENTS. In a medium sized bowl, whisk all-purpose flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
2 BUTTER AND SUGAR. Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl using a handheld electric mixer, beat unsalted butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar on med-high speed until well blended.
3 UBE. Add ube jam and ube extract and continue beating until incorporated.
4 EGGS. Add eggs and beat until combined
5 FLOUR MIXTURE. Add your flour mixture to your ube mixture in thirds and beat until no more streaks of flour remain. Remember to scrape the bottom and sides of your bowl in every step.
6 WHITE CHOCOLATE CHIPS. Stir in white chocolate chips, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and chill the batter for at least 3 hours.
7 PREHEAT. When ready, preheat your oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
8 ROLL. Scoop about 2 tablespoons of dough and roll into balls using your hands. Place on cookie sheet with about 2 inches of space around each cookie.
9 BAKE. Bake for 10-11 minutes or until the cookies are just set.
10 COOL. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely on the pan. Optional but highly recommended step: as soon as you remove your cookies from the oven, gently press a few pieces of white chocolate chips on top of each cookie. This makes them prettier but note that this adds to their sweetness as well.
Easy, right? Here are tips to make this ube cookies recipe even easier.
- Cookie dough is too sticky. If the dough is too sticky to scoop out, chill it some more. If you’re having difficulty rolling it because your hands are getting sticky, try rolling with damp hands.
- Cookie dough is too hard. If the cookie batter is too tough to scoop out, leave it out on the counter for a few minutes before scooping. Watch that it doesn’t get too soft though.
- Baking chewy cookies. For perfectly chewy cookies, don’t over bake them because they will continue to cook while cooling in the pan. My magic number is 11 minutes but since every oven is different, check at 10 minutes. And always use an oven thermometer to ensure you’re baking at the correct temperature.
- I only have one baking pan. If you only have one baking pan or cookie sheet, no worries. You can use the same pan to bake the whole batch. Just make sure to keep the uncooked cookie dough in the fridge while each batch is cooking and that the pan has cooled completely before using again. Also watch that your oven temperature remains constant.
- Is it necessary to chill the cookie dough? Yes, it is necessary to chill the cookie dough in this Philippine cookies recipe. It helps make the batter manageable to scoop and roll, allows the flavours to come together, and prevents the cookies from spreading too much.
What is ube and other recipe FAQs
Ube is purple yam. It’s often mistaken for purple sweet potato or taro but these are all different from one another.
Ube is not unique to the Philippines but it is definitely a national favourite. It’s made into all sorts of treats like ube ice cream, ube cake, and ube jam.
After all these years, I still find it challenging to describe how ube tastes like.
It’s very unique and doesn’t taste similar to anything I can think of. It’s really one of those things you have to taste for yourself.
Ube jam is often the base of many ube recipes and this cookie recipe is no exception. You need the jam here for that real, earthy, bold ube flavour.
You can find ube jam or ube halaya in Asian supermarkets. You can also find some online. Frankly though, I’ve never been happy with the ones I’ve tried here.
So I make my own ube halaya and couldn’t be happier. I use fresh ube but you can also use frozen ube if that’s what’s available. Check it out.
You also need ube extract in this recipe. It intensifies the ube flavour and helps bring that vibrant violet to the cookies.
Without ube extract, your ube cookies won’t be as purple and the ube flavour will be lacking.
You can find ube extract in Asian supermarkets and Amazon. I use McCormick ube extract or flavouring in my ube recipes.
You can definitely use chocolate chips instead of white chocolate chips in this recipe.
Just note that chocolate chips aren’t as sweet as white chocolate chips so the flavour profile of your cookies will change.
If you’re not planning to bake cookies today, you can chill the cookie dough overnight and bake them tomorrow.
Baked ube cookies will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 weeks. You can serve them chilled or room temperature.
You have two options for storage:
1. In your cookie jar on your counter. Cookies will last up to 5 days. I’ve found that they tend to get very soft and tender the longer they sit though. This is not a bad thing, I just prefer my cookies with a little more fudginess to them. So my recommendation is #2 below.
2. In an airtight container in the fridge. Kept in the fridge, these cookies will last up to 3 weeks. And they will acquire a nice fudgy texture to them, in addition to being soft and tender. Perfect!
Other ube dessert recipes
If you love this purple Filipino dessert as much as I do, you’ll love these other purple dessert recipes.
- Ube chiffon cake is light, airy and melts-in-your-mouth. With its vibrant purple colour and delicious ube flavour, it’s perfect for special occasions. Easy to make, it’s great as an everyday cake too!
- Ube cupcakes are little ube cakes packed with big ube flavour. Soft, dense and just the right amount of sweet. Top with ube whipped cream frosting and sprinkle with toasted shredded coconut for the ultimate Filipino treat.
Ube Cookies Recipe – Soft and Chewy
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1¼ cup brown sugar
- 15 oz ube jam almost 2 cups, room temperature
- 1 pc large egg room temperature
- 1 pc egg yolk from a large egg room temperature
- 2 tbsp ube extract
- 1 cup white chocolate chips more topping
Instructions
- In a medium sized bowl, whisk all-purpose flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl using a handheld electric mixer, beat unsalted butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar on med-high speed until well blended.
- Add ube jam and ube extract and continue beating until incorporated.
- Add eggs and beat until combined.
- Add your flour mixture to your ube mixture in thirds and beat until no more streaks of flour remain. Remember to scrape the bottom and sides of your bowl in every step.
- Stir in white chocolate chips, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and chill the batter for at least 3 hours.
- When ready, preheat your oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Scoop about 2 tablespoons of dough and roll into balls using your hands. Place on cookie sheet with about 2 inches of space around each cookie.
- Bake for 10-11 minutes or until the cookies are just set.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool completely on the pan. Optional but highly recommended step: as soon as you remove your cookies from the oven, gently press a few pieces of white chocolate chips on top of each cookie. This makes them prettier but note that this adds to their sweetness as well.
Video
Notes
- The total number of cookies will depend on how big or small you roll your cookie dough.
- Not all ube jams are made the same. I make my own ube halaya and if you use that to make your ube cookies, you don’t need to change anything in the recipe. If you use store-bought ube jam, taste your cookie dough before adding in the egg so you can decide if you need more sugar, ube or both. Make sure to add sugar or ube in small increments.
- See post for complete step-by-step photos, lots of baking tips, and FAQs.
Nutrition
Nutritional information are estimates only.
Happy baking!
Did you make ube cookies? I’d love to hear from you in the comments section below. If you’re looking for all things ube, check out this delicious collection of the best must-try ube desserts.
And let’s get social! Find me on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.
Michele
For the egg and egg yolk, what does the pc stand for?
Jolina
Hi Michele, it’s “piece”. Happy baking!
KC
If I wanted to freeze, would you recommend freezing before or after baking?
Jolina
I would freeze the dough instead of the baked cookies.
Pete
Can I modify the sugar in this recipe to make them less sweet?
Jolina
Hi Pete, sugar is in the recipe not only for sweetness but for texture too. If you want to adjust the sweetness, I suggest decreasing the amount of white chocolate chips instead. Happy baking!
M
Really good! I used rehydrated ube powder instead of ube extract and jam and it worked great, I just needed to add .5-.75 cup flour to make the dough thicker. I’ve also had these chilled for a few days and they bake fine. Will definitely make again!
Jolina
Hi M, glad you liked them! And thanks for sharing your changes, I get many questions about how to use ube powder and this is very helpful 🙂
Joan
Loved the cookies. Not too sweet and almost a nutty flavor from the ube. Definitely a keeper. Only drawback is they are rather expensive to make, but worth it.
Abegayle
How do you maintain the deep UBE color. Mine seem to become grayish when exposed to the heat of the oven
Jolina
Hi Abegayle, probably the brand of ube extract I use? I always use McCormick.
Caroline
Can you chill the dough overnight?
Jolina
Hi Caroline, yes you can. Happy baking!
Phyllis D
Love the recipe. I wasn’t sure about the flour weight. Some say 120 per cup and some say 140 per cup. They taste really good.
Jolina
Hi Phyllis, I had the same problem when I was starting out so I measured flour for myself and stuck with it 🙂 Glad you enjoyed the ube cookies!
ES
If I want to make the recipe into 1/2, can I still use 1 egg and 1 eggyolk?
Dan
Mix them together and mesure two liquid oz, 1 large egg is 1.62 oz, approximately .4 oz for the yolk. Make scrambled eggs with the reminder for a egg Mcmuffin.