Try these Ube crinkle cookies if you have a sweet tooth and a passion for freshly-baked cookies or appreciate the nutty, rich flavor of purple yum cookies!
I bet you’ll instantly be addicted! These amazing treats are incredibly soft, deliciously chewy, and slammed pack with the robust, super delicious, and slightly nutty flavor.
Indulging in just one bite will leave you craving for more! These fantastic treats – which are rolled in flavorful powdered sugar – are hard to put down once you get started! I promise that you will find it impossible just to eat one!
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I have personally baked dozens of these delicious and highly addictive crinkle cookies for my family throughout the years.
The result is a great balance between softness, sweetness, and chewy consistency.
In addition to being amazing, you can create extra batches and freeze them for later usage. I am telling you, though, you may not find it in yourself to save them for later. It is challenging to set these treats aside!
Continue reading to learn about these sweet treats and how to make them for you and your family!
What is Ube?
Ube crinkle cookies may not sound too appealing – especially if you are not familiar with ube. This is a purple yam that is native to the Philippines.
It is prevalent in the Filipino culture and cuisine – especially for dessert dishes. Its rich purple coloring combined with its earthy, rich, and nut-like flavor makes it a favorite among the locals.
It is usually boiled, mashed, and then combined with sensationally sweet condensed milk. Regardless of how you use it, blend it, or the dish you create with it, you are sure to find yourself instantly craving more!
How does Ube taste?
The taste of the ube is quite distinct. It is similar to the sweet potato‘s American-version, only it is not quite as sweet, nor is the taste as bold as the sweet potato.
Is Ube the same thing as Taro?
The ube and the Taro are both root vegetables and are often confused with one another; however, they are entirely different. Ube is a food product that is used typically in sweet dishes. On occasion, it may be combined with spices to create main dishes, but not too often.
On the other hand, Taro is used to create rich, savory dishes, such as main courses and sides.
These root vegetables are classified as “tubers”; however, Taro is not called or referred to as a “yam”. It is cultivated from a completely different plant than ube, the taro plant.
Once cut, you will find that the flesh of the Taro is pale and contains purple specks. While the outside of the ube is similar to the Taro, you will find that its flesh is mostly a deep, royal, purplish color once it is cut open.
Is Ube considered to be a healthy vegetable?
Generally speaking, the nutritional-based profile of the ube is quite similar to your good ole’ sweet potato. This means that it is very high in fiber, includes multiple vitamins and minerals, and even has a healthy carbs level.
It’s purple coloring also results in it having an immense level of antioxidants. It has a solid nutritional profile and is considered a healthy vegetable that offers numerous health benefits.
Despite its nutritional profile, you should avoid going wild on creating desserts using the ube. Remember, all those sweet additions – such as sugar, cream, and the added fat – of the desserts you can make often nullify the overall health benefits of the ube.
It is essential – for your health – that you enjoy these desserts in moderation, even though you will find it exceptionally difficult to do. Moderate indulgence is best, just like with the other sweet treats that you consume.
Tips for baking:
1 To create an indulgent, chewy texture to your ube crinkle cookies, use glutinous rice flour.
- As a note, never attempt to substitute the regular type of rice flour for the glutinous version.
- The glutinous rice flour can create a creamy, chewy texture because it is the same as the mochi or mochiko flour.
- To find this at your local grocery store, look on the international aisle or the aisle specializing in Asian foods.
2 All of the dry ingredients that you use must be sifted.
- The main reason is that the glutinous rice flour you use tends to clump, resulting in the ingredients sticking together.
- By sifting, you will find that it is much easier to combine all of your ingredients.
3 You should either chill or freeze your completed dough before using the scooper.
- This helps ensure that the dough gains more height. It also prevents the cookies from reaching a melting point once in the oven.
- Flash freeze the dough for 20 minutes before scooping with a disher (ice cream scooper) to save time when forming.
4 Always use a little more powdered sugar when making these cookies.
- This will increase the amount of crispiness to achieve. Plus, that white crinkle-like crust is part of the addiction behind these cookies.
- Pour the white sugar into a bowl, take the dough balls, and roll them around in the bowl.
- Once finished, just put them on the baking sheet about an inch apart.
- If you fail to use enough powdered sugar, you will quickly find that the white crust will not form properly, and you do not want to lose it.
5 Replace the glutinous rice flour with all-purpose flour if you would rather your texture be soft and light.
- This helps get a contrasting texture that will almost result in the delicious sweet cookies melting in your mouth!
Why do I have to chill the dough?
Believe it or not, the secret to creating the best-tasting ube crinkle cookies comes from making sure that the dough is chilled before the baking process.
If you fail to take this step, your cookies will come out of the oven lacking the same flavor and will be completely flat, too. Just prepare the dough balls, put them on your baking sheet, and put them in the refrigerator. Once you remove the balls, roll them all in the powdered sugar.
Why you need to chill the cookie dough
If the dough chills for too long, you may find that the cookies fail to spread into that even-like cookie appearance while they cook.
Once you chill the balls and roll them in the powdered sugar, it is best to let them sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes before putting them in the oven.
If you prefer to skip this step, you could – very lightly – press the dough balls down so that they are flattened just a bit before cooking.
How do I chill or freeze the dough?
If you find that you love the taste of these amazing ube cookies, you can create multiple cookie dough batches ahead of time. Be sure NOT to add the powdered sugar, though! Once you have the dough ready, you just put it in an air-tight container. They will keep for a month or a little longer.
Follow these steps:
- First, get a baking sheet and line it with wax paper.
- Next, prepare your dough – in completion -but, remember, no powdered sugar!
- Once the dough is ready, take a disher or an ice cream scooper and scoop balls of dough onto the baking sheet.
- Next, place them in the freezer for about 30 minutes.
- Once the time is up, remove them from the baking sheet and put them into an air-tight container or a freezer bag.
- Once you are ready to use the frozen dough, remove it from the freezer and roll in the powdered sugar.
- Either let them sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes or lightly press them to flatten and bake!
How to freeze the dough
Thawing technique
- Place the frozen cookie dough balls and put them on a lined baking sheet.
- Then, allow them to sit there while you preheat the oven.
- Once the oven is ready, you may roll the dough balls in the confectioner sugar and bake for about 15 minutes.
- You want the center to be soft, but the edges should be set.
Making the Ube-based crinkle cookies
The combinations of “ube halaya” jam and the ube extract provide crinkle cookies with their vibrant coloring and robust, rich flavor.
Below, I am sharing my recipe for these cookies. I developed this recipe after making batch after batch for my family. You are sure to love it! I advise creating extra batches and freezing for future use!
Why didn’t my crinkles crinkle?
You may wonder why your crinkles didn’t crinkle or didn’t have the appearance that you were expecting for. Here are the following issues and how to fix them.
Reason 1 You didn’t chill the dough properly.
As a cliche goes, “good things come to those who wait”, the same as the cookie dough. If the dough is not chilled enough, you can expect it to spread too quickly while in the baking process. Hence, you’ll lose those crinkles.
Reason 2 Your oven is not at the right temperature.
Each oven varies in temperature. You can check its exact temperature by using an oven thermometer. Read here how to identify the right hot spots.
Reason 3 You added too much flour.
A food scale is essential in baking to determine your dough has the right amount of structure.
Reason 4 Expired leaveners.
Test the freshness of your baking powder to ensure that your cookies will get the right amount of cracks. You can check this post to learn more on how to check the freshness of baking powder.
Reason 5 Mishandling the dough.
Avoid touching or moving the dough once it is already coated with powdered sugar. Just put them straight to the baking sheet, and off they go to the oven.
Grab these ingredients
For Dry Ingredients:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour (or 120 grams)
- ½ cup glutinous rice flour (or 55 grams)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
For Wet Ingredients:
- ½ cup unsalted butter (melted) (or 113 g)
- 50 g white sugar (or ¼ cup)
- ¼ cup dark brown sugar (or 54 g)
- 1 large whole egg + 1 egg yolk (at room temperature)
- 160 g Ube puree or Ube Halaya jam
- 1 tsp Ube extract
Dusting:
- ½ cup Powdered sugar (add extra for even coating)
Step by step instructions
Step 1
The Dry Ingredients:
- Take the flour, salt, and baking powder in a medium bowl and whisk.
- Once thoroughly combined, set it aside for now.
Sift the dry ingredients
Step 2
The Wet Ingredients:
- Melt the butter for 15 seconds interval until melted.
- Then add brown sugar and granulated sugar to a large bowl and mix well.
- Once the wet ingredients are mixed thoroughly, add the (room temperature) whole egg + the yolk.
- Immediately after that, add your ube extract and “halaya” puree. Mix this until the color is all the same.
Step 3
- Next, add the dry ingredients to your wet ingredients. Mix all until thoroughly combined.
- Take the finished dough bowl and chill it for 4 hours or best, overnight (or you can place it in the freezer for about 20 to 30 minutes to chill).
Step 4
- Put parchment paper on a baking pan and start preheating the oven to 325°F.
Step 5
- Remove the bowl of dough and start scooping the dough to form balls.
- Roll each ball in granulated sugar first and then drop them into the powdered sugar bowl and coat it well. This step prevents the icing sugar from being absorbed by the dough and you won’t get the crinkle effect. I like to ensure that the dough is completely white on the entire outside.
- Then, set each ball on the baking sheet, providing a space of – at least -an inch between each.
Step 6
- Bake the cookies for 13 minutes if you like soft cookies or 14-15 minutes if you want them crispier outside. They will still appear to be very soft when you pull them out from the oven.
- Take the cookies out from the oven, let them cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, to ensure that the purple yam cookies are firm. Put them on a cooling rack for about 5 minutes.
- They will firm up a bit as they cool down. The inside is still so soft and delicious. Then, serve up!
What is the Ube halaya or Ube jam?
Ube halaya is a trendy dessert among those that live in the Philippines. It is also referred to as “purple yam jam.” Some identify it as “halayang ube”.
The ube is thoroughly cooked and then mashed. Once completely mashed, it will be cooked with combinations of sugar and milk to create a luscious, creamy, and delicious dessert that resembles pudding.
If making this jam, patience and consistency are key, just like when fruit jams are created; this is not made from a fruit, though. But it is made with a starchy root vegetable; therefore, it has a very different texture type.
The consistency and appearance are heavily dependent on the sugar and dairy, combined with ube, making the ube jam.
Where can I buy Ube halaya?
It is relatively easy to find ube halaya. Usually, it is located on the isle in the grocery store that sells international or Asian-based food products. You may also find it at Asian markets. If all else fails, it can be purchased on the internet at Amazon. Just know, this retailer charges quite a bit.
where to buy Ube Halaya
What is the Ube extract?
Ube has its own flavor. The extract is purchased to enhance the taste of the ube recipes that you create. It is similar to vanilla extract. Not only does the extract have the strong nutty-like flavor of the vegetable, but it also contains the royal purple coloring that ube is known for.
Though, the color does not come from the ube. Most manufacturers add purple food coloring to the bottle that the extract is placed within.
Where can I buy the Ube extract?
Again, Asian markets and the Asian aisle at your local grocery store. Look on the baking aisle. If you can’t find it in a traditional brick and mortar store, many online stores – such as Amazon – have it available for sale.
What does the Ube extract taste like?
It is an artificially-made product. It resembles vanilla or the combination of a nut flavor and vanilla.
How do I store these purple yam cookies?
Store them at room temperature in an air-tight bag or container for up to 3 days. You may store them in a freezer for up to a month or a little longer.
Troubleshooting questions:
Chances are, you may have forgotten to chill the dough before baking. This helps the cookies from over-spreading during baking. If you did that, maybe it’s because you used too little flour. Always sift before measuring so that you get a proper measurement when it comes to your dry ingredients.
Rolling the dough in powdered sugar makes the crinkling on these cookies. This results in cracking; once the cookie starts to crack, they puff up, and they spread out on the baking sheet.
These are done baking when the glossy sheen is no longer visible. If they aren’t shiny, they are done baking.
You shouldn’t worry too much about this because it was probably nothing that you did. If ingredients are warm too much, the dough may become softer.
If you find that it is a bit too soft to form your dough balls, just cover and refrigerate the dough for about an hour. They will be easier to form afterward.
Oh, yes – if you want that “perfect” look on your crinkle cookies, you have to use a LOT of the confectioner sugar. You should see no purple, only white. While it may seem to be too much, it isn’t. This is the real secret to success with these cookies!
Ingredient Tip
While you should sift all of your dry ingredients, avoid sifting the powdered sugar. You want it to be a little lumpy to make that crispy exterior.
Why?
If there are lumps in your powdered sugar, it will thoroughly coat the cookie and create mouthwatering crinkles during the baking process.
Technique tips
- Always use a cookie dough scoop and drop the balls in the powdered sugar. Then, toss them a bit to ensure complete coating. You can’t skip this particular step.
- If you drop the dough onto the baking sheet before coating it with the sugar, they will stick. If you don’t want to coat right away, make sure you chill the dough for about an hour first, as this will make it much easier to work with when you are ready.
- You MUST coat the cookies with a LOT of powdered sugar. If it seems to be too much, it is probably perfect. Seriously, soak them in it! No purple should be showing on the dough balls at ALL! This will ruin the crinkling effect. Make the powdered sugar coat super THICK!
Interesting recipes
Ube Crinkle Cookies Recipe
Print PinEquipments:
- Oven
Ingredients:
For Dry Ingredients:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour (or 120 grams)
- ½ cup glutinous rice flour (or 55 grams)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
For Wet Ingredients:
- ½ cup unsalted butter (melted) (or 113 g)
- 50 g white sugar (or ¼ cup)
- ¼ cup dark brown sugar (or 54 g)
- 1 large whole egg (at room temperature)
- 1 egg yolk (room temperature)
- 160 g Ube puree or Ube Halaya jam
- 1 tsp Ube extract
Dusting:
- ½ cup Powdered sugar (add extra for even coating)
Instructions:
Prep the Dry Ingredients:
- Take the flour, salt, and baking powder in a medium bowl and whisk. Once thoroughly combined, set it aside for now.
Prep the Wet Ingredients
- Melt the butter for 15 seconds interval until melted.
- Then add brown sugar and granulated sugar to a large bowl and mix well.
- Once the wet ingredients are mixed thoroughly, add the (room temperature) whole egg + the yolk.
- Immediately after that, add your ube extract and halaya puree. Mix this until the color is all the same
Add the Wet and Dry Ingredients:
- Next, add the dry ingredients to your wet ingredients. Mix all until thoroughly combined.
Prep to Bake the Cookies:
- Put parchment paper on a baking pan and start preheating the oven to 325°F.
- Remove the bowl of chilled dough from the fridge and start scooping the dough to form balls.
- Roll each ball in granulated sugar first and then drop them into the powdered sugar bowl and coat it well. This step prevents the icing sugar from being absorbed by the dough and you won’t get the crinkle effect. I like to ensure that the dough is completely white on the entire outside.
- Then, set each ball on the baking sheet, providing a space of – at least an inch between each.
- Bake the cookies for 13 minutes if you like soft cookies or 14-15 minutes if you want them crispier outside. They will still appear to be very soft when you pull them out from the oven.
- Take the cookies out from the oven, let them cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, to ensure that the purple yam cookies are firm. Put them on a cooling rack for about 5 minutes.
- They will firm up a bit as they cool down. The inside is still so soft and delicious. Then, serve up
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Nutrition Information:
Please note that all nutrition information are just estimates. Values will vary among brands, so we encourage you to calculate these on your own for most accurate results.