Home · Recipes · Desserts & Baking · Cookies Ube Sugar Cookies Author: Maryanne CabreraPublished: Mar 2, 2021Updated: May 6, 2024 View Recipe38 ReviewsThis post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy. Soft and chewy ube sugar cookies. These easy to be make purple yam crinkle cookies are coated with purple sanding sugar for a sparkle effect! Table of Contents Ube Crinkle CookiesMixing together ube cookie doughCookie Storage and LeftoversMore Ube Dessert RecipesUbe Sugar CookiesView moreView less The increasing popularity of Filipino cuisine has brought about an ube explosion! Bakeries all over Southern California are selling a variety of ube desserts. Ninong’s Dessert Lab has their famous ube pancakes and ube butter.Japanese favorite Uncle Tetsu offers ube cheesecake. And, classic Red Ribbon Bakeshop has an ube ensaymada. Ube Crinkle Cookies This is the ultimate sugar cookie. When rolled in purple sanding sugar, these ube crinkle cookies sparkle and shine. New to ube? These soft and chewy cookies are the perfect introduction to the sweet, earthy, and coconut-y flavors of ube. What is ube? Ube is a purple yam native to Southeast Asia. Ube is pronounced “ooo-bae” in Talalog (Filipino). It’s a popular tuber widely used in Filipino desserts. Though often mistaken for taro root or Okinawan sweet potato, they are not the same. They are relatives, but not the same tuber. Note: Taro is called gabi in Tagalog. Why use Powdered Purple Yam? Fresh ube is extremely difficult to find in the United States. From my experience, powdered purple yam is the easiest ube option to find and use. There are several brand widely available in Los Angeles. I recommend the Fil-Choice brand photographed in the image above (left packet). Powdered purple yam is dehydrated purple yam. Make sure to only use packages that is 100% purple purple yam. Some brands include powdered milk or sugar. Powdered ube is sold at well stocked Asian supermarkets, placed alongside other baking ingredients like flour and extracts. You’re guaranteed to find it at a Filipino market like Seafood City or Island Pacific Supermarket. NOTE:And if all else fails, powdered ube is sold on Amazon. I purchased mine in store at Seafood City for about $4. I’ve seen prices range from $3.50-$5. Don’t spend more than $6 per four ounce bag. It’s not worth it. Other Ube Options Frozen ube is sold grated, shredded, mashed, or whole. This recipe does NOT work with frozen ube. The amount of moisture in frozen ube, even if it is defrosted and squeezed of liquids, doesn’t work in these cookies. Ube halaya is another widely available ube product. Ube halaya is also known as ube yam or halayang ube. It is a cooked dish made from boiled mashed purple yam, milk (usually sweetened condensed milk and/or coconut milk), and sugar. Ube halaya is generally served as a dessert or used as filling or flavoring. You can find many ube crinkle cookies that use ube halaya. This is not one of those recipes. Ube Extract Flavoring Ube extract is a powerful ingredient that helps to enhance the ube flavors of any dessert. Use it for ice cream, ube milk bread, or ginataang bilo-bilo. Ube extract is an important and necessary ingredient. It provides that iconic “ube” flavoring while also coloring the cookie dough. Without this ingredient, the resulting ube sugar cookies will not be as violet in color and the ube flavor will not be as pronounced. NOTE: I stock up on ube extract whenever I visit the Philippines. It costs about $1 per bottle. Unfortunately, it’s not that cheap in the United States. Ube extract is available for purchase through Amazon and it is widely available at Filipino and Asian supermarkets. Find it in the baking section along with other extracts. Mixing together ube cookie dough Flavor is carried through fat. As such, it is best to incorporate the ube powder and ube extract into the butter and sugar mixture. Cream together softened butter, sugar, and ube powder until smooth. Add egg, ube extract, and coconut milk. Mix until well incorporated. Add dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt) to creamed butter mixture until dough forms. Cover cookie dough and chill in the fridge for at least one hour to let the flavors meld together. Overnight is best. Allow chilled cookie dough to warm up slightly at room temperature. Use a #40 scoop to portion out the dough. Is it necessary to chill the cookie dough? YES. Chilling the cookie dough allows the flavors of the cookie to fully develop. (Just be sure to cover dough well. You don’t want any unwanted flavors from the fridge to seep into the sugar cookie dough!) Roll Cookie Dough in Sugar This is the fun part! Roll the ube sugar cookie dough in purple sanding sugar, granulated sugar, or powdered sugar (confectioners’ sugar). There is no right or wrong method. Each sugar option will produce a slightly different cookie. What is sanding sugar? Sanding sugar are large crystal sugar sold in a wide assortment of colors. These large sugar crystal do not melt under heat the way granulated sugar does. As a result, sanding sugar reminds crunchy even after baking. Sanding sugar is known for its shiny, sparkling effect when hit with light. I used this lavender sanding sugar. Powdered Sugar Produces an overall soft and chewy cookie. It makes that iconic ube crinkle cookie appearance. Granulated Sugar The sugar creates a crispy shell crust exterior, while the insides remind soft and chewy. Sanding Sugar Creates the most visually striking cookie that sparkles and shines. Crisp exterior, soft interior. Cookie Storage and Leftovers Cool cookies to room temperature on wire rack. Cool before storing. Cookies will keep in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Ube sugar cookies will remain soft and chewy after baking because of the high starch content of ube powder. Leftover cookies make for wonderful ice cream sandwiches! These these cookies with a scoop of no-churn ube ice cream. More Ube Dessert Recipes Ube Pound Cake Ube Bread Rolls Ube Chiffon Cake Ube Sugar Cookies 4.80 from 10 votes Soft and chewy ube sugar cookies. Make these purple yam cookies three ways by coating the cookie dough in your choice of: granulated sugar, purple sanding sugar, or confectioners' sugar. Prep Time: 20 minutes minutesCook Time: 15 minutes minutesChilling: 1 hour hourTotal Time: 1 hour hour 35 minutes minutes Servings: 28 cookies Print Recipe Pin Recipe Rate Recipe Equipmentstand mixer or electric hand mixer#40 cookie scoop IngredientsDough:▢ 155 grams unsalted butter (½ cup + 3 Tbsp) softened, room temp▢ 250 grams granulated sugar (1 ¼ cup) ▢ 115 grams powdered ube (about ½ cup) or dehydrated ube powder▢ 1 large egg room temp▢ 1 ¾ teaspoon ube extract *▢ ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract▢ 60 grams coconut milk (¼ cup), canned, well-shaken*▢ 260 grams all-purpose flour (2 cups)▢ 1 teaspoon baking powder▢ ½ teaspoon baking soda▢ ¼ teaspoon kosher saltRolling:▢ granulated sugar, purple sanding sugar, or confectioners' sugar as needed* Instructions Dough:In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together softened butter, sugar, and powdered ube until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add egg, ube extract, vanilla extract, and coconut milk. Mix on low speed until incorporated. Scrape down sides of bowl as needed to ensure thorough mixing.In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add dry mixture to mixing bowl. Mix on low speed until dough forms. Scrape down sides of bowl as needed. Be careful not to overmix.Cover cookie dough. Chill in the refrigerator for at least one hour. Overnight is best.Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mat. Set aside.Remove cookie dough from the fridge. If cookie dough has been chilled overnight, allow dough to sit at room temperature for 30-45 minutes before scooping.* Use a 1 ½ Tablespoon scoop (#40 scoop) to portion out the dough.Roll cookie dough in your choice of sugar: granulated sugar, purple sanding sugar, or confectioners' sugar. Place cookie balls 2-inches apart on prepared baking sheet. Bake for 13-15 minutes, until the edges of the cookies have set. Rotate baking sheet midway through baking. Rest in baking sheet for 3-5 minutes, then transfer cookies to wire rack to cool. NotesChoice of rolling sugar will affect baked cookie. Granulated Sugar creates a crispy shell crust exterior that protects the soft and chewy interior. Purple Sanding Sugar produces the most visually striking cookie that sparkles and shines. It has a crisp exterior and soft interior. Confectioners’ Sugar makes for an overall soft and chewy cookie. It will result in that iconic ube crinkle cookie appearance. Chilled cookie dough may be difficult to scoop. Allow to sit at room temperature to soften for easier scooping. Store cooled cookies in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Ube sugar cookies will remain soft and chewy after baking due to the high starch content of ube powder. Ingredient Notes: Ube extract is a vital ingredient that enhances the ube flavor while coloring the dough violet. Use canned full-fat coconut milk. Shake well before use. Do not use low-fat coconut milk. NutritionCalories: 131kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 19mg | Sodium: 61mg | Potassium: 19mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 148IU | Vitamin C: 0.02mg | Calcium: 13mg | Iron: 1mg Author: Maryanne Cabrera Course: DessertCuisine: Filipino Did you make this recipe?Show us on Instagram! Tag @littleepicurean and hashtag #littleepicurean.
RoLo says: March 9, 2021 Yours is the 3rd ube crinkle cookie recipe I’ve tried in the past few weeks, and my family’s favorite! I’ve not seen anyone else use the powdered ube, which I’d actually bought by mistake for ube cookie recipe #1 (I came home and realized almost all ube cookie recipes call for ube jam, which is definitely harder to find out here in the Twin Cities). Yours is also the first recipe I’ve seen that explores using something other than powdered sugar for the coating – my family really liked the sanding sugar (one of my boys hadn’t liked recipes #1 and #2, but gobbled up yours :) ) The Butterfly ube extract is reasonably priced off Amazon (I got 6 bottles for under $10), the powdered ube is carried at various Asian grocery stores (I’ve seen it at both Korean and Chinese stores out here), and the cookies taste like a much more nuanced sugar cookie; for any of you bakers who are bored of making the same things over and over, this recipe is the perfect balance of adventure + “surefire hit” – thank you, Maryanne! Reply
RoLo says: March 9, 2021 PS – I used blue sanding sugar because that’s all I had – it looked really cool against the purple dough…
Maryanne Cabrera says: March 12, 2021 Thank you for trying the recipe! I’m so happy to hear that you and your family enjoyed it! I’m glad you happen to have some ube powder on hand :)
NH says: March 14, 2021 Hello, Thank you for the recipe. Have you ever tried to make this recipe with fresh ube? Reply
Maryanne Cabrera says: March 15, 2021 No, I have not. Fresh ube is very difficult to find. As such, I prefer to use ube powder which is much more readily available.
tessie wilson says: May 21, 2021 Hi, I would love to try this recipe! Can I use regular milk instead of coconut milk? Thanks Reply
Maryanne Cabrera says: May 21, 2021 I highly recommend using coconut milk because it will enhance the ube flavoring. You could use regular milk, but the resulting ube flavor won’t be as pronounced.
Raq says: May 25, 2021 Can I lessen the sugar? I’m diabetic and I’m trying to cut sugars when I bake. Reply
Pv says: August 29, 2023 I have fresh une I boiled but don’t have any Uber extract or dehydrated just fresh. Will that work in this recipe without the other 2 missing ingredients?
Maryanne Cabrera says: August 30, 2023 I developed this recipe using dehydrated ube. I have not tested it with fresh ube since ube is hard to find in California.
Nick says: May 29, 2021 Hi there! I just tried making this and my cookies keep spreading. I let it chill in the fridge for about 3 hours, let them soften enough to scoop, coat in granulated sugar, and then powdered sugar. I didn’t substitute any of the ingredients either. Would you happen to have some troubleshooting tips so they don’t spread? Thank you! Reply
Ross says: June 4, 2021 It says 2 1/4 cups white sugar, but 250 grams is 1 1/4 cups white sugar. 2 1/4 cups would be A LOT! Did you mean to put 1 1/4? Thanks! These looks delicious and I’m about to make them! Reply
Maryanne Cabrera says: June 4, 2021 I apologize! Fixing it right now. It’s supposed to be 250 grams which is 1 1/4 cup sugar. Thank you SO MUCH for catching that!
Sarah M says: June 28, 2021 I love this recipe. I just want to know if I can still make it less sweeter? Haha Reply
Maryanne Cabrera says: June 28, 2021 Thanks for trying the recipe! You can reduce the sugar by 1/4 cup. Anything more will prevent the cookies from spreading out. You’ll end up with mounds.
Arin says: July 5, 2021 Would I be able to substitute gluten free flour? My friend wants to try this but has a gluten allergy Reply
Maryanne Cabrera says: July 6, 2021 Unfortunately, I have not tested this recipe using gluten-free flour.
Grace K says: September 7, 2021 Can this be rolled and cut with cookie cutter shapes, will it spread? Reply
Maryanne Cabrera says: September 7, 2021 No, this recipe can’t be used with cookie cutters. The dough will spread.
Jay says: September 27, 2021 Hi! I’m thinking of trying this recipe and got the Giron Foods Inc. brand of dehydrated powder. It doesn’t look as fine as the other brand you suggested. Is there a difference between the two? Also, can I replace the white sugar for brown for a chewier cookie? Thanks! Reply
Maryanne Cabrera says: September 28, 2021 The Giron Foods brand version is a bit coarser in texture. I suggest pulsing it in a food processor until the flakes look more like powder. Replacing the white sugar for brown sugar will not necessarily create a chewier cookie. Brown sugar will add molasses flavor and will slightly change the color of the resulting cookie. If you want a chewier cookie, I suggest underbaking the cookies and immediately transferring them to a wire rack.
Claudia says: October 10, 2021 Hi! Have you ever tried to make these vegan? I’d imagine plant butter can easily replace the dairy butter. For the egg, would you recommend a specific substitute (aquafaba, chia seeds…) ?Thank you! Reply
Myla Stark says: October 14, 2021 1. How long can I freeze scooped dough? I want to bake fresh when needed. 2. For frozen scooped dough, do I bring it to room temperature before rolling into sanding sugar then bake? If yes, how long should I wait for dough to come to room temp? Thanks. Reply
Maryanne Cabrera says: November 22, 2021 Yes, ube powder is a necessary ingredient. Otherwise, the only ube flavor comes from the artificial ube extract.
Van says: December 1, 2021 Something is off with the measurements.. my dough turned out powdery… Reply
MonaLiza says: April 12, 2022 It turned out very yummy. I did not change anything but is wondering why my cookies are not flat like yours. Do i flatten them after rolling in sugar? Thank you. Reply
Christine S says: October 13, 2022 I made these ube cookies and used all three sugars. My favorite is the sanding sugar because it keeps the cookie more firm. The powdered sugar made my cookies soft and the regular granulated sugar made the cookies firm too but not as firm as the sanding sugar. The is an excellent recipe so thank you for sharing it. I would like the ube flavor to be more intense though so wondering how I might be able to do that – more ube powder, maybe? Reply
Maryanne Cabrera says: October 17, 2022 Thank you for trying the recipe! (and trying all three versions!) Ube extract would be the best way to add more ube flavor. Adding more ube powder will change the consistency of the cookies.
Maryanne Cabrera says: November 22, 2022 Coconut milk is an important part in the flavor of the cookies. However, you may sub in heavy cream or half and half.
Miles B Free says: February 7, 2023 Are you supposed to rehydrate the ube powder before using in this recipe? It appears that most recipes say to do so as does the package instructions, but the instructions on this recipe do not say to. Reply
Miles B Free says: February 7, 2023 Nevermind – I found this in the recipe notes: This recipe does NOT work with frozen ube. The amount of moisture in frozen ube, even if it is defrosted and squeezed of liquids, doesn’t work in these cookies.
Miles B Free says: February 10, 2023 One more clarification: the ingredients list says “115 grams (about 1 cup) powdered ube”. I bought the Giron brand powdered ube and measured the 115g package and it is almost exactly 1/2 cup. I am assuming the other brands like Fil-Choice would be the same since ube is ube, ore or less. So should the recipe be corrected to say “115g package of powdered ube (which is about 1/2 cup”?
Maryanne Cabrera says: February 10, 2023 Yes, the recipe calls for 115 grams of powdered ube (about 1/2 cup) or 1 full package.
Maryanne Cabrera says: February 10, 2023 You do not rehydrate the ube powder before using. Simply use the powder directly out of the package.
Chrid says: March 18, 2023 I’d like to make shapes with Ube a sugar cookie. Would you leave out the baking powder & baking soda? Or add cornstarch? Reply