Lately, my Pinterest feed has been nothing but matcha and ube cookie recipes, and DAMN they looked good
I found countless recipes of Ube cookies with white chocolate, which (no shade to white chocolate) I am not a fan of. And don’t get me wrong, if you love white chocolate feel free to add it! But that is not what this recipe is about
Ube is originally from the Philipines and gets its name from the Tagalog word meaning “tuber”
For those who don’t know, Ube is another name for purple yam. It’s different from purple sweet potatoes and tends to have a sweeter taste, hence its use in sweeter dishes and desserts
For this recipe, we will use Ube extract and Ube powder for its deep purple pigment and yummy flavor
Both of these can be found online, I used Amazon and you can find links to each below the recipe
On top of the delicious flavor Ube adds, we will also be adding shredded coconut. It adds an extra layer of texture to elevate our recipe
The Ingredients
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Butter: Unsalted and room temperature, as always! We’ll be using a cup for this recipe
Sugar: We’ll be using both brown and white sugar for this recipe. The brown sugar adds to the chewy, soft texture we hope to achieve in that first bite of our cookie
Coconut: This recipe uses sweetened shredded coconut, however, you’re welcome to add unsweetened if you prefer. The taste will be slightly less sweet, but it won’t be drastically different if at all
Ube Extract: This will stain your hands purple! Try to be careful when adding, and wash your hands right away if you get it on you
For this, I used Butterfly’s Ube Extract, you can find it here
I loved this! It adds a delicious Ube flavor and has a very deep purple pigment to give beautifully purple cookies. A must-add!
Ube Powder: True Ube is hard to come by in most grocery stores, opting for powder is more accessible and easier to use. Here are two options for your recipe
I used Grelim’s Premium Powder; you can find it here
“But wait, that’s not natural Ube! Sweet potato and Ube are different… right?” You are correct, but here’s why I won’t endorse the other Ube powder I found on Amazon
As a California resident, we see stickers like “California Proposition 65 Warning” which alerts consumers of potential exposure to chemicals with lead.
Jan’s Natural Ube Powder, while popular and true Ube powder, has this sticker. You are welcome to try it, but the two are so similar that I opted to bypass the potential risk
Cornstarch: We add 1 tablespoon to our recipe to achieve that soft, fluffy cookie. It helps achieve the texture we want, but if you don’t have any on hand it’s not required to make yummy cookies. You can do without it if need be
Storage
You can refrigerate your dough for up to two days, but be sure to properly seal it either in a bag or Tupperware to prevent it from drying out
If you prefer to freeze it for later, this recipe can stay frozen for up to 3 months. Be sure to date the container they’re stored in before popping them in the freezer
Once your cookies are done baking and have completely cooled, store them in an airtight container. They can be left on the counter for 3 to 4 days
The Recipe
Ube Coconut Cookies
Equipment
- 1 Large Bowl
- 2 Baking sheets
- Parchment Paper
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 1/2 cup flour
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp ube powder
- 2 tsp ube extract
- 2 cup coconut flakes sweetened
For Rolling
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tsp ube powder
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350℉ and line your baking sheet(s) with parchment paper
- In a large bowl, beat together your butter and sugars for a few minutes, you want it to be nice and fluffy
- Add in your vanilla extract, then your eggs one at a time. Lastly, add your extract. Mix until fully incorporated
- In a separate bowl, mix your dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt and ube Powder)
- Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until just combined
- Fold in the coconut flakes until evenly dispersed into the dough
- Make your rolling mixture and roll your balls of dough in the mixture to evenly coat the outside
- Refrigerate for at least 1 hour
- Bake for 10-14 minutes (May be longer depending on the size and thickness of your cookie. See notes below for tips to determine if your cookie is done)
- Leave to cool on the counter or wire rack for 5-10 minutes, and enjoy!
Notes
- There are a couple of things to look for. The first is smell, can you smell your cookies baking? If not, they’re probably not ready.
- Check the middle of your cookies, you can do this visually or with a light tap of your finger. Does it look ‘wet’ still? Does it still have that sticky, doughy feeling? If so, it’s not ready.
- If you smell the sweet cookie smell in your kitchen, your cookies feel firmer in the middle, and they no longer have that shiny dough look in the middle they should be safe to take out.
- Keep in mind, the longer you bake them past this point the crispier they will be. This is where your cookie texture preference will come into play, so be mindful of how you would like your cookies to turn out