This Chunky Ube Cookie is all Ube. No fillers, no distractions, just a simple Ube Halaya swirl. It's ube to the max.
Nothing gets me more annoyed than a bad cookie. I get even more angry if it's a bad Ube Cookie. You know what I am talking about. The ones with no bite or texture and filled to the brim with the sweetest white chocolate chips and a super scary neon purple. That means it was just doused with the most ube extract.
I am telling you over and over and over again. That flavor is not real. It's manufactured sweetness. Real Ube has a slight sweet fragrance of vanilla coconut, but when you bite into one, it's bland AF.
It's okay to use a touch of flavoring, but don't use it as a crutch. The sweet flavor everyone is chasing is actually Ube Halaya - a sweetened mash of Ube and this is what this Ultimate Chunky Ube Cookie is all about.
The halaya is mixed into the cookie batter and then just lightly folded in so that you get ribbons of it through out the cookie when baked.
Ingredients
Flour - Use 2 cups of all purpose flour
Ube Powder - You can find Ube Powder at your local Filipino grocery store. Measure out ¼ cup.
Cornstarch - This gives the cookies a night light texture.
Baking Soda - For some lift and puffiness.
Salt - Always a good idea to add salt to cookie batter!
White Sugar - You will need ½ cup of super fine baking sugar.
Light Brown Sugar - Use light brown sugar so that the purple of the Ube will pop out more.
Butter - Use 1 cup cold cubed butter.
Eggs - You will need 2 eggs at room temperature.
Ube Flavoring - We are just going to use this sparingly. Mainly for color. Use ¼ Teaspoon only to get a nice light purple color.
Sweetened Coconut - You will need the sweetened version of shredded coconut. It will be the moist version. Use ⅓ cup.
Ube Halaya - You will need 1 ½ cup of Ube Halaya, but out of that you will use ¼ of it to mix into the cookie batter. The rest we will just fold in lightly at the end. This will act as our "filler" to our cookie instead of the usual chocolate chips.
How To Make The Ultimate Chunky Ube Cookie
In a large bowl combine 2 cups of flour, ¼ cup of ube powder, 1 tablespoon of cornstarch, 1 teaspoon of baking soda, 1 teaspoon of salt and ⅓ cup of sweetened coconut.
Mix well with a whisk.
In a separate stand mixer bowl add the 1 cup of white sugar, ½ cup of light brown sugar and 1 cup chilled cubed butter.
Mix until fully combined and creamy.
Scrape down the bowl and add in ¼ cup of Ube Halaya.
Mix until the Halaya is fully mixed in and fluffy.
Scrape down the bowl again and add in the 2 eggs.
Mix well for a few seconds until the eggs are mixed in. It's okay if the batter looks a bit broken. The flour will make things right.
Scrape the bowl down again and add in the flour mixture. Mix super low just until the flour is fully mixed in.
Scrape down the bowl (there are lots of scraping in cookie making!) and add in only ¼ teaspoon of Ube flavoring.
Mix until you get a nice light purple color.
Scrape down the bowl and add in the rest of the Ube Halaya.
This time don't use a mixer. Just use a spatula and use your hands to lightly fold in the Halaya just until you see ribbons flowing through the batter. Scrape down the bowl and chill for at least one hour or overnight.
Pre-heat your oven to 350F and using the biggest ice cream scooper you have or a ¼ cup measuring cup to measure out your cookie dough.
Place them on a lined baking sheet at least 2 inches apart. Bake for 12 minutes. Turing the pan 180 degrees at the half way mark.
Take out of the oven and leave to cool for 5 minutes. Ah now they look like Chunky Ube Cookies.
If you want to have perfect circle cookies use an extra large round cookie cutter and swirl in your cookies while still warm to form them into perfect circles.
Transfer to a wire rack to cool fully.
How to Store Your Ultimate Chunky Ube Cookie
If you are giving these away these Chunky Ube Cookies as gifts, it's better to wrap them individually in cookie wrappers so that they stay fresh.
I recommend sealing them in the bags and then putting them in the freezer until it's time to give them away.
The best way to re-heat is to pop them back in the oven at 350F for 5 minutes for that fresh baked taste.
For more Filipino inspired goodness in your life follow along on Instagram, Facebook or Pinterest. Or subscribe to get these recipes in your inbox. And if you make this recipe. I would love to see it. Tag your Instagram snaps with @rezelkealoha and #rezelkealohaeats.
Equipment
- Silicon Mat or Parchment Paper
- Baking Sheet
Ingredients
- 2 Cups Flour
- ¼ Cup Ube Powder
- 1 Tablespoon Cornstarch
- 1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1 Teaspoon Salt
- ⅓ Cup Sweetened Coconut
- 1 Cup Unsalted Butter Chilled and Cubbed
- ½ Cup White Sugar
- 1 Cup Light Brown Sugar
- 2 Eggs
- 1 ½ Cup Ube Halaya (from this set aside ¼ cup)
- ¼ Teaspoon Ube Flavoring
Instructions
- In a large bowl combine 2 cups of flour, ¼ cup of ube powder, 1 tablespoon of cornstarch, 1 teaspoon of baking soda, 1 teaspoon of salt and ⅓ cup of sweetened coconut.. Mix well with a whisk.
- In a separate stand mixer bowl add the 1 cup of white sugar, ½ cup of light brown sugar and 1 cup chilled cubed butter. Mix until fully combined and creamy.
- Scrape down the bowl and add in ¼ cup of Ube Halaya. Mix until the Halaya is fully mixed in and fluffy.
- Scrape down the bowl again and add in the 2 eggs. Mix well for a few seconds until the eggs are mixed in. It's okay if the batter looks a bit broken. The flour will make things right.
- Scrape the bowl down again and add in the flour mixture. Mix super low just until the flour is fully mixed in. Scrape down the bowl (there are lots of scraping in cookie making!) and add in only ¼ teaspoon of Ube flavoring. Mix until you get a nice light purple color.
- Scrape down the bowl and add in the rest of the Ube Halaya. This time don't use a mixer. Just use a spatula and use your hands to lightly fold in the Halaya just until you see ribbons flowing through the batter. Scrape down the bowl and chill for at least one hour or overnight.
- Pre-heat your oven to 350F and using the biggest ice cream scooper you have or a ¼ cup measuring cup to measure out your cookie dough. Place them on a lined baking sheet at least 2 inches apart. Bake for 12 minutes. Turing the pan 180 degrees at the half way mark.
- Take out of the oven and leave to cool for 5 minutes.
- If you want to have perfect circle cookies use an extra large round cookie cutter and swirl in your cookies while still warm to form them into perfect circles.
- Transfer to a wire rack to cool fully. Then serve.
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