Ube Crinkles are soft, moist, and bursting with Ube flavors. These classic cookies with a tropical twist are easy to make and perfect for coffee or tea time.
Purple yam has been a trending food on both social media and the international food scene in recent years. Many restaurants and bakeries have enthusiastically embraced the trend and started to incorporate this lowly tuber into their dessert selections in the form of ice creams, sponge cakes, doughnuts, bread rolls, and cheesecakes.
With its rise in popularity, other parts of the globe are taking a second look at Filipino food. I am not sure if Ube will remain in fad, but one thing is for sure, it will always hold a special place in our local cuisine.
What are Crinkle Cookies
Crinkle cookies are soft, chewy cookies coated with powdered sugar before baking to produce their unique crackled exterior. They are commonly made with chocolate but adapted to various flavors such as lemon, vanilla, and red velvet.
Today, we will be giving this popular cookie a delicious Pinoy twist. We’re making Ube Crinkles!
Making the batter
Good Ube crinkles start with a good ube jam. Although extracts can help enhance the ube flavor, nothing beats the natural taste of pure purple yam jam.
Good Shepherd Ube Halaya is our favorite, but I am sure other great quality brands are available in the market. Of course, you can also make halaya from scratch if you like. 🙂
Quick tips
- Chill the dough in the refrigerator to make it easier to handle and roll into balls. This is also important for tall cookies, and not flat.
- To keep the powdered sugar from melting, especially in humid weather, coat the cookie balls lightly with granulated sugar before coating heavily with powdered/confectioner’s sugar.
How to store
- These crinkle cookies stay soft and chewy even after a few days. Store them in airtight containers at room temperature.
- To freeze the baked cookies, store them in a resealable bag between sheets of parchment paper and freeze them for up to 3 months.
- To freeze unbaked, shape the dough into balls, arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet, and freeze until frozen. Transfer the frozen dough balls to a resealable bag and freeze them for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature for about 30 minutes, roll in confectioner’s sugar, and bake according to the recipe.
More baked goodies
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 piece egg
- 2 cups ube jam
- 2 teaspoon ube extract
- 2 cups flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- violet food color, optional
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted
Instructions
- In a large bowl, cream together sugar and vegetable oil.
- Add the egg and beat until frothy and color becomes pale.
- Add the ube jam and ube extract and beat again until well blended.
- Gradually add the flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix using a spatula or electric mixer with dough attachment. The dough will be very sticky. Add violet food color, if desired, to achieve a deep purple color.
- Cover and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours or overnight. Alternatively, place in the freezer for at least 2 hours.
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Scoop a spoonful, 1 to 2-inch in diameter, of chilled dough and drop into a bowl of powdered sugar. Roll dough in powdered sugar to thoroughly coat.
- Arrange at least 2 inches apart on a baking sheet.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.
- Remove from oven and let the cookies stand for 1-2 minutes on the baking sheet and then transfer to a cooling rack.
Notes
- Chill the dough in the refrigerator for about 1 to 2 hours or up to overnight to make it easier to handle and roll into balls.
- To keep the powdered sugar from melting, especially in humid weather, coat the cookie balls lightly with granulated sugar before coating heavily with powdered/confectioner’s sugar.
Video
Nutrition Information
“This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.”
Kat says
Everytime I make these my friends say these are their favorite cookies ever! Definitely a crowd-pleaser.
I have had to bake them a bit longer than suggested, might be my old oven. But they turn out great.
Matt says
Thanks for the instructions on processing your own purple yams to make into homemade halaya. I have worked with some Filipino gals who have spoiled me with homemade delicacies like the purple yam cookies. I am giving these a go from scratch.
Dahlia Tobert says
Fantastic . You’re such a great chef.
Lanie says
I tried your recipe and loved it, I’m just wondering did you flatten the dough before putting it in the oven? By crinkles did not look like your ones. They’re still very round
Elizabeth Denoso says
Hi salamat po sa more recipe ang dami ko ping natutunan more power po at God bless po.
Danae says
Amazing recipe! My family loves it! It’s so addicting, the fluffiness and the richness of flavor! Thank you!
I had one problem though, I noticed when I was rolling them in powdered sugar and placing them on the baking tray one by one slowly the powdered sugar started disappearing like it was dissolving on the surface of the balls.
Do you have any tips?
Claudia says
So yummy! I’m so glad I found this recipe, I can’t stop eating it! Can you leave the dough in the freezer work too for future batches?
Stepheny says
Thank you for providing the recipe. They taste great! I used frozen ube that I defrosted on the countertop. I will try the recipe using a jar of ube jam and fresh ube potato too.
I have a question about storing the cookies- How do you store them so they look like when the first come out of the oven? I stored in a Tupperware container and few hours later I noticed the powdered sugar “melted” and the are all “gooey”. Thank you again for a Great yummy recipe!!!
Ashley says
These cookies are awesome! But one big batch is a little too much for just me and my husband. Is the dough freezable?
Thanks!
Cindy says
Great recipe and easy to follow. They were a hit with my nephews and the rest of the family. Thanks for the recipe.
Amber Nall says
Thank you for this recipe. My family loves it! What is the best way to store them? I put them in a zip loc bag and the next day, they were so soft (like muffin tops). Still good but I wish they didn’t soften so much over night.
Norma says
Kamusta Lalaine,
I love this cookies. I made it twice already and substitute the oil with unsalted butter and adjusted the sugar, hence the halaya ube I used is already sweetened. It was such a hit that I started selling it in my small cookie business and my customers love it! Salamat for sharing a great recipe! Note to those who uses a colored ube extract don’t need food coloring at all as this have deep purple color already. I make a big batch and store in the freezer which is great for anytime you crave it. It last a good 3 months in the freezer if you store it well. Of course my batch never last that long because it is my families favorite.
Jane says
Thank you so much for the recipe! I had to practice making it for the kids to bring to school for their thanksgiving. They’re supposed to bring a Philippine delicacy and this is perfect to showcase. Thank you again!!!
Lalaine Manalo says
Hi Jane!! This yummy treat is perfect for that event indeed.
Jez says
I found that the ube taste itself wasn’t adequate so I added more of the ube extract. I found that softness improved when I warmed up the ube halaya from the glass bottle. I see you omitted butter from your recipe, how much would you add if I wanted to add butter?