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 it into balls. This is also important to make the cookies tall and not flat.
- If the powdered sugar is melting, especially in humid weather, coat the cookie balls lightly with granulated sugar before coating them 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
- ¾ cup sugar
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 1 piece egg
- 2 cups ube jam
- 2 teaspoon ube extract
- 2 cups flour
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- violet food color, optional
- ½ 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 to make it easier to handle, and roll it into balls. This is also important to make the cookies tall and not flat.
- If the powdered sugar is melting, especially in humid weather, coat the cookie balls lightly with granulated sugar before coating them 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.”
Kathy says
Can I use boiled/mashed ube?
Lalaine says
Yes, you can. You might need to adjust the amount of sugar as halaya is already sweetened.
Jennifer says
I tried it and loved it. Can something be added so that it can be moist
Lianara says
I just made this today. Followed the instruction step by step and it came out perfect! That prior comment that stated “wasn’t sweet enough” must have a really sweet tooth to think otherwise. I thought the sweetness was just perfect. Thanks for sharing this recipe. I made several batches for the holiday and it def made more than 12 cookies per batch.
Lalaine Manalo says
Hi Lianara! I'm glad you liked the recipe 🙂
Marie says
What size scooper did you use? My cookie seems like it is a little raw, does it seem that way from the ube jam? Or is it suppose to be all dry in the center?
Lalaine Manalo says
They're supposed to be fudgy 🙂
Kim says
How many cookies does the original recipe make? It says 12 servings but im not sufe if that means 12 cookies.
Callum Rhys says
Hi 👋🏽 I’m hoping to try this recipe soon, but I was curious if ube extract would be completely necessary?
Lalaine says
Hello Callum,
The ube extract heightens flavor and deepens the color but you can omit it if you don't have any on hand.
Nerissa gonzalvo says
Can i use ube powder/purple yam powder instead of ube jam?
Thanks for your reply..
Lalaine says
Hello Nerissa,
Yes, you can use ube powder, just reconstitute it according to the package's directions. You may also need to adjust the amount of sugar as the ube halaya is sweetened.
Lei says
Will using sugar substitute like stevia work with the recipe?
Lalaine says
I've never tried it but I don't see why it shouldn't work. Just follow the package directions for the substitution amounts. 🙂
Jackylou Delarosa says
Can you make the dough in advance and freeze cookies and just bake when needed?
Melody says
How much crinkles does 1 batch makes?
Stacy says
I’d like to confirm if you used 2 cups of the ube jam or should it be less like 1/2 cup? Excited to give this recipe a try!
Stacy says
Hi, I’d love to try this recipe out but before doing so can you please confirm is it 2 cups of ube jam or should it be 1/2 cup? I’ve always been a fan of chocolate crinkle cookies, so I’m excited to give this one a try!
Emily says
It actually didn’t taste like ube and wasn’t even sweet enough. I’m sorry but your recipe wasn’t great.
Lalaine says
I am sorry the recipe disappointed you. The sweetness of foods is subjective and my contributor, Bebs, made the recipe according to her own tastes. I hope you give the recipe another try and increase the amount of sugar if you like.
Jiryl says
Very exciting & interesting to cook ang mga recipes
Lalaine says
Thank you!
Rachel says
Hi Lalaine
It took me awhile to find ube jam. Does your recipe take into account the sugar already in ube jam?
I found McCormicks ube extract but it didn’t have an expiry date, did yours have one?
Is yours clear coloured?
Lalaine says
Hi Rachel,
Yes, the ingredients have been adjusted to allow for the sweetness of the ube jam. I just checked my bottle and it does have an expiry date, it's on the top part of the back portion of the label. No, the extract is not clear, it's dark violet in color.
wanderingtribe says
Hi! Thanks for this! I'm going to try it within the week.
Just a question on the serving size though. How many cookies does a serving make? Or how many grams per serving? This would give an idea of how to size the cookies for the calorie conscious 🙂