Ube Crinkle Cookies

These ube crinkle cookies are soft, chewy, and have the most beautiful purple color. If you’ve never baked with ube before, this is a great recipe to start with.

Ube is a purple yam that’s popular in Filipino desserts. It has a mild, slightly sweet flavor that pairs perfectly with white chocolate.

The cookies get their vibrant color from a combination of ube halaya and ube extract. No artificial food coloring needed here.

Once you roll the dough in powdered sugar and bake them, they crack open to reveal that gorgeous purple underneath. They look impressive but are honestly really simple to make.

The texture is soft and chewy in the middle with slightly set edges. They’re the kind of cookies that disappear fast whenever I make a batch.

Why You’ll Love It

Stunning Natural Color – The combination of ube halaya and ube extract gives these cookies a deep, vibrant purple that looks absolutely gorgeous against the white powdered sugar cracks, making them showstoppers at any gathering without a single drop of artificial food coloring.

White Chocolate and Ube Is a Perfect Pairing – The creamy sweetness of white chocolate chips plays beautifully off the earthy, vanilla-like flavor of ube, creating a rich and balanced bite that feels way more special than your average cookie.

Soft and Chewy Texture Done Right – The cornstarch in the dough plus the moisture from the ube halaya keeps these cookies incredibly soft and chewy in the center for days, so they never turn dry or crumbly like regular crinkle cookies sometimes do.

Recipe Ingredients

• 1/2 cup Unsalted Butter (softened)
• 3/4 cup Granulated Sugar
• 1 large Egg
• 1/4 cup Ube Halaya (purple yam jam)
• 1 tsp Ube Extract
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1 3/4 cups All-Purpose Flour
• 1 tsp Cornstarch
• 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
• 1/4 tsp Baking Soda
• 1/4 tsp Fine Salt
• 1/2 cup White Chocolate Chips
• 1/2 cup Powdered Sugar (for rolling)

Directions

Step 1

Beat the softened butter and granulated sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg, ube halaya, ube extract, and vanilla extract. Beat until smooth and a deep purple color, about 1 to 2 minutes.

Step 2

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Step 3

Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and stir with a spatula until just combined. Fold in the white chocolate chips. Cover the dough and refrigerate for at least 1 hour until firm.

Step 4

Preheat your oven to 350°F (177°C) and line baking sheets with parchment paper. Place the powdered sugar in a shallow bowl.

Step 5

Scoop tablespoon-sized portions of dough and roll each into a smooth ball. Roll each ball in the powdered sugar until thickly coated. Place on the prepared baking sheets 2 inches apart.

Step 6

Bake for 11 to 13 minutes until the cookies are puffed, crackled, and the edges are just set. The centers should look slightly soft.

Step 7

Cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. The cookies will be soft, chewy, and stunningly purple with beautiful white crinkle cracks.

My Tips

Chill the Dough Long Enough

One hour in the fridge is the minimum, but if your dough still feels sticky and soft when you try to roll it, give it another 30 minutes. Ube halaya adds extra moisture to the dough, so it often needs more chilling time than a regular cookie dough.

If the dough is too soft when you roll it in powdered sugar, the sugar will absorb into the dough instead of sitting on the surface. That means you won’t get those signature white crinkle cracks on top.

You can even chill it overnight if you want to prep ahead. Just let it sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes before scooping so it’s easier to work with.

Use a Thick Coat of Powdered Sugar

When you roll each ball in the powdered sugar, don’t just dust it lightly. You want a thick, generous layer that completely covers the dough with no purple peeking through.

That thick coating is what creates the crinkle effect. As the cookie spreads and puffs in the oven, the powdered sugar cracks apart and you get those beautiful white lines against the purple.

If the coating is too thin, the purple dough will show through everywhere and the cracks won’t have that sharp contrast that makes crinkle cookies look so good.

Roll the Dough Into Smooth Balls

Take a few extra seconds to roll each portion into a completely smooth ball before coating it in powdered sugar. If the surface has cracks or rough spots before it goes in the oven, the crinkle pattern will look messy and uneven.

A smooth ball spreads evenly as it bakes, which gives you that classic crinkle look where the cracks are clean and well-defined. If your hands are getting sticky, lightly dampen them with water before rolling.

More Recipes

• Biscoff Fudgy Brownies
• Burnt Basque Cheesecake
• Dubai Chocolate Bars
• Molten Chocolate Lava Cakes
• Tres Leches Cake

Frequently Asked Questions

Where can I find ube halaya and ube extract?

Ube halaya (purple yam jam) is commonly found in the Asian or international aisle of well-stocked grocery stores, or at Filipino and Asian specialty markets. You can also easily order both ube halaya and ube extract online from retailers like Amazon.

Make sure you grab ube extract specifically – not ube flavoring, which can taste artificial. The combination of real ube halaya and good extract is what gives these cookies that gorgeous purple color and authentic flavor.