Ube cookies are simply delightful. Ube (oo-beh) or purple yam can be described as a mellow, slightly nutty, vanilla-like flavour. I am obsessed! Whilst similar to the taro flavour, ube is sweeter with a deeper flavour profile than taro.
I was inspired to recreate the cookies after reading Homocide and Halo-halo written by Mia P. Manansala. A sequel to the mystery novel Arsenic and Adobo which I also loved, the flavours of Filipino cooking and baking are highlighted in such a tantalising way! In the book, the main character Lila (also a self-taught baker) made ube cookies and got her friends to taste test both the dark chocolate and white chocolate versions.
So of course I had to do the same and make both versions! Personally I thought that the ube flavour paired better with white chocolate, but I usually prefer dark chocolate in cookies. I also used chocolate drops instead of chopped chocolate because I wanted the textural bite of the chocolate bits.
Thanks to the addition of ube halaya (ube jam) in the recipe, these cookies are perfectly fudgy and stay moist for days. In fact, the flavour develops and deepens, tasting even better after Day 1!
If you love ube, make sure you try the ube cake and ube ice cream recipes. Both are scrumptious and can be easily adapted to your pantry goods.
Make sure you tag your creations with @ultimateomnoms on Instagram so I can share and give you a shoutout!
Ube Cookies
Ingredients
- 300 g standard flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1½ tsp cornstarch
- ½ tsp salt
- 170 g unsalted butter (melted)
- 120 g brown sugar
- 100 g castor sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 120 g ube halaya
- 1 Tbsp ube extract
- 100 g dark chocolate chips
- 100 g white chocolate chips
Instructions
- Whisk the flour, baking soda, cornflour and salt together in a bowl
- In another bowl mix the melted butter, brown sugar and castor sugar until all lumps are gone
- Mix in the egg and egg yolk
- Add the ube halaya and ube extract
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix together
- Portion half of the dough and add the dark chocolate to one portion, and white chocolate to another
- With an ice-cream scoop, roll into balls
- Cover and chill in the fridge for a few hours or overnight
- Once ready, preheat oven to 170°C
- Bake for about 13min. Remember they will continue to bake on the cookie sheet so it's ok if they look soft when you first take them out
- If desired, press a few more chocolate drops to the top of the cookies when still soft – simply for the delight of aesthetics!
