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.
In recent years, purple yam has become a trending food on social media and the international food scene. Many restaurants and bakeries have embraced the trend and started incorporating this lowly tuber into their dessert selections, such as ube macapuno ice cream, ube mamon, doughnuts, ube cheese pandesal, 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 a 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 can be 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!
Ingredient notes
- Sugar- the cookies include two types of sugars, granulated and powdered.
- Oil- makes for a denser texture than butter. Use a neutral-tasting oil such as vegetable oil for the best results
- Egg- the recipe uses whole eggs for color, structure, and leavening
- Ube halaya- 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 other great brands are available. Of course, you can also make it from scratch if you like. ๐
- All-purpose Flour- provides structure
- Baking powder- leavening agent to help the cookies rise
- Salt- brings out the flavor of the cookies and helps with browning
- Ube extract- enhance flavor and color
- Violet food color- optional; can be used to boost color without additional flavor
How to make ube crinkles
- Cream sugar and vegetable oil in a large bowl using a hand mixer. Add the egg and beat until frothy and pale in color. Add the ube jam and ube extract and beat again until well blended.
- Gradually add the flour, baking powder, and salt and mix until well combined. The dough will be very sticky. Add violet food color, if desired, to achieve a deep purple color.
- Cover and refrigerate overnight or freeze for 1 to 2 hours. Chilling the dough makes it easier to handle, and roll it into balls. It's also important to make the cookies tall and not flat.
- Scoop 1 ยฝ tablespoonfuls and drop them into a bowl of powdered sugar. Roll the dough in the powdered sugar to coat it thoroughly. 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.
- Arrange 2 inches apart on a baking sheet and bake in a preheated 350 F oven for about 10 to 12 minutes or until they begin to form their signature cracks on top.
- Remove from oven and let stand on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
Quick tips
- Do not skimp on the powdered sugar. It tends to melt especially in humid weather so go heavy on coating the dough balls.
- Use a cookie scoop to portion the dough evenly to ensure uniform baking.
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 them 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
- ยพ cup sugar
- ยผ cup vegetable oil
- 1 piece egg
- 2 cups ube jam
- 2 teaspoon ube extract
- 2 cups flour
- 1 ยฝ teaspoon baking powder
- ยผ teaspoon salt
- violet food color, optional
- ยฝ cup powdered sugar, sifted
Equipment
- hand mixer
- scoop
- cookie sheet
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.ย
- 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
โThis 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.โ
Gladys calderon says
can i use ube powder instead of the extract? thanks
Ann says
I don't have ube extract. Can I just use vanilla e tract instead for substitute?
Thank you.
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?
Atet says
I followed the recipe but the crinkles are coming out moist after a few hours. do you have any suggestions to prevent this from happening?
erin says
Hello! My first time making this, I didn't have the dough attachment so the consistency was a little different than expected but I will definitely try again. I love ube crinkles and miss eating them, so I'm hoping to try it out again so that it turns out better! Thank you!
Claudia says
So yummy! Iโm so glad I found this recipe, I canโt stop eating it! Can you leave the dough in the freezer work too for future batches?
LeighAnne says
Thank you for sharing your recipe. I made it today and everyone loved it. It's perfect!
Sonia Vilkamin says
Do i need parchment paper to bake the crinkles?
Maita Arevalo says
Hi, question can we make Ube crinkles using cooked/ boiled ube only not an ube jam.
Josephine Cruz says
Hi, I just wanted to clarify how much ube jam should I put in. I bought the ube jam in jars, so I assume you used two ube jam jars in this recipe? Thanks in advance.
Aleah says
I cannot wait to make these! What do you recommend if you canโt get the extract? The Asian market near me was out and itโs delayed ordering from amazon. I donโt want to wait to make these. ๐
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 โmeltedโ and the are all โgooeyโ. Thank you again for a Great yummy recipe!!!
Sheila says
Hi! Whilst it tastes good, when you bake yours, does it still look like itโs kinda โdoughy/gooeyโ inside? Maybe i didnโt wait long enough for it to be cold? ๐
Crystal says
My local store was out of jam so I bought a frozen purple yam/ube puree - would I be able to substitute this for the jam? Thank you!
Charlene says
what if there's no ube jam?