A filipino twist on the best cookies ever!
It’s cookie season! And the most wonderful time of year! I always try to bake at least one new cookie each season. It could be my own or a recipe from a new cookbook, but either way I love introducing a new recipe to my family. On many lists of recipes to create has been an Ube-flavored cookie. Ube (pronounce ooh-beh) is a purple yam (a tuberous root vegetable), indigenous to the Philippines. From the outside, Ube looks like just another potato, dark brown in color. But on the inside it is a pinky-purple that I’d describe as almost a light magenta. When cooked, it turns to a vivid classic purple, which is why it is celebrated for natural food coloring. On its own, Ube flavor is kind of what you would expect biting into a raw potato, but a little sweeter. So it’s more commonly used in sweet treats instead of savory. When enhanced with sweeteners, it has a nutty vanilla-y flavor that some liken to pistachio or white chocolate.
This year, my heart has been longing to make a cookie that gives me all the feels of Christmases growing up. My mom was so wonderful at creating magic at Christmastime. The house was decked out! And we always had so many treats around the house. My mom would cover our family room coffee table in tins and packages of cookies. It went very well with my Dad’s sweet tooth and I can picture him carrying a big handful and stuffing some in the front pocket of his shirt.
One of my favorite cookies of all time is from the Bread Basket Cake Company, a famous bakery in my hometown. For every special occasion we ordered a cake with their fruit basket filling (aka another treat I need to recreate at home soon!). The Bread Basket also made delicious sandwiches with house-made bread. Every time we picked up the sandwiches, we also ordered their famous Zebra Cookies. They were slightly crisp on the outside with a gooey, chewy brownie-like center, and rolled in powdered sugar to give them their zebra effect. I’ve come to learn that a lot of other bakeries also refer to these cookies as crinkle cookies. But they will always be Zebra to me. 🙂
As pretty as they look, these cookies are quite simple to make. The batter comes together in one bowl. Once the batter is ready, the cookies are formed into balls and then rolled in sugar. The key to getting those gorgeous patterns consistently is rolling them in granulated sugar before rolling them in powdered sugar. The course granulated sugar more efficiently drys out the top of the cookie before the inside sets, creating that perfect crackly top.
These cookies are super fun to make with kids. My daughter loved rolling them in the sugar.
My kiddos were so in awe with how these little snowballs transformed into a gorgeous crackly pattern.
My husband said these are the best cookies I’ve ever made! So I hope you give them a try.
Wishing you all love, peace, joy and cookies this holiday season!! And as always, thanks for reading!!
Valerie
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- ¼ cup canola oil
- ½ cup Ube (Halaya) Jam
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon Ube extract
- 2 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon sea salt
- For rolling: ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- In a large bowl, combine ½ cup brown sugar, ¾ cup granulated sugar, eggs and canola oil. Whisk well to combine. Add the Ube Halaya (jam), vanilla extract, and Ube extracts and whisk until combined (If the Ube Halaya is chunky, use the whisk to break apart).
- To the bowl, add the flour, baking powder and salt. Slowly mix in to combine. The dough will be thick and sticky. Once the dough is together, refrigerate for 10 minutes. This helps when forming the cookie dough balls. While the dough is chilling, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place parchment paper on a lined sheet pan.
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator, then using a cookie scoop or your hands, form a cookie ball. Then roll the dough ball lightly in the granulated sugar and generously in the powdered sugar.
- Place each dough ball on the cookie sheet as you go (I put 12 on each sheet pan).
- Place the sheet pan in the oven and bake 10-12 minutes. When the sheet is removed from the oven, bang on the counter a couple times to help the cookies spread a bit more. Let cool for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Or just eat them directly from the pan, lol.
- Store cookies in a container covered, for up to one week.
The Ube extract creates that deep purple deepens color. If you don't have, up the vanilla extract to 1 teaspoon. But keep in mind the color will be much more muted.
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