Description
These Large, Thick, Chewy, Bakery Style Ube Cookies are a delightful treat bursting with the unique flavor and vibrant color of ube, a purple yam popular in Filipino desserts. Featuring a rich blend of vegetable shortening, butter, cream cheese, and ube sugar, these cookies offer a soft and chewy texture. Finished with a luscious ube glaze and purple sugar sprinkles, they make an eye-catching and delicious addition to any cookie platter.
Ingredients
Scale
Cookie Dough
- ½ cup vegetable shortening
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 2 cups ube sugar (made by mixing 2 cups sugar with 1 teaspoon ube flavoring)
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons ube flavoring
- 3½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
Ube Sugar for Sprinkles
- ½ cup coarse sugar sprinkles
- 2 tiny drops ube flavoring
Ube Glaze
- 2½ cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 tablespoons water
- Additional ube flavoring for coloring and flavoring (about 2 teaspoons)
Instructions
- Prepare Cookie Sheets: Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside to prevent sticking and ensure even baking.
- Make Ube Sugar: In a medium bowl, combine 2 cups sugar with 1 teaspoon ube flavoring. Press the flavoring into the sugar with the back of a spoon until the sugar is evenly colored purple with no white spots remaining. Set aside.
- Mix Wet Ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, beat together vegetable shortening, softened butter, cream cheese, ube sugar, eggs, and 2 tablespoons ube flavoring until the mixture is light and fluffy, creating the base for the cookie dough.
- Combine Dry Ingredients: In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, salt, and baking powder to evenly distribute the leavening agents.
- Form the Dough: Gradually add the dry ingredient mixture to the wet ingredients, blending until fully combined and a dough forms.
- Divide Dough: Portion the dough into 14 equal balls, each weighing approximately 3.6 ounces, ensuring uniform cookie size for even baking.
- Chill Dough: Place seven dough balls on each prepared cookie sheet and refrigerate for 2½ hours to firm up the dough for thick, chewy cookies.
- Preheat Oven and Bake: Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Bake cookies in a convection oven for 16-18 minutes; adjust time if using electric or gas ovens. This baking process ensures the cookies develop a bakery-style thick and chewy texture.
- Cool Cookies: Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and slide the baked cookies with parchment paper onto the counter to cool completely to set their structure.
- Prepare Ube Sugar Sprinkles: In a small bowl, mix coarse sugar sprinkles with 2 tiny drops of ube flavoring. Stir with a spoon to coat the sugar evenly and set aside to dry for decoration.
- Make Ube Glaze: Combine powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and water in a medium bowl. Whisk vigorously until smooth and lump-free to create the glaze base.
- Color and Flavor Glaze: Dip the end of a wooden toothpick into ube flavoring and streak through the glaze, combining the color and flavor thoroughly. Repeat dipping and mixing until desired purple hue and ube taste are achieved.
- Dip Cookies in Glaze: Place cooled cookies on a wire rack with wax or parchment paper underneath to catch drips. Dip each cookie into the ube glaze. While glaze is still wet, sprinkle the prepared purple sugar over the cookies for an added crunch and vibrant look.
- Optional Second Batch Dough Preparation: Leave any remaining dough in the mixing bowl, refrigerate for 2 hours. Using a cookie or ice cream scoop (~2 ounces), scoop onto parchment-lined cookie sheets. Form into balls for roughly double the number of cookies.
- Bake Second Batch: Bake these cookies at 350°F for 11 minutes initially. Then, gently flatten each cookie with the back of a wooden spoon, and bake for an additional 2 minutes to achieve desired thickness and chewiness.
Notes
- The ube sugar is made by mixing sugar with ube flavoring until evenly colored; this intensifies the ube taste in the cookies.
- Chilling the dough for at least 2½ hours before baking is crucial to achieving thick, chewy cookies.
- Adjust baking time when using an electric or gas oven as the original baking instructions were for a convection oven.
- Use parchment paper or wax paper underneath cooling racks to catch unwanted glaze drips for easy cleanup.
- The second batch baking method (flattening cookies halfway through) creates a slightly different cookie texture and size, doubling your yield.
- The coarse sugar sprinkles are coated with ube flavoring to add extra ube flavor and decorative purple color.
- For best results, use a high-quality ube flavoring extract and ensure cream cheese and butter are softened for smooth mixing.
