Cute Ube Snickerdoodles
Easy, quick, no chill ube snickerdoodles decorated with melted chocolate! These bear cookies are crispy yet very soft, not-too-sweet, and super adorable.
They can be made in one bowl with a hand whisk and rubber spatula, making these cute cookies an easy project for beginner bakers!
**Disclaimer: this post may contain affiliate links.
About these ube snickerdoodles
When I started blogging, there were barely any ube cookie recipes online. I wanted to help change that, so I got to baking! So far, I’ve made chunky ube cookies, thin & chewy white chocolate ube cookies, ube marshmallow cookies, coconut ube bear cookies, and ube thumbprint cookies… all of which can be found here.
So, here is my newest ube cookie recipe: ube snickerdoodles. The outsides are crisp, but have incredibly soft centers. They’re not too sweet, are a bit tangy (due to the cream of tartar), and have the perfect balance between the cinnamon and ube. Kinda makes me want to make ube cinnamon rolls next!
And what’s even better, is that this recipe is extremely beginner-friendly. You can use one bowl, a hand mixer, and a rubber spatula. Shaping the cookie dough is quick and all the decorations are made with melted chocolate. So no super duper fancy equipment is needed, making this a fun project for the weekend.
If you’re interested in other kawaii cookie recipes I have like Aang Sugar Cookies, Frog Matcha Sugar Cookies, and Chick Lemon Cookies, check out this page!
FAQ
What is ube?
If you’re not familiar with ube (pronunciation: oo-beh), it is a purple yam native to the Philippines. Ube is sometimes confused with another vegetable called taro, which has an earthier flavor and is used in both savory + sweet dishes.
On the other hand, ube is sweeter and often described as having vanilla and nutty notes. It’s commonly used in desserts, such as ice cream, cake, or jam. You could just use ube extract in this recipe, but I used ube extract and rehydrated ube halaya. You can find these ingredients in some Asian markets, especially Filipino ones, but if all else fails, you can buy ube extract/halaya or powdered ube online!
Can you make these ube cookies vegan?
Yes, you can!
Instead of regular butter, you can swap in high quality vegan butter made for baking. Make sure to use a good brand—some brands are very high in water content and melt at lower temperatures, yielding very flat cookies. I recommend brands like Miyokos and Country Crock.
Also make sure the ube halaya brand you are using is vegan. And as for decorating the bear faces, you can replace the decorating chocolate for a vegan brand, like Pascha chocolate. OR, you can try out my easy icing recipe, which is found in my teddy bear cookie recipe.
Can you make these ube snickerdoodles gluten-free?
Absolutely! I recommend using 1:1 gluten-free flour.
Tips for baking and decorating
Properly measure the flour
I always like to measure my ingredients with a kitchen scale for consistent, accurate results. But if you’re measuring with cups, make sure you follow this tip: gently spoon in the flour into the cup until it’s full, then scrape the excess off using the back of a knife or offset spatula.
If you scoop the cup directly into the flour bag or container, the flour may get compacted, and you will be adding in more flour than necessary. On the other hand, if your flour is clumpy, you could be adding in chunks of flour into the cup with gaps in between them, possibly adding less flour than required. These instances can cause tougher or even really flat cookies, since the proper ratio of dry:wet ingredients isn’t met.
So, for best results, use a scale. If you don’t have one, gently spoon and level the flour into your measuring cup!
Shaping the dough into bear cookies
For each teddy bear cookie, you’ll want to use a small cookie scoop, or gather about 1 ½ tbsp of dough. Shape it into a ball, roll it in cinnamon sugar, then place it onto your lined baking tray. Repeat for about 15 more cookies, making sure you have some left over for the ears.
For the ears, take about 1/2 tsp of dough, and split it into two equally sized pieces. Roll into balls and place on the sides of the bears’ heads. You can definitely roll them in cinnamon sugar too!
Decorating with melted chocolate
You can use a piping bag, cookie scribe, or toothpick to add on the details.
First, use the white chocolate for the snouts and ears. Then, use dark or milk chocolate to add the eyes and nose.
Dye the remaining white chocolate pink and use this for the blush!
When dying white chocolate, you’ll want to use oil-based food coloring or the chocolate will seize up and become lumpy. However, if you don’t have oil-based food coloring, you can try mixing in a tsp of neutral oil (canola, vegetable) at a time! The chocolate should come back together. Maaagic.
Storing the ube cookies
Store these cute bear cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week!
I really hope you enjoy this recipe. If you make these cute teddy cookies, I’d love to see them. You can tag me at #bitesbybianca / @bitesbybianca on Instagram. Enjoy!
If you’re interested in other kawaii cookie recipes I have like Aang Sugar Cookies, Frog Matcha Sugar Cookies, and Chick Lemon Cookies, check out this page!
Now, lets get to the ube cookies recipe!
Cute Ube Snickerdoodles
Ingredients
Dry ingredients:
- 1 ⅓ cup all-purpose flour, can sub in gluten-free flour (160g)
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp cream of tartar
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¾ tsp salt
Wet ingredients:
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened (1 stick butter/8 tbsp)
- ½ cup granulated sugar (100g)
- 1 tsp ube extract
- ¼ cup ube halaya (60g)
- 2-4 tbsp any type of milk
For rolling:
- 1 tbsp granulated sugar (50g)
- ½ tbsp cinnamon
Decoration for face:
- 3 tbsp white chocolate, melted
- 1 tbsp milk or dark chocolate, melted
- oil-based red or pink food coloring, see steps
Instructions
For the ube cookie dough:
- In a medium bowl, whisk together all of the dry ingredients: all-purpose flour, cinnamon, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt.
- In a stand mixer using the paddle attachment (can alternatively use hand mixer or whisk), cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until smooth, about 1-2 minutes. Scrape bottom of bowl.
- Add ube extract + ube halaya and mix until smooth. Add more ube extract until you get the shade of purple you desire.
- Dump in all of the dry ingredients and mix until combined. If the dough is crumbly, slowly add 2-4 tbsp of milk until it comes together. The finished dough should be thick but scoopeable.
- Preheat oven to 350°F/177°C and line two baking trays with parchment paper or silicone mats.
- In a small bowl, combine granulated sugar and cinnamon for rolling the dough.
- Use small cookie dough scoop to gather dough (about 1 ½ tablespoon each) and shape into a ball. Roll dough into cinnamon sugar mixture, then place onto lined baking tray. This will be the bear's head.For the ears, take ½ tsp of dough, shape into a ball, then roll into cinnamon sugar mixture. Place the ear on the upper left or right side of the head and repeat for the other ear.Place bear ube cookies about 3-4 inches apart. They will not spread much while baking.
- Bake for 9-11 minutes. Cookies should look puffy, soft, and retain their purple color. They should not be browned.
- Let cool on pan for about 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack. Let cool completely.
For the faces:
- You can a piping bag, toothpick, or cookie scribe to add on the details. I used a piping bag for the arrow and snouts, eyes, and noses, then a scribe for the blush.
- Use white chocolate for the snouts and ears.
- Use melted milk chocolate to create the eyes and noses.
- Add oil-based red or pink food coloring to the remaining melted white chocolate. If you don't have oil-based food coloring, then the chocolate will seize/become lumpy. To counter this, stir in a tsp of neutral oil (canola, vegetable) at a time, until it becomes smooth again.Use this for the blush.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- I remade this recipe using King Arthur’s gluten-free flour and they were just as delicious!
- Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.
