These ube cookies are not too sweet, perfectly salted, soft, and chewy! They’re made with both ube halaya (aka ube jam) and ube extract, meaning they’re packed full of ube flavor. The purple yam goes perfectly with the white chocolate chips and coconut—a combination you’ll be sure to love!
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I originally started my Instagram in 2020 and blog in 2021-ish because I noticed the lack of ube cookie recipes online. The only ube cookie recipes I could find were ube crinkle ones. And even though they are all SO delicious, I just knew there was potential to make other fun flavors! So, I developed these soft, chewy ube cookies with shredded coconut and white chocolate chips. Kind of like my own play on the OG chocolate chip cookie.
This recipe is super easy to make, especially for beginner bakers! Since melted butter is used, the batter quickly comes together with just a silicone spatula, so no need for any special equipment like an electric mixer. The cookies are then scooped, baked, and topped with flaky sea salt right out of the oven. Delicious, simple, and perfect for any other ube lovers out there.
💜 Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- This has been a top 3 recipe on my blog since 2021. The cookies aren’t too sweet and are perfectly salted. Plus, the ube flavor goes SO well with the shredded coconut & white chocolate chips. There’s a reason they were featured by Nestle Toll House!
- The cookies have BOTH ube jam (homemade or store-bought) AND ube extract! This recipe uses almost a ¼ cup of jam and 1½ extract, meaning you can really taste the ube!
- This is a quick, easy recipe with no special equipment required. You don’t need a fancy mixer or even a hand whisk… you can just use a silicone spatula! And if you don’t have ube jam, my recipe includes methods on how to use ube powder or mashed ube.
Wait, What’s Ube?
If you haven’t heard of or had ube before, it is a purple yam native to the Philippines. Its flavor is commonly compared to a subtle vanilla mixed with pistachio, and is popular in Filipino desserts like cakes, cookies, and ice cream! You can learn more about ube in my ultimate ube guide. There, I talk about different types of ube ingredients, where to buy them, and more!
This recipe uses both ube jam (homemade or store-bought) and ube extract, meaning it is FULL of distinct ube flavor. And because ube extract has both red and blue dyes in it, it yields this beautiful purple color you see in the photos.
Now, let’s get to the rest of the ingredients.
Ingredients
To make soft & chewy ube cookies, you’ll need the following ingredients:
- Melted unsalted butter helps make these cookies chewy! It also easily mixes with the sugars, meaning you can stir everything together with just a spatula.
- For ultimate ube flavor, both ube halaya (homemade or store-bought) and ube extract are used. The extract already includes red and blue coloring, which gives the cookies their vibrant purple color. You can find these ingredients in the baking aisle of your local Asian or Filipino grocery store, or online at Weee!/Amazon.
- The white chocolate chips and unsweetened coconut enhance these cookies with added sweetness, texture, and flavor.
- After baking, flaky sea salt is sprinkled on top of the purple cookies to balance all of the flavors.
For the full list of ingredients and measurements, see the recipe card below.
Substitutions & Variations
- In place of ube halaya, you can use an equal amount of rehydrated ube powder or freshly mashed ube. Since they are not sweetened, you will need to adjust the sugar levels. See recipe card for more details.
- For the unsweetened coconut, you can use unsweetened coconut flakes, dessicated coconut, or shredded coconut.
- One recipe trier on Instagram swapped the all-purpose flour for 1:1 gluten-free flour and said they came out delicious!
- Other mix-ins like chopped nuts, regular chocolate chips, or Oreos would be absolutely delicious in these cookies.
How To Make White Chocolate Coconut Ube Cookies
Step 1: In a large bowl, stir the melted butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until combined.
Step 2: Mix in the egg, ube jam, and ube extract until smooth.
Step 3: In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, and table salt. Add this flour mixture into the mixing bowl, followed by the white chocolate chips and shredded coconut. Fold the batter until no dry spots remain.
Step 4: Place 2-3 tablespoon cookie dough balls on a lined cookie sheet, 3-4 inches apart. Bake at 350°F/177°C for 10-13 minutes, or until edges are set. Immediately sprinkle flaky sea salt and top with extra white chocolate chips. Let cool for about 5 minutes before transferring to wire rack.
For full instructions, see the recipe card below.
💡 Baking Tips
- Weigh your ingredients! One of my favorite kitchen tools is a kitchen scale because it’s more accurate than measuring by volume. If you use cups, spoon the flour in gently, then level it with a knife or spatula.
- For rounder cookies, place a large circular cutter or mug on top of a freshly baked, warm cookie. Move it around in a circular motion until your cookie is perfectly round! This step is totally optional and purely for plating purposes! 🙂
Chewy Ube Cookie FAQs
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.
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 can find it in some Asian markets, especially Filipino ones, but if all else fails, you can buy ube extract/halaya or powdered ube online!
Feel free to check out my ultimate ube guide for more information.
You can find these ingredients at your local Asian or Filipino grocery store, right in the baking aisle! You can also buy them online at Weee! or Amazon.
Yes, you can. I highly recommend rehydrating the ube powder first using this recipe.
This is more than likely from adding too much flour to the cookie dough batter. I always recommend baking with a kitchen scale, since it is more accurate than measuring cups. However, if you’re measuring your dry ingredients 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.
Of course! I recommend lining a tray or plate with parchment/wax paper. Then, arrange the ube cookie dough balls and in a single layer and freeze for about 1 hour.
Once the cookie dough pieces are frozen, you can transfer them to an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. Bake as usual, but add 1-2 extra minutes.
“I just made these last night! The recipe was so easy to follow and my cookies turned out great! I did use my food scale to measure out ingredients which you have so kindly provided. The ube and coconut make some nice and subtle touches to the cookies to make it its own. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!” – Heleina, commenter
“I CRAVE these [ube coconut] cookies. When I made them they turned out absolutely delicious!” – Mattie, commenter
Storage
If you’d like to store freshly baked coconut ube cookies, wait until they are fully cool. Then, transfer the cookies to an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
If you’d like to store the ube cookie dough, line a tray or plate with parchment or wax paper. Arrange the raw cookie balls in a single layer, then freeze for about 1 hour. Once the cookie dough balls are frozen, transfer them to an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. Bake as usual, but add 1-2 extra minutes.
Did you try this recipe?
Please leave a review & share it with me on Instagram, Facebook, Tiktok, or Pinterest!
Thank you so much! -Bianca ❤️
More Ube Dessert Recipes
📖 Recipe
Soft and Chewy White Chocolate Coconut Ube Cookies
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Equipment
- medium mixing bowl for dry ingredients
- large mixing bowl for mixing cookie dough
- Medium cookie scoop 2-3 tablespoon capacity
Ingredients
Dry ingredients:
- 1 ⅓ cups (166 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon (2 g) baking soda
- ½ teaspoon (3 g) table salt
Wet ingredients:
- ½ cup (113.5 g) unsalted butter melted and cooled
- ⅛ or ⅓ cup (25 or 73 g) light or dark brown sugar packed, see steps
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 1 (1) egg
- 3 tablespoons (45 g) ube halaya homemade/store-bought, can also sub rehydrated ube powder or mashed ube
- 1 ½ teaspoons (7.5 g) ube extract
Mix-ins:
- ¾ cup (135 g) white chocolate chips plus more for topping
- ¼ cup (20 g) shredded unsweetened coconut
Toppings:
- flaky sea salt
Instructions
- Place oven rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F/177°C. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- *If you are using ube halaya, use lower amount brown sugar because of how sweet ube halaya is. If using mashed or rehydrated ube, use higher amount of brown sugar.In your large mixing bowl, stir the melted ½ cup unsalted butter, ⅛ or ⅓ cup light or dark brown sugar, and ½ cup granulated sugar with silicone spatula until combined.
- Add 1 egg, 3 tablespoons ube halaya, and 1 ½ teaspoons ube extract. Mix with spatula until smooth.
- In a medium bowl, stir together all of the dry ingredients: 1 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon baking soda, and ½ teaspoon table salt. Add to large mixing bowl along with ¾ cup white chocolate chips and ¼ cup shredded unsweetened coconut. Mix until no dry spots remain.
- Use cookie scoop to place 2-3 tablespoon cookie balls on lined baking sheet, about 3-4 inches apart. Bake for 10-13 minutes, or until edges are set. Immediately sprinkle flaky sea salt on top and top with extra white chocolate chips.
- Optional: For rounder cookies, place a larger round object (circle cookie cutter, mug, etc.) on top of your still warm cookie while it is still on the baking sheet. Move the cookie around in the cutter in a circular motion. This pushes the sides of the cookie towards the center, forcing it to mold into a circular shape.
- Allow ube cookies to cool on sheet for at least 5 minutes and enjoy!
Notes
- Variations/Substitutions: See blog post for more details!
- Storage: Freeze the raw cookie dough balls in a single layer in airtight container for up to 3 months. You can bake straight from the freezer, just adjust the baking time by 2-3 more minutes. Store cooled, freshly baked cookies in airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Hi!
Can i use the dried shredded coconut instead of the fresh one?
Thank you!
Hi Nerisa! Yes definitely!:)
I don’t usually bake but this recipe was easy to follow and my cookies turned out great!
Hi Krizell!! Yay thank you so much for your comment!(: So glad to hear it.
Recipe was easy to follow and flavor came out great. But I did have an issue with it coming out more cake like (as mentioned by another commenter) than flat and chewy. I followed the US customary recipe and used ube halaya so I used the lessened brown sugar measurement. Should I be lowering my temperature? Softened butter instead of melted butter? More butter perhaps? Would love to know how others are getting cookies just like the pic!
Hi Nathalie!! Thank you for commenting, I’m glad the flavor was great! (:
Hmmm, cakey sounds like there might be too much flour! Melted butter is normally best for chewier cookies. Were the cookies thick?
Also, how do you usually use measuring cups? For example, do you scoop right into the flour bag? It’s recommended to gently spoon flour into the cup, until it’s full, then scrape the excess off using the back of a knife or offset spatula. If you do that already, let me know. Happy to troubleshoot further! <3 You can also email me at bianca (at) bitesbybianca (dot) com if you'd like, and include any pics if you have them!