Soft, Chewy White Chocolate Coconut Ube Cookies
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!
“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
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:
Ingredient Notes
- 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 helps yield consistent results in baking. Measuring ingredients by weight is much more accurate rather than by volume (like using 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.
- For rounder cookies, immediately place a circle cookie cutter or mug (that is larger in diameter than your cookie) on top of a warm, oddly-shaped cookie. Move it around in a circular motion. This step (aka the cookie scoot) turns them into the more aesthetic, perfectly round cookies you see online! However, it’s not necessary and purely for pretty plating purposes. 🙂
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.
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.
More Ube Dessert Recipes
I really hope you enjoy these chewy ube cookies. If you make them, I’d love to see. You can tag me at #bitesbybianca / @bitesbybianca on Instagram. Enjoy! 🙂
📖 Recipe
Soft and Chewy White Chocolate Coconut Ube Cookies
Equipment
- Kitchen scale/measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
- medium mixing bowl for dry ingredients
- large mixing bowl for mixing cookie dough
- silicone spatula
- Medium cookie scoop 2-3 tablespoon capacity
- Parchment Paper
- Wire rack
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.
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!
Hi!!! Lili, thank you so much for letting me know! I updated one of my plug-ins and had to go back in and fix it. It’s all updated now! 🙂
Tried this recipe twice! Although the flavor is good. I cannot for the life of me get the cookies to be thin and chewy. They consistently have a cakey texture even after following the recipe perfectly. I was noticing though that I am unable to “cream the melted butter and sugar until smoothly and fluffy” It mixes to be smooth where all the sugar is incorporated but I had been mixing it and mixing it for a while and it never turns fluffy ever. Is this cause of melted butter? Should it not be melted? Am I missing something?
Hi Mae!! 🙂 Thanks so much for commenting. Your feedback is really helpful!
This was one of my newer recipes and I misspoke—the “creaming” really should’ve said to mix until just combined, since the butter is melted. My apologies on that, the instructions are now updated.
I’m curious to know how you measure your ingredients. Do you weigh them using a kitchen scale or by using measuring cups? I prefer using a kitchen scale because it always yields consistent results when measuring ingredients, while measuring cups can be 20-50 grams off. If you don’t have a scale and are 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.
If you are using a scale, let me know! I’d be happy to troubleshoot further!! 🙂 <3
Where can I find recipe with correct (weighing scale) measurements? The one posted here is using cups/tbsp. 😊
Sorry, never mind! I saw it 😊
Such a good recipe! The mix of reconsituted ube and ube extract makes these cookies have such a great purple colour. I made these without the added chocolate chips and they were the perfect amount of sweetness for me. Will definitely be doubling the recipe next time!
Hi, can I completely omit the ube extract? Reason I wanted to skip it as it has artificial stuff…Thank you!
Hi Edith! Yes, you can omit the extract, although the ube flavor will not be as strong. The extract is what also adds the purple color to the cookies, so without it, the cookies will be gray-ish.
I CRAVE these cookies. When I made them they turned out absolutely delicious!
Mattie! Thank you so much. Glad you enjoyed them ❤️
Is the 1 tbsp of rehydrated Ube measure before or after rehydrating it?
After rehydrating! 🙂
I made these however my cookies weren’t blue after baking. I followed recipe to the “T”. Any idea why mine weren’t flat and purple like the photo?
Meant purple color not blue
Hi Tammy,
Thank you for trying the recipe, I’m sorry it didn’t work out! What brand of ube extract did you use? I’ve used the brands McCormick and Butterfly, which both make any batter very purple. If you could email me (bi********************@gm***.com) or DM me on Instagram (@bitesbybianca) a picture of your cookies, I’ll be able to help out more. 🙂
Loved these! The best chilling time for any cookie recipe is 2 hours or more so I did this. I didn’t have ube powder that you rehydrate so I just used McCormick ube extract instead. I recommend at least 3 teaspoons or 3 1/2 for a strong enough ube flavour if you just use extract. Also I used very soft *almost* melted butter instead because I prefer that to fully melted butter, as I find it too greasy to roll out. Will be making it again no doubt, perfectly soft and chewy with crisp edges!
Hi Aleesha! Thank you so much for trying out the recipe and for your tips! 🙂 Glad you enjoyed it.
Just made these and added Macadamia nuts and ade so amazing!!!! Thank you for the tip on how to rehydrate the ube powder!!!
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!
Hi Heleina,
Thank you so much! I’m happy you enjoyed the recipe. 🙂