Ube Crinkle Cookies (Hawaiʻi Local Filipino Purple Yam Cookies)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Stand mixer or electric hand mixer
• •1 1/2 tablespoon cookie scoop
• •Two parchment-lined half-sheet pans
• •Wire cooling rack

Instructions

1. 1

   Mix dry goods

   Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl until there are no little pockets hiding. That even mix is what lets the cookie rise into cracks instead of baking up heavy in the middle.

2. 2

   Cream butter

   Beat the softened butter and granulated sugar until the mixture looks lighter and a little fluffy, about 2 minutes by mixer or a few strong minutes by hand. Don't melt the butter. You want it soft enough to give, not shiny and oily.

3. 3

   Add the ube

   Beat in the ube halaya until the butter turns purple and smooth, then beat in the egg, vanilla, and ube extract. The dough should smell like sweet yam and vanilla, with that Filipino bakery note right up front. Start with 1 teaspoon extract, then add more if you want the color deeper.

4. 4

   Fold the dough

   Add the dry mix and fold just until the flour disappears. Stop there. The dough will be soft and sticky, almost too soft to trust, but no panic. The chill is going to firm it up.

5. 5

   Chill it down

   Cover the bowl and chill the dough at least 2 hours, or overnight if that fits your day better. This step keeps the cookies thick and chewy and gives the powdered sugar a chance to crack clean instead of melting into the surface.

   If the dough still sticks badly after chilling, oil your hands lightly or use a small scoop. No need add extra flour unless the dough is truly loose.
6. 6

   Roll in sugar

   Heat the oven to 350F and line baking sheets with parchment. Scoop the dough into 1 1/2 tablespoon balls, roll them smooth, then coat each one heavily in powdered sugar until no purple shows through. Heavy coat, yeah. That's what makes the crackle.

7. 7

   Bake soft

   Set the dough balls 2 inches apart and bake 10 to 12 minutes, until the cookies puff, crack, and look set around the edges while the centers still look soft. Don't wait for browning, because purple cookies lie to you. Pull them while they still have a little give.

8. 8

   Cool and share

   Let the cookies sit on the hot pan for 5 minutes so the centers finish setting, then move them to a rack. They should be soft in the middle, lightly chewy at the edge, and snowy on top with purple showing through the cracks. Pack them in a tin once cool, and put them where hands can reach.

Chef Tips

• •Use ube halaya for flavor and body, not extract alone. Extract gives color and that bakery aroma, but halaya gives the cookie its soft chew and purple-yam heart.
• •Different brands of ube halaya carry different sweetness and moisture. If your dough feels loose after chilling, give it 15 more minutes in the fridge before scooping.
• •This is Hawaiʻi Local food with a Filipino hand. Keep that honest. It can sit beside poi and laulau at a party, same table, but it is not the same genealogy.
• •Store the cookies in a tin or airtight container with a small piece of parchment between layers. They stay soft for about 4 days, if the house doesn't finish them first.

Advance Preparation

• •Make the dough up to 24 hours ahead and keep it covered in the fridge; scoop straight from cold for the cleanest cracks.
• •Baked cookies keep well for 3 to 4 days in an airtight tin at room temperature.
• •Freeze unbaked sugar-coated dough balls on a tray, then store in a freezer bag up to 1 month. Bake from frozen, adding 1 to 2 minutes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 28g)