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These Ube Cookies are just like your favorite, classic sugar cookies but with a Filipino Twist! They’re soft, chewy, and made a vibrant purple color using ube powder. Whip them up using just 11 ingredients for a dessert to remember!

vegan ube sugar cookies on a black cooling rack

Table of Contents

Ube vs. Taro. What’s the Difference?

Ube has been all the rage lately, but what is it exactly? Is it taro? Purple food coloring?

Ube (pronounced oo-beh) is a purple yam that originates from the Philippines and has been a long-standing staple in Filipino cuisine and desserts like Creamy Ube Pie (Vegan), Ube Pichi Pichi (Filipino Sticky Cassava Snack), and Fluffy Ube Pandesal (Filipino Purple Yam Bread Rolls).

It is technically a root vegetable and has a distinct flavor that’s commonly compared to vanilla or other sweet yams and sweet potatoes. It’s also earthy, and nutty, yet mild enough to be used in a variety of recipes.

Taro, on the other hand, is a completely different root vegetable, originating in the tropical regions of the world. It grows in a variety of colors, including purple, which is why it is commonly confused with ube.

Taro is also widely used in deserts, acting as a sweet filling for various cakes, pastries, and ice creams, but more notably in Hawaiian, Polynesian, and West African cuisine.

Ube can be found in various different forms, including fresh, frozen, dried, and powdered, and even in jam (ube halaya). Today we’re using the dried and powdered form as I felt that it would be the most accessible to you.

ingredients for vegan ube sugar cookies

Ingredients You’ll Need 

wet ingredients

  • Vegan butter: Our favorite vegan butter to use in our Vegan Desserts are Earth Balance or Country Crock Plant Butter. Any vegan butter will work, but we’d recommend using vegan buttery sticks over butter spreads for the best consistency. 
  • Coconut milk: “Gata,” or coconut milk, is a staple in Filipino cuisine as coconut trees are abundant in the Philippines. Since the flavors of ube and coconut milk complement each other so well, we used full-fat coconut milk instead of water in our flax egg mixture. If you’re interested in more of our Filipino recipes that heavily incorporate coconut milk, try this Filipino Coconut Milk Adobo, Champorado (Tsampurado), or this Vegan Arroz Valenciana.
  • Flaxseed meal: The vegan egg in this chewy sugar cookie recipe. If you’re out of flaxseed meal, try ground chia seeds.
  • Sugar: We typically like to coat these sugar cookies in granulated sugar for added texture and aesthetic appeal. If you prefer to make an ube crinkle cookie recipe, swap the sugar for coating with powdered sugar, or confectioners’ sugar. 

dry ingredients

  • Ube: For this cookie recipe, purple yam powder, or powdered ube, will work best and gives these sugar cookies their bright purple color. We typically order ours online from either this Online Filipino Grocery Store or Amazon. You may also be able to find it at your local Asian grocery stores. 
  • Flour: To date, we have only tested these chewy cookies using all-purpose flour. We have not tested a gluten-free alternative, but if you’d like to experiment, the go-to gluten-free flour blend that we use in several of our Vegan and Gluten-Free recipes is Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour. If you decide to give it a try, let us know how it works in the comments! 
  • Leavening agents: Baking soda and baking powder help lighten up the cookie dough and make these purple cookies perfectly soft and fluffy! Please note, however, that both baking soda and baking powder are required for best results. The ingredients cannot be used interchangeably or replaced by one another.  
  • Cream of tartar: A little goes a long way, but the acidic flavor in the cream of tartar adds tanginess and prevents the sugar in the dough from crystallizing. 
vegan ube sugar cookie dough mounds

Equipment Needed

How to Make Ube Sugar Cookies

  1. Soften the vegan butter. About 30 minutes to 1 hour before starting this cookie recipe, set the vegan butter on the kitchen counter to soften. After 30 minutes, press your finger into the butter. If it makes an indent yet the stick as a whole keeps its shape, it’s ready! 
  2. Make the flax egg. In a small mixing bowl, add the coconut milk and flaxseed meal. Mix until combined, then set aside to thicken, about 10 minutes. 
  3. Cream the butter and sugar. In a large bowl with an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter and sugar. Cream together for 2-3 minutes, or until light and fluffy. 
  4. Add ube, flax egg, and vanilla. In the same bowl with the creamed butter and sugar, add the powdered ube, coconut flax egg, ube extract, and vanilla extract. Beat again until uniform. 
  5. Add in the dry ingredients. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt, and mix by hand using a spatula. Once a rough dough forms, switch to using clean hands to continue mixing the cookie dough together until the cookie dough is smooth. 
  6. Chill for at least 1 hour. Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap or reusable wrap and set it in the refrigerator to chill for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours. 
  7. Scoop the cookie dough into smooth dough balls. Using a 1 1/2 tablespoon-sized cookie dough scoop, scoop the ube cookies into dough balls. Roll the ball between your hands until smooth. 
  8. Coat in sugar. Immediately place the smooth cookie dough balls in a bowl of sugar and toss until covered on all sides.
  9. Bake. Spread the sugar-coated vegan cookie dough balls on a baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Bake for 14-16 minutes, or until cracks begin to form on top of the cookies.
  10. Cool to room temperature. Once baked, remove the ube cookies from the oven, then immediately bang the cookie sheet on the kitchen counter 3-5 times. Allow the cookies to rest for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack until cooled completely. Enjoy! 
step by step vegan ube cookie dough
step by step vegan ube cookie dough
step by step vegan ube cookie dough
vegan ube cookie dough in a bowl of granulated sugar

How to Make Ube Crinkle Cookies

Purple yam crinkle cookies are another popular spin on our sugar cookies recipe. To make, follow the recipe through step 7. Then, instead of coating the rolled cookie dough in granulated sugar, coat each cookie in powdered sugar, or confectioners’ sugar. 

Once the cookies spread in the oven, this will create the look of a classic crinkle cookie!  

Serving Suggestions

These chewy ube cookies are delicious on their own but are the perfect pair for a glass of Homemade Almond Milk or Homemade Cold Brew (who says you can’t eat cookies for breakfast?!). You can even turn them into Ube Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches!

Enjoy them for dessert, or an afternoon snack, or pack them in your kids’ lunch boxes for a sweet treat! 

Or, if you want to serve these for dessert following the ultimate vegan Filipino meal, here are a few of our favorite Filipino recipes to make any night of the week: 

storage instructions

Fresh ube cookies will keep for up to 7 days when stored at room temperature in an airtight container. If you live in a warm or humid climate, keep leftovers stored in the refrigerator to prevent the cookies from spoiling faster.

Raw cookie dough can be frozen after being scooped into individual cookie dough balls (with or without the sugar coating). To freeze, spread the ube cookie dough balls on a baking sheet and flash freeze until frozen, 1-2 hours. 

Once frozen, transfer them to a freezer-safe container such as a silicone Stasher bag or a freezer-safe airtight container. Freeze raw cookie dough for up to 3 months. Bake directly from frozen. 1-2 additional minutes may be required, but when the cookies develop cracking on the top they are ready!

How to Freeze Baked Ube Cookies

Allow the baked ube cookies to cool completely on a wire cooling rack. Once completely cool, transfer the cookies back to the baking sheet, leaving enough space between each cookie so they are not touching. 

Place the baking sheet in the freezer and flash-freeze the cookies until frozen, 1-2 hours. Once frozen, transfer the cookies to a freezer-safe container or bag and freeze for up to 3 months. 

white plate filled with vegan ube sugar cookies

Recipe FAQs

Where do you buy your Ube powder?

I have found ube powder at my local Asian supermarkets, but I usually buy it online from this Online Filipino Grocery Store or Amazon. The ube powder is not something you’ll easily find in regular, mainstream grocery stores.

Could the Ube powder be replaced with anything?

There is unfortunately no current ingredient substitution that we could recommend.

Does Ube taste like sweet potato?

Ube and sweet potato are similar in texture, but Ube’s flavor is more subtle than the regular sweet potatoes you’d find in the United States. I’d describe the flavor of ube as sweet, nutty, earthy, and vanilla-like.

Do I have to rehydrate the ube powder before adding it to the cookie dough?

Nope! Once the ube powder is beaten into the cookie dough, the moisture from the vegan butter and coconut milk will hydrate it and keep your cookies soft and chewy.

More Filipino-Inspired Recipes You May Enjoy:

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vegan ube sugar cookies on a black cooling rack

The Best Ube Sugar Cookies Recipe (Vegan)

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 4 reviews

  • Author: Jasmine @ Sweet Simple Vegan
  • Total Time: 1 hour 55 minutes
  • Yield: About 28 cookies
  • Diet: Vegan
Print Recipe

Description

These Ube Cookies are just like your favorite, classic sugar cookies but with a Filipino Twist! They’re soft, chewy, and made a vibrant purple color using ube powder. Whip them up using just 11 ingredients for a dessert to remember!

Ingredients

  • 1 cup (2 sticks or 224g) vegan butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup (120 mL) full-fat coconut milk
  • 2 tablespoons (13g) flaxseed meal
  • 1 1/4 cups (274g) granulated sugar
  • 1 cup (200g) powdered ube (purple yam) (find it here or here)
  • 2 teaspoons ube extract (find it here or here)
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 cups (272g) all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 6 tablespoons granulated sugar, for rolling

Equipment

Instructions

  1. Remove the vegan butter from the refrigerator and allow it to soften to room temperature, about 30 minutes. 
  2. In a medium bowl, add in the coconut milk along with the flaxseed meal and mix until combined. Set aside for 10 minutes to thicken.
  3. In a separate large bowl with an electric hand mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
  4. Add in the powdered ube, coconut flax mixture, ube extract, and vanilla extract, and beat until uniform. 
  5. Add in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt, and mix together with a spatula, then switch to using your clean hands to work the dough together until it is smooth. 
  6. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap set it into the refrigerator for at least an hour (or up to 24 hours before baking). 
  7. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and preheat the oven to 350°F. Line your baking sheet(s) with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. 
  8. Add the remaining 6 tablespoons of sugar into a small bowl and set aside. 
  9. Scoop the dough using a 1 1/2 tablespoon sized cookie scooper, and roll it between your hands until a smooth ball forms, and then transfer the dough into the sugar bowl to toss until covered.
  10. Transfer to the baking sheet, spacing the dough about 2 inches apart, and continue until you have rolled out all of the dough. 
  11. Bake for 14-16 minutes, or until cracks begin to form on the cookies. You may need to bake these cookies in batches. We suggest chilling the extra dough in the refrigerator if it is not being baked.
  12. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and immediately bang it onto the counter 3-5 times. Allow the cookies to rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, and then transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Notes

  • These cookies must be chilled for at least an hour before baking. Chilling the cookie dough will prevent it from spreading too much and it will also help produce a more evenly baked cookie, with a crispy edge and chewy center.
  • If you’re a fan of ice cream, check out these Ube Ice Cream sandwiches that I put together on Instagram. The coconut compliments the ube so well and it is the perfect sweet treat, especially for a hot day.
  • The cookie dough can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours before baking.
  • Store the baked cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for a week.
  • If the chilled cookie dough is difficult to scoop, allow it to sit at room temperature to soften until it is easier to scoop. 
  • Chia seeds would work as well in place of flaxseed meal.
  • Be sure to opt for organic sugar to ensure that it is vegan! Confectioners sugar can also be used in its place for an ube crinkle cookie appearance. 
  • Prep Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes
  • Category: Cookies
  • Method: Oven

Disclaimer: This page may contain affiliate links, which simply means that we earn a commission if you purchase through those links, but your price remains the same. Thank you for supporting Sweet Simple Vegan!

Meet The Bloggers

hey there! we’re jasmine & chris.

Hi, we’re Jasmine and Chris! We share fresh and fun recipes to show you that vegan cooking is easy, approachable and delicious. When we’re not blogging, you will probably find us enjoying live music, tending to our backyard garden or playing with our dogs Berry and Louie

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5 Comments

  1. These were so delicious and vert addicting. We didn’t flax seed but we did have “NeatEgg” which is made from chia seeds and garbanzo beans. My husband who is not vegan suggested adding some powdered sugar on top – this made it seem like a tea cookie, which turned out even better than I expected!



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  5. I’ve never clicked faster on a recipe! Can’t wait to make these puppies. Thank you (& 5 stars!) in advance!



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