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If you’ve never enjoyed this sweet vanilla-like yam from the Philippines, you are missing out! Let your first introduction to ube be this small batch ube cookies recipe. It’s based on my classic sugar cookie recipe but with Oreos and ube flavoring!

Hand holding an ube cookie with crushed Oreos in it.

If you’ve never had ube (the Filipino purple yam), then you have probably never had Filipino food, and that, my friend, you must remedy right this second. Filipino food is absolutely delicious. After your first bite of pancit, you will be hooked. And I highly doubt you’ll ever make chicken again without turning it into chicken adobo.

Ube is a very sweet yam that has a very distinct earthy, vanilla flavor. It’s almost as if a single roasted ube is dessert on its own! (It totally is, by the way). However, we’re going to add even more sugar and vanilla and make ube cookies because this is a cookie blog.

The idea to combine ube and oreos comes from my best friend, Jinny, who owns a donut shop. Every May, she makes Asian-inspired donut flavors to celebrate AAPI month. Last May, she turned her usual cookies and cream donut into an ube Oreo donut, and it sold really well! It was so fun to be in the kitchen with her that month!

So, thank you, Jinny, for inspiring this cookie flavor combo! We’re using a small bottle of super potent ube flavoring to make these ube cookies and cream cookies. I use the leftover flavoring in small batch rice krispies treats (and also in sugar cookies).

Ingredients

Little bowls of flour, sugar, and purple food coloring.

Butter. One stick of unsalted butter, softened for about 30-60 minutes at room temperature.
Sugar. Two-thirds of a cup of granulated white sugar.
Egg. One whole large egg, beaten.
Ube Flavoring. One tablespoon of ube flavoring. Here is the exact bottle of ube flavoring that I bake with often. (You can also stir it into a milky latte for a fun purple hue and flavor!)
Flour. One and one-third cups of all-purpose plain flour.
Baking Soda. One-half teaspoon of baking soda and 1/4 teaspoon of salt.
Oreos. Five oreos, crushed into slightly smaller than bite-size pieces. Reserve a few larger pieces for topping the cookies before baking.

How to Make Ube Cookies and Cream Cookies

Brown bowl with butter smeared all inside of it.

Raw egg on top of yellow cake batter in brown bowl.

First, preheat the oven to 350-degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Using an electric mixer, cream the softened butter and sugar for 1 minute, until light and fluffy.

Add the egg, and beat just combine.

Yellow batter with splash of purple dye in the middle.

White flour sprinkled over purple dough.

Add the ube flavoring to the bowl, and beat again to combine.

Evenly sprinkle the flour, baking soda, and salt on top. Stir this in by hand.

Dark purple dough with crushed Oreos on top.

Sheet pan of ube cookies with crushed Oreos on top.

Finally, add the crushed Oreos and stir in well. (Save a few crushed Oreos for the top before baking).

Divide the dough into 10 equal sized pieces, and space evenly on a baking sheet. Press extra Oreo pieces on top before baking. Bake for 10-11 minutes, until the edges are set but the centers are still soft.

Storage and Make Ahead

Store leftover ube cookies in an airtight container on the counter at room temperature for up to 3 days. You can extend their life up to 5 days in the fridge, but I’ve never found 10 cookies to last that long. You can freeze the raw dough balls individually until frozen, and then stack for storage up to 3 months. Bake directly from frozen, adding a few extra mixture of bake time. You can also freeze already baked cookies in single layers for up to 3 months. Defrost at room temperature before serving.