The Best Type Of Ube To Use For Cookies

Recognized for its unmistakable bright purple hue, ube is a purple yam that comes from the Philippines. The tuber is popular in Filipino cuisine and is featured prominently in Hawaiian desserts. Its unique name, pronounced "ooh-beh," is the Tagalog word for "tuber," making it quite a fitting name for this root vegetable.

Although ube got its start in the Philippines, it has continuously gained popularity throughout the United States, resulting in the creation of lattes, desserts, and cocktails featuring ube in restaurants and in online recipes. Bakers have started to create variations of cookies that feature ube, as well as share original cookie recipes that prominently feature the unique tuber. There are multiple ways to include this ingredient in recipes, like ube jam or frozen ube, but when it comes to baking cookies, using ube powder is ideal.

Fresh ube can be hard to find in the United States, which is part of what makes powder such a great alternative. The powder is often available at Asian grocery stores and health food stores and can also be found online on sites like Amazon. Ube powder is not as saturated in color or as strong in flavor as fresh ube, but it will still impart the subtle sweetness that ube is known for, along with an adorable lavender hue, to cookies.

Choosing a good ube powder is an important first step when it comes to making great cookies. Generally, ube powder should be easy to rehydrate so it can be incorporated into cookie dough. A little water is all that is needed to turn ube powder into a paste. The paste will still feel somewhat granular, which can greatly add to the texture of certain cookies.

The amount of ube powder that should be used will vary from recipe to recipe. For example, cookies that are meant to be darker purple and stronger in flavor should use more ube powder. Cookies that include ube alongside other flavors should use less powder, like vanilla extract when making marble cookies. Generally speaking, 2 tablespoons is a good amount for lighter flavor, but more can always be added to suit personal tastes.

There are tons of cookies that could be elevated by ube. The powder can always be added to simple butter cookies, which will really let the hearty flavor and unique color of the tuber shine. Ube powder could also taste great in aromatic snickerdoodle cookies or tropically sweet coconut cookies. The grainy texture of the powder can blend quite well with chunkier textures, including add-ins like chocolate chips or macadamia nuts.