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These soft-baked ube pandan cookies have crisp edges and irresistibly chewy centers. Ube powder gives them their vibrant purple color and a subtle toasty aroma, while pandan adds a delicate nutty, floral flavor. My new favorite cookies!
There is a new trendy cookie in town, and it’s inspired by two flavors that are quite popular in coffee shops across Asia: ube and pandan!
Half of the cookie dough is infused with pandan extract, giving it a vibrant green color and a herby, nutty aroma, while the other half is flavored with ube powder for an earthy, almost toasty flavor. I just love the balance between the two!
I based this recipe on my classic chocolate chip cookies, resulting in a chewy, soft-baked center with slightly crisp edges!
⭐️ What Makes These Unique
- Fun and colorful. Green and purple are not a usual combination, and that’s what makes these cookies unique and eye-catching. They can also be a great fit for Mardi Gras!
- Rich ube + pandan flavor. The cookies don’t just look colorful. I’ve tested this recipe extensively to ensure that each bite is packed with both earthy ube flavor and floral pandan aroma.
- Soft-baked. Crispy edges with a chewy, slightly moist center – exactly what you want in a cookie. The ube part of the cookies is even a bit fudgy! On top of that, they stay soft and tender for days if stored in an airtight container.
🍠 What You’ll Need
- Butter – Use store-bought vegan butter or homemade vegan butter. Just make sure to let it sit on the counter for at least 2 hours before using.
- Sugar – I use two kinds of sugar here: granulated white sugar for crispy edges, and light brown sugar for moist, soft centers.
- Flour – Regular all-purpose flour works perfectly here. You can easily make these cookies gluten-free by using a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend.
- Baking powder and baking soda – To allow the cookies to rise slightly. Don’t worry, it won’t make the cookies cakey.
- Ube powder – Ube powder consists of purple yams that have been dehydrated and then reduced to a powder. You can buy ube powder online or in organic supermarkets. Just keep in mind that not all brands are equal. You want to find one that’s fine and with a deep purple color.
- Pandan extract – Also known as pandan flavoring. It gives the cookies a green color and a floral aroma that reminds me of almonds.
Pandan lover? Check out my gluten-free pandan bread or this pandan sticky rice!
Ube powder vs. taro powder: There can be confusion between taro and ube powders. Taro powder doesn’t have as deep a color as ube and doesn’t taste as nutty – it’s a bit milder. For this recipe, you want to use ube powder.
🥣 How to Make Them
- Add the sugar and butter to a bowl. Ensure that your butter is at room temperature.
- Cream the butter. Use a wooden spoon (or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment) to beat the sugar and butter together. It should appear light and creamy.
Then, you will divide the creamed butter between two small mixing bowls to make one ube cookie dough and one pandan cookie dough.
2. Pandan Dough
- Add the extract. To one of the bowls, add the pandan extract.
- Mix. Mix until well combined.
- Add the dry ingredients. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Mix. Mix again until the flour is fully incorporated into the creamed butter. Chill in the refrigerator.
3. Ube Dough
- Add the ube powder. To the other bowl, add the ube powder.
- Mix. Mix until the ube powder is fully incorporated into the creamed butter.
- Add the dry ingredients. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Mix. Mix again until the flour is fully incorporated. Chill in the refrigerator.
- Shape into balls. Scoop out one tablespoon of the ube dough and one tablespoon of the pandan dough. Press them together and roll into a ball.
- Bake. Arrange the cookie dough balls on a baking sheet and bake the cookies for 9 minutes.
📔 Vân Tips
Don’t chill the dough for too long. I’ve learned during testing that chilling the ube cookie dough overnight makes it darker and loses its vibrant purple color. That’s why I suggest chilling it for at least 2 hours, but no longer than 5 hours.
Do not overbake them. For chewy cookies with a fudgy center, avoid baking them for more than 9-10 minutes. They will appear underbaked straight from the oven. This is normal, and they will firm up slightly as they cool.
For perfectly round cookies. Straight from the oven, place a glass over one cookie. Make sure the glass is just slightly larger than the cookie. Then, swirl the glass around the cookie for about 2 seconds. That’s it!
🍫 Optional Toppings
- Incorporate white chocolate chips: For extra sweetness and color, you can add 1/4 cup of vegan white chocolate chips to each batch of cookie dough.
- Drizzle with melted white chocolate: Melt 1/3 cup vegan white chocolate chips in a double boiler, then mix in 1/4 tsp ube powder. Drizzle each cookie with the purple chocolate and let it harden.
- Add nuts: Chopped macadamias, cashews, or peanuts!
🍚 Serving Suggestions
Enjoy the cookies as an afternoon pick-me-up with a glass of almond milk, taro milk tea, caramel latte, or even Korean banana milk!
❄️ Storing and Freezing
- To store: You can store the cookies in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
- To freeze: Wrap each cookie individually and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature for 1-2 hours.
💬 FAQs & Troubleshooting
You either baked them for too long or made them too small. The baking time I’m giving is for 2-tablespoon-sized balls.
This happens if the flour hasn’t been measured correctly. I suggest using the spoon-and-level method for measuring flour, or, better, a kitchen scale.
From my experience, the brand of butter can also affect how the cookies spread. Try picking a brand with at least 70% fat.
You may have skipped the chilling time. It’s essential to chill the dough for at least 2 hours so the butter doesn’t melt too quickly in the oven.
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Ube Pandan Cookies (Soft & Chewy)
Ingredients
Base
- 6 tbsp (75 g) granulated white sugar
- 6 tbsp (75 g) light brown sugar
- 3/4 cup (170 g) vegan butter (diced and at room temperature)
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) water at room temperature
Pandan Cookie Dough
- 1 tsp (5 ml) pandan extract
- 1 cup (125 g) all-purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
Ube Cookie Dough
- 2 tbsp (28 g) ube powder
- 3/4 cup (93 g) all-purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
Base
- Cream the butter. Add the white sugar, light brown sugar, and diced butter to a large mixing bowl (or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment). Mix the sugar and butter until light and creamy. Add the water and mix again until well combined.
- Divide the creamed butter between two small mixing bowls (about 6 ounces /170g per bowl).
Pandan Cookie Dough
- Add the extract. To one of the bowls, add the pandan extract and mix until well combined.
- Add the dry ingredients. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix again until the flour is fully incorporated into the creamed butter. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
Ube Cookie Dough
- Add the ube powder. To the other bowl, add the ube powder and mix until it is fully incorporated into the creamed butter.
- Add the dry ingredients. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix again until the flour is fully incorporated. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours and up to 5 hours.
Bake
- Preheat the oven to
350 °F (175°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. - Shape into balls. Scoop out one tablespoon of the pandan dough and one tablespoon of the ube dough. Press them together and roll into a ball. Repeat with the remaining dough and place the balls on the prepared baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches (5 cm) between each.
- Bake. Bake the cookies for 9 minutes, then allow them to cool for at least 20 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
- You can store the cookies in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Notes
About the Author
Thomas Pagot is the founder, photographer, and recipe developer behind Full of Plants. He created the blog in 2016 as a personal cookbook for vegan recipes. Through years of recipe development, Thomas has successfully grown Full of Plants into a trusted resource for plant-based recipes.
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