Effortless Ube Levain-Style Cookies (Print Version)
# Ingredients:
→ Dough Mix
01 -
2 sticks (230 grams) of butter, chilled and diced into tiny pieces
02 -
160 grams of granulated sugar
03 -
160 grams of brown sugar
04 -
3 teaspoons of baking powder
05 -
1 teaspoon of table salt
06 -
475 grams of all-purpose flour
07 -
1 teaspoon of ube flavoring
08 -
25 grams of ube powder
09 -
1 extra egg yolk
10 -
2 whole eggs
11 -
300 grams of white chocolate chunks or chips
# Instructions:
01 -
Combine the flour, baking powder, ube powder, and salt into one bowl, giving it a good whisk so it’s evenly blended. In another small container, whisk the eggs gently and stir in the ube extract until you get a nice, bold purple hue. Set them both aside ‘til later.
02 -
Get a large bowl and beat up the butter pieces with a hand mixer or stand mixer set up with a paddle attachment. Keep going for roughly 30 seconds, just to break it into bits. There's no need to make it fluffy.
03 -
Pour in both the white sugar and brown sugar. Pulse the mixer on low for about 40 seconds until it clumps together like small coarse crumbs. Don't worry about making it smooth or creamy—this step’s all about keeping it rough.
04 -
Now, mix the white chocolate chips into this buttery-sugar mix briefly, just enough for the chunks to be spread out evenly. This lets them melt perfectly when baking later on.
05 -
Dump the flour mix into your bowl. Set the mixer to its slowest speed and mix until it just about combines. The texture will look a little crumbly and sandy, which is exactly what you want here.
06 -
Add in your vibrant purple egg combo and mix it on a low speed just enough for the dough to pull together a little. Make sure not to overwork it—stop mixing as soon as it all sticks together.
07 -
Scoop out uneven dough balls weighing around 165 grams each. Don’t shape them too perfectly! You want those jagged edges. Place them close together on a tray and freeze everything for at least 2 hours or overnight. This firming-up step is essential.
08 -
Preheat the oven to 185°C (365°F). Take a baking tray and line it with parchment. Pop 6 frozen dough balls on the tray, and make sure to space them well so they’ve got room to spread out.
09 -
Bake on the middle rack for 15 to 17 minutes. Keep an eye out so the edges turn golden and firm up, while the center should remain a little underbaked. Let the cookies sit on the tray for 10 minutes more to firm up from the heat before moving them to a cooling rack.
# Notes:
01 -
Freezing the dough first is crucial. It keeps the cookies thick instead of spreading too much.
02 -
For the freshest flavor, eat these cookies within the first two or three days, though they’ll last fine for up to five days if stored in an airtight box.
03 -
Plan ahead! The dough stores great in the freezer for two months, ready to bake whenever the craving kicks in.
04 -
No ube extract or powder? Use purple sweet potato powder. It’s a good substitute, though the taste won’t be exactly the same.
05 -
These cookies are best when the centers are slightly undone out of the oven. They’ll continue cooking as they cool down to that gooey middle everyone loves.