Soft and Fudgy Ube Blondies

Blondies are one of my go-to desserts, so I am so excited to share these ube blondies with you. They are soft, fudgy, and best of all, they are extremely easy to make. I promise you will return to these over and over again.

One ingredient that I fell in love with last year is ube. Ube is an amazing Filipino ingredient that has a vanilla/pistachio flavor and makes food purple! I really missed experimenting with this ingredient, so I made these ube blondies. Blondies are one of my go-to desserts because they are simply so easy to make. You make the batter in 1 bowl, spoon it into a pan, and let the oven do the rest.

What’s the difference between brownies and blondies?

Blondies and brownies are very similar. The main differences between the two is that blondies are made mostly with brown sugar, and they don’t utilize melted chocolate. Blondies also typically have mix ins like chocolate chips, nuts, and dried berries. Brownies can have nuts, but in most cases, are served without any mix ins. Texture wise, they are pretty similar. Blondies texture wise are somewhere in between chewy cookies and fudgy brownies.

What is ube?

Ube is another name for purple yam. This ingredient is often used in Southeast Asian cuisine, and is especially popular in Filipino cuisine. The ingredient itself comes from the Philippines. It has a vanilla pistachio flavor that goes really well in both sweet and savory dishes. Personally, I like it in desserts. When I make ube desserts like my ube brownies and ube cookies, I typically use ube in the form of ube halaya which is when purple yam, butter, coconut milk, and other ingredients are combined to create a jam.

Ingredients, Substitutions & Adjustments

• Ube extract – Adds color and ube flavor to the blondies.
• Ube halaya – Ube halaya is an amazing Filipino ingredient used in desserts across Southeast Asia, especially in the Philippines. It is made from purple yam, coconut milk, butter, and other ingredients. This ingredient adds the purple color and ube flavor to the ube blondies.
• All purpose flour – This is the main dry ingredient in this recipe. A good gluten free substitute would be sweet rice flour, but the texture will be a bit chewier than all purpose flour. Sweet rice flour also tends to be drier, so I would use 1/2 cup if using sweet rice flour.
• Baking powder – Baking powder helps the blondie rise.
• Light brown sugar – Adds sweetness to the blondie. I used light brown sugar because I wanted my blondie to be less sweet. You can also use dark brown sugar for this recipe which will make the blondie sweeter and chewier. A question I get asked a lot is “can I use less sugar”. The short answer is yes, but it will change the texture of the blondie. Using less sugar will make the blondie less chewy and more cakey.
• Unsalted butter – Adds a nutty flavor to these blondies.
• Vanilla extract – Adds flavor to the blondie. Vanilla paste or 1 vanilla bean are good alternatives.
• Salt – Brings out the flavor of the other ingredients.
• Egg – Adds richness to the blondie and makes them chewy.
• White chocolate chips – You can add up to a cup of any mix in you want. I chose white chocolate chips because I think they go best with ube.

How to make ube blondies

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C). Grease a 8×8 baking pan with butter and line with parchment paper. Set aside. Melt the butter. Set aside to cool. Mix all purpose flour, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine melted butter and brown sugar. Mix until just combined. Add the egg, vanilla extract, ube extract, and ube halaya. Whisk until combined. Add your dry ingredients to your wet ingredients. Mix until just combined. Lastly, add in the white chocolate chips and mix.

Spoon batter into your prepared baking pan. Smooth it out with your spatula. Bake for 25-30 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Let blondies cool completely before cutting into them.

Tips on how to make the perfect ube blondies

Light vs dark brown sugar

I tested this with light and dark brown sugar, and I found that I liked light brown sugar better because it was less sweet. However if you prefer a sweeter blondie, I would recommend using dark brown sugar. You can also choose to use 1/2 light and 1/2 dark.

Add more flour for a dryer blondie

I love my blondies soft and fudgy, but if you like a blondie that is a little bit firmer, add 1/4 cup more flour to the batter.

Customize your blondies with mix ins

As mentioned before, you can choose from a variety of mix ins for your blondies. Some that work well are nuts, dried berries, potato chips, and chocolate chips. You can also choose to make them without any mix ins.

How do you store these ube blondies?

Store these blondies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Did you make this dish?

If you made this dish, I would love to see!

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