Dubai Chocolate Cookies

Inspired by the viral chocolate bar, these highly requested Dubai chocolate cookies combine creamy pistachio, crispy-crunchy kataifi, and rich chocolate into one indulgent bakery-style cookie. They are surprisingly easy to make, and even more fun and satisfying than the candy bar! Recipe includes a how-to video!

Dubai Cookies Are Finally Here!

Over the last few months, one recipe request has inundated my inbox, Instagram DMs, and YouTube comments. Many of you have asked and asked and asked for Dubai chocolate cookies, and, with much ado, they are finally here!! 🎉

Inspired by the famous Dubai chocolate bars that have been all over the internet, this Dubai cookie recipe pairs indulgent chocolate cookies with a pistachio cream and toasted kataifi filling, plus a drizzle of chocolate and crumbled pistachios for good measure.

Why This Dubai Cookie Recipe WORKS

• Smart use of specialty ingredients (if I do say so myself). I scaled the recipe to be more cost-conscious (while making sure it worked at a larger scale in case you were feeding a crowd).
• Mindful design: The fudgy chocolate cookie dough (similar to the one used in my black bottom cookies and devil’s food cookies) is carefully designed to be sturdy enough to hold the filling, but still rich and indulgent (never dry!).
• Texture-lover’s dream: The kataifi filling stays crunchy even after baking, so you still get that incredible (and irresistible) texture that everyone loves about the actual Dubai chocolate bars.
• Better than the $20 dollar bars. Dubai chocolate bars are pricey (trust me I know… I paid nearly $20 per bar!) but these Dubai chocolate cookies have the same wow factor for a fraction of the cost. And, honestly? They’re way more satisfying.

Honestly, they look like something you’d splurge on at an upscale bakery, but you can make them in your own kitchen without any special equipment.

Ingredients for Dubai Cookies

Before you begin, you’ll need to buy at least kataifi and potentially pistachio cream (or use my pistachio cream recipe to make your own). Everything else should be in your pantry!

• Pistachio cream. A key ingredient (and what gives that vibrantly green filling its color), you can buy it or make it at home. If you don’t feel like splurging on a jar, you can make my homemade pistachio cream recipe instead! If you’d rather buy it, here is a pistachio cream on Amazon that I’ve used and liked.
• Toasted Kataifi. If you’ve never heard of kataifi, it’s a crispy crunchy shredded phyllo dough somewhat similar in appearance to vermicelli noodles. Kataifi can’t really be practically made in the average American kitchen (it’s made by pressing a thin flour/water batter through tiny nozzles onto a hot spinning griddle), so this is one ingredient I recommend buying. This is the kataifi I buy off Amazon It comes already toasted, which is convenient because it must be toasted before using, otherwise the filling loses its crispness. If yours isn’t toasted, you can toast it similarly to how you would toast coconut, either on the stove or in the oven.
• Neutral oil. A bit of neutral cooking oil (avocado, canola, vegetable or even sunflower) in the dough has been my favorite cookie secret weapon recently. It’s key for creating a soft, tender crumb that’s also fudgy, rich, and indulgent and stays soft for days.
• Cake flour. Cake flour makes for a super tender, super rich cookie texture. I highly recommend using it for the best results! If you must use all-purpose flour, please follow the substitution instructions in the recipe notes at the bottom of the recipe–don’t just swap it in 1:1, or your cookies won’t turn out properly.

This is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!

SAM’S NOTE: I wanted to be mindful of the fact that the ingredients for this recipe aren’t exactly cheap! A classic, 2-dozen batch would need 2 jars of pistachio cream, which brings the cost to over $25 (and that’s before buying the kataifi or other ingredients). I scaled the recipe down to an even dozen gourmet cookies. That’s enough to indulge, but doable for a single jar. And if you want to double the recipe, you absolutely can! If you need a push to convince you this is still a good deal, know this: a single 6-oz Dubai chocolate bar cost me $20, so these cookies are honestly more satisfying and a better bang for your buck.

How to Make Dubai Chocolate Cookies

1. Step 1: Make the filling. This Dubai cookie recipe starts with the pistachio and kataifi filling, which we’ll stir together in equal parts.

2. Step 2: Freeze the filling. Drop 1 tablespoon-sized dollops onto a wax paper lined baking sheet. I use a cookie scoop for the cleanest and easiest portioning. Place this in the freezer while you make the cookie dough.

3. Step 3: Make the cookie dough. We’ll start by adding the cocoa powder to the hot melted butter; this blooms the cocoa to extract the most flavor (it also simultaneously helps cools down the butter–important!). After prepping your dough, your filling dollops should be ready to go.

4. Step 4: Stuff the cookies. Scoop the dough into large balls, then make an indentation in the center of each ball with your thumb. Press the frozen filling dollops into the indentations and roll/cover with the remaining dough. Roll between your palms until all of the filling is covered and the dough balls are smooth.

SAM’S TIP: It’s very important that you let your melted butter/cocoa mixture cool completely before adding your sugars, or you could end up with a very greasy, soft dough that may not be salvageable. Try chilling it in the fridge (covered) for 30 minutes if yours is too soft to handle!

5. Step 5: Bake, flatten, and cool. Bake the cookies for 10 minutes, then remove and immediately, gently flatten each cookie using the clean bottom of a glass or measuring cup. This step creates a fudgy, indulgent texture. The cookies will be extremely fragile when warm, so let them cool completely on the baking sheet before removing to a cooling rack to decorate.

6. Step 6: Decorate. A drizzle of melted chocolate and crushed pistachios on top adds to the indulgence and gives a sneak peak of what’s inside. A little edible gold leaf would be so pretty on these Dubai chocolate cookies too!

SAM’S TIP: Instead of drizzling the cookies with chocolate, you could top your Dubai cookies with a ganache topping like what I used on my buckeye cookies or mint chocolate cookies.

Frequently Asked Questions

Dubai Chocolate Cookies

Inspired by the viral chocolate bar, these highly requested Dubai chocolate cookies combine creamy pistachio, crunchy kataifi, and rich chocolate. They are surprisingly easy to make, and the dough requires ZERO chilling!

Recipe includes a how-to video!

5 from 1 vote

Print Pin Rate

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Course: cookie, Dessert

Cuisine: American, middle eastern

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes minutes

Servings: 12 cookies (see note)

Calories: 272kcal

Author: Sam Merritt

Ingredients

For the filling

• ▢ ⅔ cup (195 g) pistachio cream
• ▢ ⅔ cup (52 g) toasted kataifi

For the cookie dough

• ▢ ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter cut into pieces
• ▢ ¼ cup (25 g) natural cocoa powder
• ▢ 1 Tablespoons avocado oil (or canola/vegetable oil)
• ▢ ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
• ▢ ⅓ cup (67 g) light brown sugar firmly packed
• ▢ 1 large eggs room temperature preferred
• ▢ ¾ teaspoons vanilla extract
• ▢ 1 ¾ cups (198 g) cake flour (see note)
• ▢ ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon baking powder
• ▢ ½ teaspoon table salt

Topping

• ▢ ⅓ cup (70 g) couverture or semisweet chocolate melted, for drizzling
• ▢ 2 Tablespoons roasted, salted pistachios for topping

Recommended Equipment

• ▢
  Mixing bowl
• ▢
  Baking sheet
• ▢
  1 Tablespoon Cookie scoop
• ▢
  1 ½ Tablespoon cookie scoop

Instructions

For the filling

• Stir together pistachio cream and kataifi until well-combined. Scoop by 1 Tablespoon-sized scoop (17g) onto a small baking sheet lined with wax paper. Transfer to freezer to freeze and solidify while you prepare the cookie dough.
  ⅔ cup (195 g) pistachio cream, ⅔ cup (52 g) toasted kataifi

Make the cookie dough

• Preheat oven to 350F (175C) and line baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
• Melt butter in a large, microwave-safe bowl. Add cocoa powder and oil and stir well.
  ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, 1 Tablespoons avocado oil, ¼ cup (25 g) natural cocoa powder
• Feel the butter mixture and the bottom of the bowl, if either feels warm at all, let it rest until it no longer feels warm to the touch before proceeding.
• Once butter mixture is cooled, add sugars, eggs, and vanilla extract and stir well.
  ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar, ⅓ cup (67 g) light brown sugar, 1 large eggs, ¾ teaspoons vanilla extract
• In a separate, medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Once well-combined, gradually add to the butter mixture (I usually add in 4 parts), stirring until completely combined.
  1 ¾ cups (198 g) cake flour, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ¼ teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon table salt

Assemble

• Check your filling in the freezer and make sure that it’s firm and easy to pick up. If it is, proceed.
• Scoop the dough into 2 ½Tablespoon-sized (about 48g) scoops. Roll into a smooth ball and use your thumb to form an indent in the center of the dough. Remove a ball of filling from the freezer and nestle into the center of the dough and wrap the dough around it to center it.
• Place cookie dough balls on prepared baking sheet, spacing at least 2” (5cm) apart. Transfer to center rack of 350F (175C) preheated oven and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and if cookies haven’t flattened, immediately use the clean bottom of a large measuring cup to gently flatten each cookie. Allow cookies to cool completely on baking sheet before removing and enjoying (they’re very fragile when warm and may fall apart if moved to soon!).
• Once cooled, drizzle with melted chocolate and top with crushed pistachios. Allow chocolate to harden before serving.
  ⅓ cup (70 g) couverture or semisweet chocolate, 2 Tablespoons roasted, salted pistachios

Notes

Yield/Scaling this recipe

In order to be mindful of the cost of the ingredients (particularly the pistachio cream) I developed this recipe to use just a single jar of cream, so it makes a dozen cookies. If you would like to double or even triple or quadruple this recipe you can, no adjustments needed. 

Flour

If you want to substitute all-purpose flour instead of cake flour, use 1 ½ cups (188g) all-purpose flour plus 1 Tablespoon of cornstarch.

Storing

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. Dubai cookies may also be wrapped in plastic or kept in an airtight container and refrigerated for up to a week.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 272kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 34mg | Sodium: 161mg | Potassium: 112mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 268IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 26mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.

Tried this recipe? Show me on Instagram!Mention @SugarSpun_Sam or tag #sugarspunrun!