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.
Jump to:
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
- Step 1: Make the filling. This Dubai cookie recipe starts with the pistachio and kataifi filling, which we’ll stir together in equal parts.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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!
- 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.
- 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 combines rich chocolate with pistachio cream and toasted kataifi. You taste a light nuttiness from the pistachio cream, a toasty crunch from the kataifi, and a snappy, sweet chocolate shell, all neatly emulated here with these cookies. It’s definitely an experience!
Dubai chocolate went viral in 2024, making many appearances on just about every social media platform. The fun and interesting texture from the surprise filling is likely a huge reason for its popularity–it’s a very unique (and I’ll be honest… weird looking!) chocolate bar! And of course, the combination of chocolate and pistachio is a winner for most people too (I love adding pistachios to my chocolate biscotti!).
No, you don’t have to. If you do, they will last longer (up to a week vs. 3-4 days unrefrigerated), but honestly, we eat them fast enough that I don’t usually need to refrigerate mine.
Whichever storage method you use, make sure to keep the cookies well protected in either an airtight container or plastic wrap.
Related Recipes
I hope this Dubai cookie recipe is exactly what you all were hoping for. Please comment below if you try it–I really can’t wait to hear what you think!
Enjoy!
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Dubai Chocolate Cookies
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
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
Nutrition
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.
Marya Myslinski
Hi Sam. These cookies are absolutely amazing! Everyone loved them! Two questions for you: why cake flour and not regular flour? And how do I get the pistachios to adhere to the cookies better? I cooled the cookies before adding the nuts as you suggested and they fell right out. Thank you!
Sam Merritt
Hi Marya! I’m glad everyone enjoyed them! Cake flour makes for a super tender, super rich cookie texture. All purpose flour will work here, but the results won’t be as good. Did you drop the pistachios on the melty chocolate? That will help them stick a bit better. 🙂
April
BEST cookies I’ve ever made or eaten!!!!!! I had a little trouble drizzling chocolate on top from chocolate chips but who cares omg so good!!! 😊
Sam Merritt
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, April! 🙂
Amber
Wow! These were show stopping fantastic! Thank you so much for all of your hard work. We greatly appreciate you! Ever person that tried this cookie was in awe. The center was amazing, the cookie was outstanding, the topping was perfect! This one is a 10!
Sam Merritt
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Amber! 🙂
Melody Nakamura
I just made these and OMG they are the absolute best cookie yet. Thank you Sam for testing all of your recipes to perfection. I appreciate all of the hard work that you and your team put into making every single video. I have been a fan of your YouTube channel and blog for over 5 years now and I am obsessed with your baking recipes. I have learned so much from you. This cookie recipe is definitely gourmet and came out fantastic. I shared it with my husband and he said it is dangerously good. Definitely will make again but not often as it can get expensive.
Sam Merritt
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Melody! I appreciate your support for all of these years! 🙂
Karen
Hi Sam. Quick question. I have Sunrise Mills Pastry flour. Would this be a fine substitute for cake flour? I appreciate your thoughts as you are right the ingredient in these gourmet cookies is not cheap. If I have to buy cake flour I will, but it will cost me an additional 41.00. Still I want them to turn out good, and some say either will work. But it is your call. Thank you for assisting me.
Sam Merritt
Hi Karen! Oh I love this flour brand! While I don’t think it will be exactly the same, I would absolutely use it before I spent $41 on cake flour, that’s so high! I would recommend using the Sunrise Mills flour, just replace it by weight (use the same weight called for in the recipe). The cookies may not be quite as tender, but they’ll still be very good and will save you quite a bit! I seriously doubt anyone will complain!
Holly
One of my kids got into the pistachio cream so I was short the needed amount. I mixed up a little bit of natural peanut butter with a little powdered sugar and the kataifi to make up up the shortfall. Those were just as good!
Sam Merritt
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Holly! 🙂
Jenny
Made these yesterday, they were a huge hit at work today!! The only thing I changed was putting milk chocolate chips on the tops right out of the oven! Great recipe!! Thank you so much for sharing!! Your recipes are great!! 💖
Sam Merritt
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed them so much, Jenny! 🙂
Lorley
As soon as I read this recipe I knew I had to make it. I have not been able to find the Dubai chocolate bars yet so this would be a great way to experience the flavors. I received the filling ingredients from Amazon on Saturday. Sunday I made the cookies. The family was beyond impressed with these stating they were the best cookies I’ve ever made. The chocolate cookie is soft and chewy. A great contrast to the sweet and crunchy pistachio filling. Thank you for giving us this special recipe. I appreciate all your time experimenting to give us the perfect recipe.
Sam Merritt
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Lorley! Thank you for the feedback! 🙂
Angelina
As soon as I saw this recipe posted I ran to our local middle eastern store to get the ingredients! This cookie is great – a total gourmet treat. I am an avid baker and make over 50 different types of cookies a year. My children get to try just about everything and my son, who is my biggest fan in the kitchen, said this was the best cookie he has ever had 😉 I will say that the filling gets soft very quickly (even after being frozen for a while) so I found it easier to keep the filling in the freezer the entire time when filling them and just take a scoop out at a time so the rest stayed frozen and were manageable. The texture, taste and appearance are perfect! Great recipe (but I haven’t tried a bad one from you!)
Sam Merritt
Thank you so much, Angelina! I’m so glad you enjoyed these so much! 🙂
Jan Moran
Wow! Those cookies look very interesting. I live in a cave so I’ve never heard of them. However I will give them a try. Just as a side note: I can’t believe people are so judgmental and leave you nasty comments, they must be lacking the nice gene. Am I being too judgmental? I really love your videos and really appreciate all your honest takes on things…they really are helpful and cute. Keep on bak’in!
Sam Merritt
I hope you love them, Jan! 🙂
Wendy
I hear so much about this chocolate. Your recipe looks soooo good!
Sam Merritt
I hope you love it, Wendy! 🙂
Rena Cooper
Made these tonight and they were AMAZING!! We made two batches and so glad we did! Any reason why these couldn’t be frozen?
Sam Merritt
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Rena! You can certainly freeze these cookies. 🙂