Dubai Chocolate Cookies

Two stacked halves of a Dubai chocolate cookie filled with pistachio cream and kataifi.

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!

Course cookie, Dessert

Cuisine American, middle eastern

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 10

Total Time 40

Servings cookies (see note)

Calories 272kcal

Author Sam Merritt

Equipment

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

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 pistachio cream, ⅔ cup 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 unsalted butter, 1 Tablespoons avocado oil, ¼ cup 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 granulated sugar, ⅓ cup 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 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 couverture or semisweet chocolate, 2 Tablespoons roasted, salted pistachios

Video

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