Inspired by the world-famous Pistachio and Kunafa Chocolate bars from Fix Dessert Chocolatiers in Dubai, these double chocolate cookies are soft and chewy with crunchy pistachio, Kunafa, and Tahini filling. It’s the perfect combination of textures and flavors.
If you haven’t heard of the viral Dubai chocolate yet, congratulations, you have your life together cause you clearly don’t spend any time on social media!
I have seen food trends come and go, but I have never seen a trend explode as much as the Dubai chocolate. It has basically reached every part of the world and people are recreating it constantly, no matter where they are.
I am not big on food trends, but if a “trend” has managed to stay relevant for many months and across the world, it’s no longer a trend; it clearly means that the product is ACTUALLY good.
I was very late to try the Dubai chocolate, mostly cause I am based in Dubai myself and I knew I could get it whenever I wanted (classic local resident move). But when I finally did, I knew exactly, exactly why this chocolate has gained such a huge fan base.
The Dubai chocolate is made with a crisp, well-tempered chocolate shell that snaps perfectly, and it’s filled with a very unique filling made with crunchy Kunafa dough mixed with pistachio butter and tahini. The filling inside is quite generous.
So, why does it taste so good?
Because it’s the perfect combination of flavors and textures. You see, a dessert is meant to be much more than “sweet.” Yes, it’s primarily supposed to be sweet, but what makes a dessert AMAZING is when the sweetness is balanced with other flavor profiles like saltiness or tanginess.
And what makes an amazing dessert to a whole other level is the balance of textures. When you combine different textures like soft, crunchy, and crisp, all in one dessert, it makes the eating experience extremely enjoyable.
And this is exactly why the Dubai chocolate works so well.
The sweetness of the chocolate is perfectly balanced by the saltiness of the pistachio butter. The chocolate shell is crisp, the Kunafa is crunchy, and the pistachio butter and tahini provide creaminess and richness to balance it all out. Everything balances out beautifully.
So all those recreations and inspired desserts you keep seeing all around? Don’t expect them to stop anytime soon, because it really is a genius combination of flavors and textures.
Of course, I had to take inspiration from it as well, and thank god I did because I ended up creating the best cookies I have ever made.
For these Dubai chocolate-inspired cookies, I have used by double chocolate chip cookie recipe and filled it with a crunchy pistachio Kunafa filling.
Let’s get into the details of the dish.
Double Chocolate Cookie Dough
The double chocolate cookie dough tastes absolutely delicious but is very simple to make. All you need are a few basic ingredients – butter, brown and white sugar, eggs, vanilla, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, corn flour and corn flour and a very simple recipe.
Here are the steps for making the double chocolate cookie dough.
- In a bowl, mix all the dry ingredients – flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and soda, cornflour, and salt. The cornflour gives the cookie dough a thick, chewy texture so don’t skip it.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the butter and sugar for 3-5 minutes until they are well creamed together. Take your time and don’t under-mix at this step. The whisking process creates air pockets in the butter which helps the cookies rise well.
- Add the egg and vanilla and whisk until combined.
- Next, add the dry ingredients and the chocolate chips (I like to use a mix of milk and dark) and whisk until just combined. Don’t over-mix after adding the dry ingredients or the cookies will become tough after baking.
- Pack the prepared dough in plastic wrap and let it chill for 3-4 hours or overnight. Chilling helps the dough mature, during which the flour absorbs the hydration better, resulting in a more flavorful and chewy cookie. The cookie dough will also be quite soft before chilling, so it’s important to chill it for at least one hour before shaping.
Pistachio Kunafa Filling
While your cookie dough chills, you can prepare the filling which is super easy to make. First, the Kunafa dough has to be cooked until it’s crispy, then it’s mixed with pistachio butter and tahini and chilled until set.
Here are the steps for making the pistachio Kunafa filling.
- Chop the uncooked Kunafa into really small pieces.
- Heat a pan, add the butter, let it melt, then add the Kunafa dough into it. Cook for 3-5 minutes on medium heat, until golden brown. Keep mixing often to make sure that the Kunafa cooks evenly.
- Transfer the cooked Kunafa dough to a plate lined with a paper towel to absorb the excess butter from it. This is important to make sure that the Kunafa remains crispy inside the filling.
- Mix the cooked Kunafa dough with the pistachio butter and tahini until everything is well combined, Let it chill in the fridge for 1 hour, until it’s completely set, then spoon it out and shape it into small balls.
Filling and Baking the cookies
Once both the components are ready, it’s time to fill and bake the cookies.
- Portion the cookie dough into 55-grams dough balls. This size will allow you to create the perfect-sized cookie that can cover the filling properly.
- Flatten the cookie dough balls with the back of a spoon, creating a deep indent in the center. Place the filling balls into the center, then shape the remaining dough around it. Make sure to cover the filling tightly so that the filling does not ooze out while baking.
- Place the cookie dough balls on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Make sure to leave enough space between the cookies to let them spread.
- Bake in an oven preheated to 170 degrees Celsius for 10-12 minutes, until the sides are set and the center is still soft. The cookies should be a little undercooked as they will continue to bake out of the oven.
- As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, top them with a few chocolate chip cookies and if needed, use a cookie cutter or a round cover to shape them.
- Let the cookies cool for at least 30 minutes before eating.
You can also prepare the cookie dough balls with the filling and store them in the freezer for up to 1 month. Thaw them before baking and bake in the same way.
Ready to get started? Let’s go!
PS: I always measure ingredients in grams, never in cups. Using a measuring scale is the only way to bake accurately. Cups are unreliable and can give different measurements, so I suggest you buy a measuring scale before you start baking! If you can’t get your hands on one, you can use the online tools for converting grams into cups; however, I do not guarantee their accuracy.
Chocolate Pistachio Kunafa Cookies | Dubai Viral Chocolate Cookies
Equipment
- Electric or hand whisk
- silicon spatula
- Frying pan
- Baking tray
Ingredients
Double chocolate cookie dough
- 125 grams all-purpose flour
- 55 grams cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cornflour/cornstarch
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 115 grams unsalted butter softened
- 100 grams brown sugar
- 100 grams white sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 150 grams chocolate chips combination of milk and dark chocolate
Pistachio Kunafa filling
- 25 grams unsalted butter
- 65 grams Kunafa dough
- 100 grams pistachio butter
- 20 grams tahina
Instructions
Double chocolate cookie dough
- Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl: all-purpose flour, cocoa powder, baking, baking soda, cornstarch, and salt.
- In a stand mixer (or a bowl with an electric mixer), add the softened butter*, and both the sugars and cream together on high speed for 3-5 minutes until well combined. The mixture should be nice and creamy. Make sure not to overmix at this point!*
- Add the room-temperature egg* and vanilla essence into the butter mixture and whisk together until well combined. Make sure the eggs are fully incorporated into the butter and there is no liquid left in the batter.
- With the mixer on slow, add the dry ingredients into the batter and keep mixing on low speed until everything is well incorporated and there are no streaks of flour remaining in the mix. You will have a nice, thick dough at this point.
- Add the milk and whisk again until completely incorporated.
- Finally, add the chocolate chips to the dough and mix on high speed for a few seconds just to incorporate them in, don’t over-mix.
- Wrap the prepared cookie dough tightly in cling film and let it chill in the fridge for 2-3 hours, or ideally overnight.
Pistachio Kunafa filling
- Heat a saucepan and add butter to it. Let it melt, then add the Kunafa dough and mix. Continue cooking on medium heat, mixing every few minutes, until the dough turns golden brown and crispy. Take off the heat and place the dough on a paper towel to remove any excess butter.
- Mix the dried dough with the pistachio paste and tahini and chill it for at least 1 hour, until set.
- Once the filling is set, portion it out in teaspoon sizes and roll them to form balls.
Filling and baking the dough
- Preheat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius.
- Portion the chilled cookie dough into 55 grams dough balls each, and flatten each ball with the back of a spoon, creating a deep indent in the center. Place the filling portions into the center and shape the dough around it to form cookie dough balls. Make sure the filling is properly covered with the dough so that it does not leak out while baking.
- Place the cookie dough balls on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Make sure to leave enough space for each cookie to spread. You can also freeze the dough balls in a ziplock bag after this step for up to 1 month.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the sides are set but the center us still soft. The cookies will continue to cook once they are taken out of the oven.
- As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, carefully top them with a few chocolate chips and shape them with a round cookie cutter if required.
- Let them chill for at least 20 minutes before enjoying.
Notes
Make ahead
The cookie dough can be frozen after the filling step for up to 1 month. Thaw the dough before baking.Tips & tricks
- Softened butter: Make sure your butter is at room temperature but not too warm. If the butter is too soft, your dough will end up being too soft, causing the cookies to spread too much in the oven and deflate after you take them out
- Room temperature eggs: Make sure your eggs are at room temperature as well, cold eggs also lead to the deflation of cookies
- Mixing the butter and sugar: Don’t mix the sugar and butter mix for longer than 2 minutes or you may overmix it and end up making cakey cookies.
- Chilling the cookie dough: Don’t skip the chilling step! Chilling your dough allows the sugar to combine within the dough a lot better, creating chewier, thicker cookies
Trust me, these cookies are the kind that will have people asking for more, and more, and more. And they are really simple to make, too!
The filling looks absolutely spectacular when you open the cookie and it’s sure to impress everyone around you.
If you give this recipe a try, don’t forget to let me know how you liked it in the comments. And of course, share it with me on Instagram.
Until next time!
