Dubai chocolate chip cookies are a unique new twist on an old favorite, studded with big chunks of Dubai chocolate filled with a crispy pistachio cream.
When was the last time you met a truly new chocolate chip cookie? I mean, we’ve seen it all by now… right? Wrong! These cookies are inspired by Dubai chocolate ~ the latest luxe twist in the chocolate world. Think pistachio-filled bars with creamy, crunchy centers, straight out of Dubai, the hub of the UAE. I couldn’t not bake cookies with them!
For these Dubai chocolate chip cookies I swap my regular chips for a chopped Dubai chocolate bar to create a unique cookie my friends and family definitely haven’t had before. They disappeared from the cooling rack so fast I was lucky to snag one for my own taste test. Yum!!
Dubai chocolate chip ingredient notes
My recipe uses semi-melted butter, brown and white sugar, plus an extra egg yolk to create a crisp on the outside soft and chewy on the inside cookie with those tempting wrinkley edges. Kinda perfect if you ask me
- Dubai chocolate ~ the Dubai chocolate bar is a luxe, layered bar filled with pistachio cream and a crunch from fine shredded phyllo dough that’s been toasted for texture. It’s sweet, nutty, creamy, and crisp all at once.
- where to buy from the US: try local Middle Eastern markets, international grocery stores, or upscale retailers that carry specialty sweets. I found mine at a local Greek restaurant, and I suggest checking your local reddit food thread. Because this is a viral trend, lots of local sweet shops and bakeries are carrying it.
- online: of course you can always get it through Amazon, here.
so how does Dubai chocolate work in chocolate chip cookies?
Surprisingly well! I gave my bar a very rough chop and was happy with how the chocolate chunks held their own and didn’t melt into the cookies. Ditto for the crunchy pistachio filling ~ the colors, flavors, and textures of this cookie are great and really come through in every bite of the baked cookie!
highlights of Dubai chocolate chip cookies
- This is a one bowl recipe. Minimal cleanup!
- This is a no-chill dough ~ just blend, scoop, and bake.
- This makes a reasonable amount of cookies ~ 14 to be exact ~ and they’re nice and large.
- The flavor combination of rich chocolate and creamy/crispy pistachio is uniquely delicious.
- This recipe is guaranteed to spark conversation and compliments!
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Dubai Chocolate Chip Cookies
Equipment
- baking sheets
- parchment paper
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk , at room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 2 cups Dubai chocolate bar, rough chopped*
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Line your baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Cut your cold 1 cup unsalted butter into tablespoon sized chunks and microwave for one minute. The butter will be par-melted, do not melt the butter completely.
- Cream the soft butter and sugars until smooth ~ work out any lumps in your brown sugar. I use my stand mixer, you can also use electric beaters if you like.
- Blend in the 1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk , and 2 tsp vanilla extract.
- Blend in the 1 tsp baking soda, and the slowly add the 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour with the mixer on low.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl and then gently fold in the chopped 2 cups Dubai chocolate bar.
- Use a 1/4 cup ice cream scoop to portion out balls of dough and place 2 inches apart on your cookie sheet. I get about 6 cookies to a sheet, and I bake the sheets separately for even baking and best results.
- Bake for 14 minutes or until the cookies are just barely beginning to turn golden around the edges. (They may still look slightly puffed, that's fine.) Right after you take the cookies out of the oven rap the pan sharply on a hard surface a few times ~ this will deflate and flatten the slightly puffed cookies and create those gorgeous wrinkly edges.
- Let them cool for a few minutes before transferring to a rack.
Notes
Nutrition
chocolate chip cookies so many ways!
This is the second time I’m making these, they are absolutely delicious and very easy to make, everyone that tasted them enjoyed them very much! Will definitely make again. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Something to consider: the public health agency of Canada has recalled many brands of Dubai chocolate amid a growing outbreak of salmonella outbreaks linked to the pistachios. The CFIA has recalled due to “possible” contamination. Children, pregnant people and the elderly are most at risk
A few thoughts. First, the dough was very soft – too soft to scoop – so I chilled it over night. That worked it great.
On to the important issue – using Dubai chocolate. It’s insanely expensive right now. I went to my local middle eastern market – asked them for the one they liked best – and paid more than $7 for a 90 gram bar. I needed 4 bars and it cost over $32. I find the commercial bars are thin and I could barely taste the flavors. It was delicious but I could not taste the pistachio or feel the crunch of the kataifi. Dubai chocolate is easy to make and for much less than $32. So my conclusion is I will make it again but with hand made Dubai chocolate. My mold is much thicker than the store bought bars so each bite will have more of all the good stuff.
I’m very pleased that you produced this recipe incorporating this expensive little number. I’m sure I can find another way to come up with a substitute for the Dubai chocolate bar and still be able to enjoy your recipe. The little bars I can purchase are about 2”x 1” for the princely sum of $10 each 😖
Mary :))
Ouch that’s pricy!
I would LOVE to make this recipe myself, and I did look on Amazon to see what they cost. Pretty, pretty expensive for my Social Security income!! I wonder if it would more affordable and expedient to purchase chocolate bars separately (which I can get at WalMart or a local grocery store) and purchase the Kunafa Pistachio Filling online separately? And mix the separate two manually? Once baked, who’s going to know that the filling did not come with the chocolate??
I think that’s pretty smart ~ let us know if you try it!
I think I’ll have to skip the Dubai chocolate part. Bars at our local market are $32.00. But that pistachio cream? I’ll give it a try.
Wow, I must have gotten lucky with my bars. I know some chocolatiers are making them in-house, so that will be cheaper if you can locate one locally.
I would love to make these cookies but when I finally found the Dubai chocolate by Lindt at $14 a bar at Walmart, these cookies would be even more expensive than all the kosher desserts I make. I’ll keep searching for less expensive bars in some of the Middle Eastern markets here in south Florida.
These look very nice. I saw the dubai bar on Amazon…some were $29.00 a bar a few were around 19.00. While we are not on a budget, that does seem extreme. Perhaps they are more reasonable in your area. Love all your recipes, you are so creative!
I think prices on Amazon can be crazy and all over the place. I found mine locally, and each bar was about $7 I think. Depending on where you live you might find them locally at a much better price.
I want to make these cookies, they look so good. Just wondering – when I check on Amazon for the chocolate, it comes in packages of about 5.5 – 6 oz. Your recipe calls for 2 cups of chocolate. About how many bars would that be?
Thanks!
I’d get 2 bars.
Shocked by the cost of Dubai Bars on Amazon – I read your reply about finding bars in a local shop for $7 each….Hoping that local Socal mideastern shops have them well priced, ….$16-$29 each is TOO MUCH, even for a delicious TVFGI cookie…I love how you can call in an “IT ingredient-of-the-moment”, create & test drive a new recipe and we can know and count on it being GREAT!
Thanks Joy, it’s definitely one of the fun parts of my job!
Dubai bars are easy to make if you have time
Do you have a recipe you like Louise?
I’be had goofs luck with this recipe from NYT
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1026519-dubai-chocolate
I used this mold
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B09LRQ3ZF3?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title
Thanks!