These Dubai Chocolate Chip Cookies are seriously the best cookies you’ll ever try.
If you’re anything like me, this Dubai chocolate craze has felt like your time to shine!
I’ve always been obsessed with pistachio. Okay, all nuts, to be honest. But pistachio was always sort of rare to find, comparatively, so it always felt special to find a pistachio latte or a pistachio-filled chocolate.
Enter, the Dubai chocolate obsession. And all that changed in the blink of an eye.
Suddenly, coffee, chocolate, and even desserts like cheesecake were getting the Dubai treatment. And I, for one, couldn’t be more excited.
So when I was brainstorming what to bake for Labor Day weekend with my friends, these Dubai Chocolate Chip Cookies just exploded into my brain and I leapt off my couch and into action.
My friends were utterly thrilled, and their teenage kids were equally enthralled. Even the picky eaters loved these cookies, with multiple people telling me that these were the best cookies they’d ever had. One even requested them again for their birthday next month!
I’m adding some tips and tricks for these cookies below, as well as some substitutions. Of course, I highly recommend making them as-written for best results, but some subs are okay.
Okay, I’m not going to lie: these cookies are slightly more labor-intensive than your standard chocolate chip cookie – but I promise it’s worth every step.
And if you love pistachio as much as I do, be sure to also check out my Fudgy Pistachio Stuffed Brownies and my Pistachio Cream Stuffed Double Chocolate Chip Cookies!
Key Ingredients for Dubai Chocolate Cookie:
- Browned butter: We start off browning our butter. It doesn’t take long and it adds a wonderful depth of flavour, with a hint of nuttiness that completements the pistachio cream perfectly.
- Sugars: I used a combination of regular granulated sugar and dark brown sugar. You can use light brown sugar in place of dark, if needed, but you’ll lose a little richness.
- Flours: Stay with me. I used both all-purpose flour and bread flour. Again, you can use all AP instead of the bread flour, but your cookies won’t be as delightfully chewy and may not be as thick.
- Eggs: We’re using two large eggs plus an extra yolk. Don’t skip the extra yolk! It adds richness and chewiness.
- Chocolate: I used one block of Ghirardelli Semi-Sweet chocolate and chopped it coarsely into chunks. You can use chocolate chips instead, if needed. Feel free to use milk chocolate (but note this will make the cookies a bit sweeter) or bittersweet chocolate (which will make the cookies even less sweet) if needed.
- Pistachio cream: I bought a large jar from Costco, but you can find pistachio cream in gourmet grocery stores or online here. If you wish to mix in some kataifi/knafeh for a more authentic Dubai Chocolate experience, go right ahead – but I skipped that part.
Kiersten’s Cookie Tips:
- Weigh your ingredients. I don’t include cup measurements for some ingredients (like flour) because I don’t believe in measuring with cups. Use a digital kitchen scale and improve your baking forever!
- Check your leavening agents. These cookies use both baking soda and baking powder. Leaveners can expire before the dates printed on their packaging, so be sure they’re still active, or your cookies won’t work.
- Don’t skip the vanilla or the salt. I prefer real vanilla extract and fine sea salt in baking.
- Use unsalted butter, to prevent overly salty cookies.
- Use large eggs. Be sure to use eggs that are not too large or too small, as this will impact the texture of your cookies greatly. A large egg in the US is about 55-60 grams in shell. Bring the eggs to room temperature before mixing into your dough, but separate the extra yolk from the white straight from the fridge (it’s much easier when cold). Learn more about eggs in baking here!
- Don’t skip the chill time. I know it’s super annoying to have to wait to enjoy delicious cookies, but I promise, these are worth the wait!
- More tips for thick, chewy cookies in my How to Bake Perfect Cookies post!
How to Decorate Dubai Cookies
Decorating your Dubai Chocolate Cookies is totally up to you! I left most of mine plain, as you can see – but feel free to drizzle some melted chocolate on top, and sprinkle with some crushed pistachios, if desired, for a stunningly special cookie.
More Cookies You’ll Love:
- Nutella Stuffed Cookies – same cookie base but stuffed with Nutella!
- Halloween Cookies
- The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
- Cut-Out Sugar Cookies
Dubai Chocolate Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
- 320 grams pistachio cream, approximately
- 226 grams (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cubed
- 100 grams (½ cup) granulated sugar
- 200 grams (1 cup) dark brown sugar
- 2 large eggs + 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 150 grams all-purpose flour
- 170 grams bread flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 113 grams semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
Instructions
- Place parchment paper on a rimmed baking sheet and pipe or spoon the pistachio cream into 22 Tablespoon-sized balls. Place in the freezer for 1 hour, or until solid*.
- Place butter in a medium stainless steel saucepan. Over a medium heat, melt the butter, and allow it to brown. This will take approximately 5-8 minutes. Stir occasionally. The butter will foam and become a bit hard to see the bottom, but that's okay. Keep an eye on it until the butter is golden brown.
- Remove from heat and transfer to a large mixing bowl. Be sure to scrape out all those little brown bits at the bottom of the pan – they carry SO much flavor!
- Add the granulated sugar and dark brown sugar into the pan. Whisk to combine well, and set aside to cool.
- Once the butter mixture has cooled, add the eggs, egg yolk, and vanilla extract. Whisk to combine.
- Add the all-purpose flour, bread flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt to the bowl. Using a rubber spatula, mix until almost combined.
- Add the chopped chocolate and stir until just combined (being careful not to over-mix!).
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for about 15 minutes, or until the dough is a little more firm yet still pliable. I find cleaning up and doing the dishes is just enough time!
- Once firmed, use a large 3-Tablespoon cookie scoop to portion all the cookie dough into balls.
- Pick up each dough ball and flatten it out with your palms. Place a frozen ball of pistachio cream inside each ball, and gently wrap the edges of the dough around the pistachio cream, with some of the filling still visible.
- Place the prepared cookie dough balls inside an airtight container**. Transfer to the fridge and allow to chill for at least 24 hours, or up to three days.
Bake the Cookies:
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Place the dough balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, spacing at least 3 inches apart to account for spreading.
- Bake for 11-13 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden brown and the middles still look just slightly damp. Allow to cool completely on the baking sheets.
- Once cooled, drizzle with melted chocolate and crushed pistachios, if desired – or serve plain. Enjoy!
- Cookies will keep perfectly inside an airtight container, stored at room temperature, for about 3 days.
