Dubai Chocolate is all the rage these days thanks to a viral video shared on the TikTok in 2024 from a chocolatier in this country. After all, Dubai is known for its extravagance and wealth. Before this creamy, crispy and nutty confection was made by major manufacturers, a pistachio and phyllo dough filled bar cost upwards of $30. (Exotic luxury meets low supply and high demand.) Fortunately for us, multiple recipes for the Dubai Chocolate filling can be found on the WWW…which we’ll get to in a minute or three. Speaking of exotic places and sheer indulgence, Son B and I recently took a trip to the Big Apple. He’d never been, and it’s been 30 years since I wandered around NYC.
One of Son B’s requests was to see the USS Intrepid at Pier 86. The Intrepid Museum features the obvious USS Intrepid (CV-11). This Essex-class aircraft carrier was commissioned in 1943, seeing service in World War II and surviving five kamikaze attacks. It was later retrofitted for service in the Korean, Vietnam and Cold War periods. The “Fighting I” also recovered the astronauts from the Mercury and Gemini space missions.
Today, over one million visitors scratch their heads at the unique interior design of the crew mess deck, ponder the Space Shuttle Enterprise’s limited flight time (20 minutes and 58 seconds), crawl though the passages of the submarine USS Growler, and gawk at the numerous aircraft on the flight deck.
Another permanent exhibit to check out is the Concorde. Going into this supersonic jet is an added-on cost to the general admission ticket. But it’s well worth it to see how politicians, royalty, celebrities and those with deep pockets once traveled. And this is the only Concorde in the world you can sit in!
In 1976, some fifty years ago, the Concorde aircraft went into commercial service. A total of 20 were built, but only 14 were used by passengers–7 operated by Air France and 7 with British Airways. What set these aircraft apart was their supersonic capabilities and shortened flight time. Typical routes flew between London, Paris and New York City. A route from Heathrow to NYC-JFK took about 3 to 3-1/2 hours on Concorde, shortening the average flight time down 2 hours and 53 minutes. At Mach 2 (1,350 mph), passengers broke the sound barrier and were awarded certificates after the flight. But the big question is what did this cost?! The receipt below for Mrs. Dolores Peterson in January 1997 cost $6,703.04. In today’s money, that’s about $13,500-$13,600. Wow!
Passengers like Mrs. Peterson were treated to the utmost luxury. Every ticket was essentially First Class. Michelin-star chefs prepared meals like lamb fillet with mustard and herb crust or grilled sea bass with caviar cream sauce. Wine, champagne and liquor flowed freely. Anywhere from 30 to 40 bottles of champagne were served on an average flight. There also wasn’t any plastic ware on this flight. Wedgewood china, fine crystal and custom silverware were the standard. Blankets, pillows and dining ware were typically taken as souvenirs of this extravagant flight.
Celebrities and dignitaries preferred certain seats over others. Son B is sitting in Paul McCartney’s favorite spot–2C. Elton John liked the neighboring window seat at 2D. Mick Jagger was known to trade Rolling Stones concert tickets to anyone who was in his coveted 1D. I’m sitting at 1A where Queen Elizabeth II always opted for. Princess Diana enjoyed 1B, next to the Queen. Curiously, this particular jet flew over Queen Elizabeth’s Golden Jubilee in 2002.
Because the Concorde flew at such high speeds, its structure had to withstand extreme heat and friction. The aluminum skin experienced temperatures as high as 260 degrees F. As a result, the jet expanded in length as much as 12 inches. In the cockpit at cruising altitudes of 55,000 to 60,000 feet, the wall panels would expand out away from the flight consoles. Pilots would leave notes for the next flight crew in these spaces, as well as putting their hats in. At landing, this space contracted and closed up.
The last Concorde jet flew its final flight from JFK in NYC to London’s Heathrow airport in 2003. Multiple reasons caused the Concorde to stop flying–safety concerns, excessive operating costs with fewer passengers, noise restrictions, and a fatal crash in 2000 were among the many problems. Of the 20 built, about 10 are on display around the world. Three Concorde jets are in the U.S. of A.–at the Intrepid Museum, the Museum of Flight in Seattle, and at the National Air and Space Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Washington, D.C. (shown below).
Let’s get back to that rich Dubai Chocolate. It’s a realistically simple concoction of pistachio cream or butter, tahini, and kataifi. Kataifi, or Kadayif, is shredded phyllo dough. International markets carry these ingredients, or you can purchase them on Amazon like I did.
The kataifi needs to be browned in butter or coconut oil before the pistachio cream and tahini are mixed in. Alone, its flavor is similar to shredded wheat cereal.
Once the filling is made, portion it out in tablespoon-sized amounts and freeze. The triple chocolate cookie dough base is a standard recipe featuring cocoa powder, milk and semi-sweet chocolate chips. A slight amount of cake flour gives the final cookie a softer texture, making the cookie more brownie-like. To assemble the cookies, divvy out the triple chocolate dough into about 3 tablespoon-sized balls. Flatten these out into a 4-inch disk with your fingers and place a frozen filling ball in the center. Press the dough up and around to seal the filling in. Freeze these again for about 15 minutes and bake off.
If you want to have a really spectacular looking cookie, you can use metal rings to bake the dough in. This makes them almost perfectly round, and helps the dough maintain a greater height. These metal rings are also used to make English muffins.
I forewarn you…these Dubai Triple Chocolate Cookies are rich and oh, so scrumptious! Enjoy with a hot cup of tea or coffee. Bon voyage!
Dubai Triple Chocolate Cookies
Decadent meets delicious! Three types of chocolate make up this brownie-like cookie that encloses a rich pistachio-tahini and crispy kataifi center. Sweet, salty and oh so scrumptious!
- Prep Time: 20-30 Minutes
- Cook Time: 10 Minutes
- Total Time: About 1 Hour + Chilling Time
- Yield: 16–18 Large Cookies 1x
Ingredients
For Dubai Chocolate Filling:
2 T. unsalted butter
2 c. chopped kataifi pastry
1–8 oz. jar pistachio cream or butter
2 T. tahini paste, well-stirred
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
For Triple Chocolate Cookie Dough:
1–1/4 c. unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 c. granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1/3 c. unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably dark
2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. + 2 T. cake flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 c. milk chocolate chips
2 c. semisweet chocolate chips, divided
1 tsp. vegetable shortening
Instructions
To Make Dubai Chocolate Filling:
Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add kataifi pastry to butter and stir to combine. Stir occasionally, about 6-9 minutes, until kataifi is golden brown. Pour kataifi into a bowl. Add pistachio cream, tahini, and salt. Stir well. Using a #50 cookie scoop, or a tablespoon, portion out the mixture onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Freeze for about 30 minutes.
To Make Triple Chocolate Cookie Dough:
Using a standing or hand-held mixer on medium speed, cream together the butter and sugar until just combined, about 2-3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add cocoa powder to egg mixture and beat until well combined.
Add flours, baking powder and soda, and salt to cocoa mixture. Stir until just combined. Add milk chocolate and 1 cup of semisweet chocolate chips to dough. Stir until evenly distributed. Use a #20 cookie scoop, or 3 T., to portion dough into balls.
Remove frozen Dubai Chocolate Filling from freezer. Using your fingers, flatten cookie dough into a disk about 3 to 4 inches wide. Place one ball of Dubai Chocolate Filling in the center and fold cookie dough up around the filling. Press dough together and place seam side down on a parchment lined baking sheet. Continue with remaining dough and filling. Freeze dough balls for about 15 minutes while you preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Line another baking sheet with parchment. Place dough balls about 3 inches apart and bake for about 10-11 minutes. Cookies are done when the dough no longer appears wet or shiny. To achieve a round cookie shape and maintain the cookie’s height, you can bake cookie dough balls in greased metal rings (3-1/2 inch width used for English Muffins). Remove cookies from oven and allow to cool on wire racks.
To Make Chocolate Drizzle:
In a microwave safe bowl, melt remaining 1 c. semisweet chocolate chips with 1 tsp. vegetable shortening in 30 to 45-second increments. Stir after each increment and until chocolate chips are smooth. Pour melted chocolate into a zip-top, plastic bag. Cut the tip off the end of the bag and drizzle chocolate in criss-cross motions across cookies. If desired, sprinkle cookies with decorative jimmies and colored sugar while chocolate is still wet.
IMNPB
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