If the famous Dubai chocolate bar had a cookie cousin, this might be it! These chocolate pistachio sandwich cookies don’t have kadaifi pastry in the filling, but they are just as decadent as Dubai chocolate, which went viral in 2023 and may have worsened an already-existing pistachio shortage this year.
When I first experimented with this recipe, I set out to make homemade Oreo cookies with a twist (pistachio cream in place of the classic vanilla filling ) and ended up with irresistible vegan sandwich cookies.
For the chewy chocolate cookies, I made some adjustments to my favorite vegan cookie recipe, Ovenly’s “secretly vegan” salted chocolate chip cookies, adding cocoa powder, eliminating the chocolate chips, and using coconut oil as the fat. Chocolate fans, feel free to add the chocolate chips back in.
The filling, adapted from a buttercream recipe by Sweet & Savory, is a simple variation on pistachio buttercream, featuring coconut oil and pistachios ground to the consistency of peanut butter.
Want to try adding shredded phyllo dough (kadaifi,) a popular ingredient in Middle Eastern desserts and a signature ingredient of the Dubai chocolate bar, to the mix? Go for it! And drop a comment to let me know how it turned out.
Ingredients
Cookie dough
1 1/2 cups (250 grams) all-purpose flour
½ cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
1/2 cup (110 grams) packed light or dark brown sugar
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon coconut oil
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon water
Coarse or flaky sea salt, for sprinkling
Pistachio Filling
1 cup coconut oil, at room temperature
1 cup shelled, roasted pistachio nuts, peels removed
2 cups powdered sugar
¼ teaspoon sea salt
Directions
- Prepare the cookie dough: In a large bowl, cream together coconut oil and sugars. Add water, stirring until smooth, around 2 minutes. Add salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Stir in cocoa powder. Add flour, mixing until just combined. Shape into a disc and refrigerate, ideally overnight.
- Prepare the filling: Place pistachios in the bowl of a food processor and grind until a paste forms; the pistachio paste should be the consistency of chunky peanut butter. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, cream together coconut oil, sea salt, and powdered sugar until fluffy. Add pistachio paste and stir until thoroughly combined.
- Bake and assemble the cookies: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Roll out dough until around 1/8-1/4 inch thick, then cut into circles with an approximately 2-inch round cookie cutter. Place on prepared baking sheets. Bake for 12-13 minutes, until cookies are just set. Be careful not to overbake. Let cool. Form sandwich cookies, turning half the cookies upside down, spreading on a generous layer of pistachio filling, and then topping with remaining cookies. Store at room temperature.
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