Description

Delicious vegan Dubai-style chocolate pistachio cookies featuring a creamy pistachio filling wrapped in a rich, nutty cookie dough, perfectly coated with dairy-free dark chocolate and topped with chopped pistachios. These cookies are crisp on the edges, soft inside, and ideal for a decadent plant-based treat.

Ingredients

Scale

Pistachio Filling

150g vegan pistachio cream
100g kunafa pastry

Cookie Dough

20ml room temperature water
2 teaspoons ground flaxseed
120g dairy-free butter
150g caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
240g plain/all purpose flour
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon cornstarch (cornflour)
100g chopped pistachio nuts

Chocolate Shell & Topping

250g dairy-free dark chocolate
Chopped pistachio nuts (for garnish)

Instructions

Prepare Pistachio Filling: In a medium bowl, combine the vegan pistachio cream and kunafa pastry. Mix well until thick and creamy, adding more pistachio cream if mixture feels too dry.
Preheat Oven: Set your oven to 180°C fan and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper. This recipe yields about two trays of cookies; bake one tray at a time.
Make Flax Egg: In a small bowl, combine the room temperature water and ground flaxseed. Stir and let sit for 5 minutes until it thickens to form a flax egg.
Mix Wet Ingredients: Using a whisk or stand mixer, beat the dairy-free butter, caster sugar, and vanilla extract until pale and creamy. Add the flax egg and mix to combine.
Add Dry Ingredients: Sieve the plain flour, bicarbonate of soda, and cornstarch into the wet mixture. Stir thoroughly to combine into a thick cookie dough.
Incorporate Pistachios: Fold in the roughly chopped pistachio nuts evenly through the dough.
Form Cookie Balls: Scoop 40g of dough per cookie using spoons or an ice-cream scoop. Flatten gently to make a dent in each ball.
Fill Cookies: Add a spoonful of the pistachio filling into the dent, then carefully cover to seal completely, ensuring the filling won’t escape during baking.
Arrange on Tray: Place the cookie balls onto the lined baking tray, spacing them to allow slight spreading during baking. Do not flatten.
Bake Cookies: Bake on the middle rack for 10-12 minutes or until edges turn lightly golden.
Shape Cookies: After removing from oven, use a round cookie cutter slightly larger than the cookies to gently shape them into neat circles while still warm.
Cool Completely: Let the cookies cool fully on the tray or a wire rack to allow them to crisp up.
Melt Chocolate: Melt the dairy-free dark chocolate either in a microwave-safe bowl in 30-second increments or over a bain-marie on the stovetop until smooth.
Cool Chocolate: Allow the melted chocolate to cool slightly until it thickens marginally, facilitating easier coating of cookies.
Create Chocolate Bases: Spread disks of melted chocolate on a greaseproof lined tray slightly larger than each cookie. Place each cooled cookie on top of the chocolate disks.
Coat Cookies: Spoon chocolate over each cookie, spreading it evenly across the top and edges to fully coat the cookies.
Add Toppings: While the chocolate is still wet, sprinkle chopped pistachio nuts generously on top.
Set Chocolate: Refrigerate the cookies for 10-20 minutes until the chocolate coating is fully set.
Serve: Once set, the cookies are ready to enjoy as a decadent vegan dessert.

Notes

Ensure the pistachio filling is well sealed inside the dough to prevent oozing during baking.
Use room temperature butter for easier mixing and better dough texture.
If you don’t have vegan pistachio cream, you can blend pistachios with a little plant milk and sweetener as a substitute.
Chilling the cookie dough slightly before baking can help reduce spreading if desired.
Store cookies in an airtight container in the fridge to maintain the chocolate coating.

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes
Category: Dessert
Method: Baking
Cuisine: Middle Eastern

Keywords: vegan cookies, pistachio cookies, chocolate pistachio dessert, Dubai desserts, dairy-free cookies, vegan chocolate cookies