Name: Pistachio Dubai Chocolate Blondies (With the Crunch That Actually Survives Baking)
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 1 h 50 min
Cuisine: Middle Eastern-inspired American
Ingredients: 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, divided; 1 1/4 cups light brown sugar, packed; 2 large eggs; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour; 1/4 tsp baking powder; 1/2 tsp salt; 1 1/2 cups shredded kunafa (knafeh) dough, roughly chopped; 2/3 cup pistachio paste; 2 tbsp tahini; 10 oz milk chocolate, melted (topping); 2 oz dark chocolate, melted (topping); 1/3 cup chopped pistachios, for finishing; Flaky sea salt, for finishing

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These Dubai chocolate blondies solve the one problem every viral recipe ignores: soggy kunafa. By toasting the shredded phyllo separately in brown butter and swirling the pistachio-tahini filling on top instead of burying it, you get a fudgy, brown-butter base with a crackly, genuinely crunchy pistachio-chocolate layer that tastes like the real Fix bar — not a knockoff.

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Pistachio Dubai Chocolate Blondies (With the Crunch That Actually Survives Baking)

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Fudgy brown-butter blondies topped with a crunchy pistachio-kunafa chocolate layer inspired by the viral Dubai chocolate bar.

Total Time: 1 hour 50 minutes (includes cooling)
Yield: 16 squares 1x

Ingredients

Scale

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, divided
1 1/4 cups light brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups shredded kunafa (knafeh) dough, roughly chopped
2/3 cup pistachio paste
2 tbsp tahini
10 oz milk chocolate, melted (topping)
2 oz dark chocolate, melted (topping)
1/3 cup chopped pistachios, for finishing
Flaky sea salt, for finishing

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C) and line an 8×8-inch pan with parchment, leaving overhang on two sides.
Brown 3/4 cup of the butter in a light-colored saucepan over medium heat, swirling until it turns amber and smells nutty, about 5 minutes. Pour into a bowl and let cool 10 minutes.
Whisk brown sugar into the browned butter, then whisk in eggs and vanilla until glossy.
Fold in flour, baking powder, and salt just until no dry streaks remain. Spread into the prepared pan.
Bake 22-25 minutes, until the edges are set but the center still looks slightly underdone on a toothpick test. Cool completely in the pan, at least 1 hour.
While the base cools, melt the remaining 1/4 cup butter in a skillet over medium heat and add the chopped kunafa. Toast, stirring constantly, until deep golden and crisp, 5-7 minutes. Spread on a plate to cool completely.
Whisk the pistachio paste and tahini together until smooth, then fold in the cooled, crisped kunafa.
Stir the melted milk and dark chocolate together and pour evenly over the cooled blondie base, tilting to cover completely. Let set 5 minutes at room temperature.
Dollop and swirl the pistachio-kunafa mixture over the chocolate layer while it’s still slightly tacky, so it grips. Scatter chopped pistachios and flaky salt on top.
Chill 30 minutes to fully set the chocolate, then lift out using the parchment and slice into squares with a hot, dry knife.

Notes

Kunafa dough (also sold as knafeh, kataifi, or shredded phyllo) is usually found frozen at Middle Eastern grocers — thaw it fully and separate the strands before toasting so they crisp evenly. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days; the topping stays crunchiest if you let squares sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before eating. These also freeze well unglazed — freeze the plain blondie base and add the pistachio-kunafa topping fresh after thawing.

Author: Ella Whitley
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Method: Baking
Cuisine: Middle Eastern-inspired American

Here’s the thing nobody tells you about Dubai chocolate blondies: kunafa (shredded phyllo dough) is basically dry pasta. Mix it into wet batter and bake it for 25 minutes, and it absorbs moisture like a sponge — you lose the entire reason this dessert became famous. The fix is simple but non-negotiable: toast the kunafa strands separately in browned butter until they’re deep gold and audibly crisp, let them cool completely, and only then fold them into the pistachio filling right before it goes on top of the baked blondie. The filling sits on a barrier of set chocolate, not raw batter, so it never has the chance to go limp.

The second fix is flavor. Most recipes lean on pistachio ‘cream’ that’s mostly sugar and green food coloring, which is why so many homemade versions taste sweet but flat. Real pistachio paste, loosened with a spoonful of tahini, gives you actual nuttiness and a faint bitter edge that balances the milk chocolate — that’s the flavor signature people are chasing when they order the original bar. I also brown the butter for the blondie base itself, which sounds like a small move but it isn’t: brown butter’s toasted, nutty notes echo the pistachio instead of competing with it, and it’s what keeps these from tasting like a plain vanilla blondie with a topping dumped on.

Common mistake: pulling the blondies at the same doneness cue you’d use for regular blondies. Because the kunafa-chocolate layer goes on after baking, you actually want the base slightly underbaked — a moist crumb clinging to a toothpick, not clean — since it keeps cooking from residual heat and you want fudgy, not cakey, contrast against the crisp topping. Let the pan cool fully before you pour the pistachio-kunafa layer on; if the base is even slightly warm, the chocolate in the topping will slick and separate instead of setting glossy.

Substitutions that actually work: no pistachio paste? Blitz shelled, unsalted pistachios in a food processor with a neutral oil until smooth — it takes patience but gets there. No kunafa/knafeh dough? Crushed shredded wheat cereal toasted in butter is the closest stand-in for texture, though the flavor is milder. For a stronger Dubai-bar flavor, swap the milk chocolate in the topping for a 60/40 mix of milk and dark chocolate; straight milk chocolate can read as one-note against the pistachio once it’s fully cooled.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why are my Dubai chocolate blondies soggy instead of crunchy?

The kunafa was mixed into the batter before baking, or added to the topping while still warm. Toast the shredded phyllo separately in butter until crisp, cool it completely, then fold it into the pistachio filling right before assembling — moisture is the enemy of crunch.

Can I make dubai chocolate blondies without pistachio paste?

Yes — blend shelled, unsalted pistachios in a food processor with a small amount of neutral oil until smooth, scraping down often. It takes a few minutes longer than store-bought paste but delivers the same real pistachio flavor.

What can I use instead of kunafa dough?

Toasted, crushed shredded wheat cereal is the closest substitute for texture, though it won't have quite the same delicate crispness or flavor as authentic kunafa.

How do I store Dubai chocolate blondies?

Keep them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Let squares come to room temperature for about 10 minutes before serving so the chocolate layer softens slightly and the kunafa stays crunchy.

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