How I made EASY Dubai Chocolate Bars:

• A dark chocolate shell (tempered for that perfect snap)
• A filling made from homemade kunafa dough (yep, made it myself instead of spending $20 online)
• And a vibrant pistachio cream blended with melted white chocolate and a hint of tahini

I pressed everything into silicone chocolate molds, froze it, and popped out these beautiful chunky, luxury-style bars that look like they flew in from the Emirates.Let’s not overcomplicate something easy and satisfying to make. 

I think the reason those Dubai chocolate bars are so expensive is twofold:

1. You’re paying for international shipping,
2. They’re made with ultra-premium chocolate morsels that sound fancy just reading the label.

Just yesterday I saw a Dubai chocolate bar at the store for $31. And get this—Bethenny Frankel tried one for $60 and wasn’t even impressed.

So… since I did want to try this viral TikTok chocolate, but I wasn’t ready to drop 30 bucks on a single bar, I decided to make it myself. And honestly? It was so much fun—and deeply satisfying.

Bonus Treat: Chocolate Balls

I had leftover pistachio filling and decided to roll them into bite-sized balls, dip them in dark chocolate, and sprinkle a few chopped pistachios on top.

Not to be dramatic, but I think I liked these even more than the bars.

They’re perfect for gifting, snacking, and much easier to eat than a giant chocolate bar!

My Total Cost Breakdown:

I made 2 large bars & 8 balls for under $26 total—that’s about $6.37 each, and I still had chocolate and pistachios left over. If you’ve seen the $25+ price tags online, you already know this is a steal.

Plus, now I have reusable chocolate molds and the satisfaction of knowing exactly what’s inside.

Step 1: Homemade Kunafa Dough

Mix all of your ingredients together in a small bowl. I found @ConnieSweet social media and she inspired me to make my own kunafa dough from scratch. It really was so inexpensive ( when btw when you purchase the Kunafa dough its upwards of $20 bucks on Amazon. Thats INSANE!!!!!

Mix 1/2 cup of flour & 1/4 cup of corn starch (sifted), 1 TBLS of coconut oil, pinch of salt and 3/4 water in a bowl. Put in a piping bag, snip a TINY corner and string it on a skillet.

Sift. Pipe. Skillet. Bake.

Step 2: Homemade Pistachio Cream

I used a 20oz bag of roasted, in-shell pistachios. De-shelling and blanching them gave me that vibrant green pistachio color we all love. You can also buy them pre-blanched to save time. Again, this alone can cost you from $15-$20 on Amazon. Making your Pistachio creme from home is fun and easy! I recommend a food processor for this step.

Blanching & Blending:

Boil water, add pistachios, and blanch for 5 minutes. Drain, then remove the papery skins. Once you removed the purple paper skin, place in your food processor and blend until powdery.

Homemade Pistachio Creme

I added the ingredients listed below but the truth is, I had to adjust to taste. For example, I wanted it slightly sweeter so I took liberties and added in some more powdered sugar.

Ive seen people several variations when making their own pistachio creme from home. They use sweetened condensed milk, dates, syrup, heavy cream and more.

In this recipe, I decided to use the following ingredients and I loved it.

• Melted white chocolate + 1 tablespoon of butter
• 1/4 whole milk,
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar,
• 1 tablespoon Tahini

(Blend until creamy and smooth & adjust to taste)

Step 3: Tempered Chocolate

I used 70% Dark Chocolate Ghirardelli dark and white chocolate. For the perfect snap and glossy finish:

• Melt 2/3 of your chopped chocolate in a double boiler (heat to ~115°F).
• Remove from heat, stir in the remaining 1/3 until it cools to ~84°F.
• Gently warm to ~88°F before using.

This method gives you that professional chocolate bar finish without the need for fancy equipment.

Step 4: Assemble the Bars

I used 70% Dark Chocolate Ghirardelli dark and white chocolate. For the perfect snap and glossy finish. I also purchased a deep dish silicone chocolate bar mold from Amazon. If you read this far, you may have seen that I also made this into bite size Dubai balls and it was perfect. So if you want to shave off some more cost, you can totally remove this part.

• Add tempered chocolate to your silicone mold—just enough to coat the bottom.Freeze for 20 minutes.
• Mix your golden kunafa dough with pistachio cream to make the filling.
• Layer the filling on top of the hardened chocolate base.
• Cover with more tempered chocolate.
• Freeze for 3 hours.

This method gives you that professional chocolate bar finish without the need for fancy equipment.