A Fun and Delicious Twist on a Viral Treat
Made with only five ingredients, these Dubai Chocolate Cockroaches are a fun and creative spin on the popular viral Dubai Chocolate Bars. With a variety of textures and flavors, these 2-bite roaches are perfect for Halloween or any occasion that calls for a little bit of whimsy.
If you’re a fan of the unique flavor and texture combination of Dubai Chocolate, you might just love these Dubai Chocolate Cockroaches! The combination of dates and homemade pistachio butter is something I absolutely adore, and I often enjoy it for breakfast. When my sister had a get-together at her place, I even brought some dates stuffed with pistachio butter as dessert. Everyone there loved them, but unfortunately, there were no leftovers for me to take home that night.
So, when I came across some chocolate peanut butter cockroaches shared by @chefgenevieve on Instagram, I knew I had to recreate them with a Dubai Chocolate twist. It was an exciting challenge, and the result was both delicious and fun to make.
What Is Dubai Chocolate?
Dubai Chocolate was first created by a company called Fix, based in Dubai. Filipino chef Nouel Catis Omamalin and British Egyptian entrepreneur Sarah Hamouda were the minds behind these bars. What we now call the “Viral Dubai Chocolate Bars” were originally named “Can’t Get Knafeh of It.” They were made with a unique combination of pistachio butter, tahini paste, toasted kataifi, and creamy milk chocolate.
Fix currently sells 6-packs of these bars for $120 per pack, but you can also try a more budget-friendly option by making healthy-ish Dubai Chocolate Cups.
Ingredients Needed
To make these Dubai Chocolate Cockroaches, you will need:
- Pistachio butter
- Butter (to toast the kataifi)
- Kataifi
- Dates
- Milk chocolate chips
How to Make These Messy Dubai Chocolate Cockroaches
These are pretty easy to make, and the process is straightforward:
Step 1:
Add the butter to a pan and set it over medium heat.
Step 2:
Add the kataifi and stir until it starts to brown. Then, remove it from the stove and let it cool slightly.
Step 3:
Mix the toasted kataifi into the pistachio butter.
Step 4:
Cut the dates in half and spoon a little bit of the pistachio kataifi mix into the date cavity. Repeat with all the date halves.
Step 5:
Melt the chocolate. I did this by placing the chocolate into a microwave-safe dish and microwaving it for a couple of 30-second intervals. Spoon the melted chocolate into a frosting bag or plastic bag and snip off the end.
Step 6:
Carefully squeeze some melted chocolate on the back of the body of the stuffed cockroach. Then, place the date, chocolate-side down, on a piece of parchment paper set on a board or flat plate.
Step 7:
Pipe a chocolate head, antennae, and legs. Repeat this on the other pistachio kataifi-stuffed dates.
Step 8:
Set the parchment paper in the fridge for the chocolate to harden and enjoy!
Recipe Tips
When melting the chocolate in the microwave, start with 30 seconds. Then, take the chocolate out of the microwave, give it a stir, and return it for another 20 to 30 seconds. Be careful not to overheat the chocolate, as it can burn.
Variations
While I used homemade pistachio butter, store-bought pistachio butter or cream could be used instead. If you want to simplify the process, you could use a tub of Dubai Chocolate Bar filling from Amazon. I used milk chocolate, but you could also use dark chocolate, white chocolate, or a combination of each.
And, don’t stop at cockroaches—get creative and use Halloween molds to make spiders, skulls, or pumpkins. Your creations will be just as fun and delicious.
Other Dubai Chocolate-Inspired Treats
If you love Dubai Chocolate, here are some other recipes you might enjoy:
- Dubai Chocolate Roll Cake
This dessert consists of a layer of flourless oat chocolate cake rolled up with a filling of dark chocolate ganache and pistachio cream with kataifi. The rolled cake is slathered with a chocolate mousse, drizzled with more chocolate ganache, and decorated with pistachio kataifi bites.
Check out this recipe
- Dubai Chocolate Stuffed Muffin Tops
These are a decadent portable snack or dessert. This small batch recipe results in 4 chocolate muffin tops that are stuffed with homemade Dubai Chocolate Cups.
Check out this recipe
- Easy Dubai Chocolate Strawberry Cake
This cake has layers of a moist strawberry cake topped with a pistachio kataifi pastry mixture, fresh strawberries, and melted chocolate.
Check out this recipe
- Dubai Chocolate Chia Pudding
Chia pudding gets a Dubai chocolate twist in this recipe. It features pistachio kataifi chia seed pudding topped with pistachio kataifi bites and chocolate.
Check out this recipe
- Easy Dubai Chocolate Cups
Inspired by the viral Dubai Chocolate Bar, these cups are sweet, crunchy, and creamy, made with only four ingredients.
Check out this recipe
Recipe Details
Course: Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: Fusion
Keyword: Dubai Chocolate Cockroaches
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 8
Calories: 115 kcal
Ingredients
- 4 dates
- 3 tbsp. pistachio butter
- 2 tbsp. kataifi
- 1/2 tbsp. butter
- 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
Instructions
- First, add the butter to a pan and set it over a stovetop set to medium heat.
- Add in the kataifi and stir until it starts to brown (2 to 3 minutes). Then, remove it from the stove and let it cool to room temperature.
- Mix the toasted kataifi into the pistachio butter.
- Cut the dates in half and spoon a little bit of the pistachio kataifi mix into the date cavity. Repeat with all the date halves.
- Then, melt the chocolate. I did this by placing the chocolate into a microwave-safe dish and microwaving it for 30 seconds. Then, I removed the dish, stirred the chips, and microwaved them for 20 seconds. At this point they were melted.
- Spoon the melted chocolate into a frosting bag or plastic bag and snip off the end.
- Carefully squeeze some melted chocolate on the back of the body of the stuffed cockroach. Then, place the date, chocolate-side down, on a piece of parchment paper set on a board or flat plate.
- Pipe a chocolate head, antennae, and legs. Repeat this on the other pistachio kataifi-stuffed dates.
- Set the parchment paper in the fridge for the chocolate to harden.
And, when the chocolate is set — enjoy!
Notes
While I used homemade pistachio butter, store-bought pistachio butter or cream could be used instead.
If you are looking to keep the prep work down, you could get a tub of Dubai Chocolate Bar filling on Amazon and use some of that.
I used milk chocolate to make these Dubai Chocolate Cockroaches. However, you could also use dark chocolate, white chocolate, or a combination of each.
Nutrition
- Calories: 115 kcal
- Carbohydrates: 13 g
- Protein: 1 g
- Fat: 7 g
- Saturated Fat: 3 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat: 1 g
- Monounsaturated Fat: 2 g
- Trans Fat: 0.03 g
- Cholesterol: 2 mg
- Sodium: 24 mg
- Potassium: 115 mg
- Fiber: 1 g
- Sugar: 9 g
- Vitamin A: 46 IU
- Vitamin C: 0.3 mg
- Calcium: 16 mg
- Iron: 0.4 mg