Dubai Chocolate Cookies

Set the butter in a medium-large, heatproof bowl and pour both sugars over it

Microwave the bowl for 1 minute, until the butter is fully melted

Add the salt and vanilla and whisk very well until the mixture turns thick and shiny

Add the cocoa and whisk to combine

Microwave for 30 seconds, until hot and bubbling

Whisk until the mixture starts to clump, with liquid pooling in the bottom and a thick mass settling in the whisk

Add the egg and whisk very well, until the mixture looks like brownie batter

Add the flour and baking soda and stir until there are no unmixed flour bits

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours

While the cookie dough is chilling, make the filling

Set a medium or large frying pan over medium-low heat, add the tablespoon of butter, then add the kataifi

Add a pinch of salt and cook, stirring as the phyllo firms up and breaks, until evenly browned

Transfer to a medium sized bowl and let cool completely

Once cool, add the tahini and pistachio cream and stir until combined

Preheat the oven to 350 F

Line two greased cookie sheets with parchment paper

Use a disher or cookie scoop to portion the cookie dough into 2.5 tablespoon portions per cookie

Flatten each ball of dough, place 1 tablespoon of pistachio kataifi filling in the center, then wrap the dough around the filling, pinching and smoothing to fully encase it

Round the balls by rolling them between your palms

Optional: press a square of semi-sweet or milk chocolate (or chocolate chips) on top of the dough

Arrange cookies on the sheets with enough space to spread (about 2 inch diameter around each cookie), optionally placing more chocolate or chocolate chips on top before baking

Bake until the cookies have spread quite a bit and have cracking edges

Let cool on the pan before handling, then enjoy