If you've ever pulled a Dubai House cookie apart and watched a golden, stretchy core unfurl in long strands, you've already met kunafa. But you might not know its full story.
Kunafa (also spelled kanafeh, knafeh, or kunefe) is one of the most beloved desserts in the Middle East — a centuries-old tradition that lives in family kitchens from Palestine to Lebanon, Turkey to Syria, Egypt to Jordan. At Dubai House, we took the soul of that dessert and rebuilt it inside a luxury cookie. This is the story of how, and why.
What Is Kunafa?
Kunafa is a Middle Eastern dessert made from kataifi, which is shredded phyllo pastry. The thin pastry threads are typically tossed in butter or ghee, layered around a soft filling — traditionally a creamy cheese, or a sweet cream like ashta — then baked until golden and crisp on the outside while the inside stays soft, melty, and pull-apart.
After baking, kunafa is finished with a fragrant simple syrup scented with rosewater or orange-blossom water, and often topped with crushed pistachios or chopped nuts.
It is served warm. And it is meant to be shared.
Where Did Kunafa Come From?
Historians trace kunafa back over a thousand years to the Fatimid era in the Middle East, where it was reportedly served during Ramadan as a pre-dawn meal that would sustain people through long days of fasting. Today every Middle Eastern country claims their own version. Nablus, in Palestine, is famous for its iconic orange-tinted knafeh nabulsiyeh. Egypt has konafa bil ashta, layered with thick clotted cream. Turkey serves künefe in cast-iron pans, drenched in syrup.
It's a dessert with deep roots — the kind that gets passed down with stories.
Dubai Chocolate vs. Kunafa Cookies — What's the Difference?
You may have seen "Dubai chocolate" go viral over the last few years — a chocolate bar from the brand Fix Dessert Chocolatier, filled with pistachio cream and crispy kataifi (toasted kunafa pastry). It exploded on TikTok and ushered in a wave of imitations.
Dubai House cookies are inspired by the same tradition — the same kataifi, the same pistachio richness — but expressed through a fundamentally different form factor. Where Dubai chocolate gives you crunch in a snap, a Dubai House cookie gives you the stretch. We thread real kunafa through a molten core inside our cookie dough, so when you pull a warm Dubai House cookie apart, the kunafa center pulls with it. It's a ritual, not a bite.
How We Built Kunafa Into a Cookie
Making a kunafa-stuffed cookie is harder than it sounds. The challenge is keeping the kunafa molten and pull-apart inside the cookie without making the cookie itself soggy. After many test batches, we landed on a method we keep to ourselves: hand-portioned dough, a precisely measured kunafa core, and a bake calibrated to the second.
Across our signature flavors, the kunafa shows up differently:
- Golden Mirage — kunafa stretched through molten pistachio butter, our classic.
- Arabian Noir — kunafa wrapped in molten dark chocolate, intense and deep.
- Golden Dune — kunafa with caramelized Lotus Biscoff and warm caramel.
- Desert Jewel — kunafa with Medjool dates and white chocolate.
- Golden Twist — kunafa with caramel and crushed pretzels.
The Warm · Break · Savor Ritual
A kunafa-stuffed cookie isn't meant to be eaten cold from a wrapper. Like the dessert it came from, it has to be warmed for the kunafa center to come alive. The Dubai House way:
WARM — Microwave 8–12 seconds, or oven-warm at 300°F for 3–5 minutes.
BREAK — Rest 1–2 minutes. Then pull apart slowly and watch the kunafa stretch.
SAVOR — Take your time. Every layer was made for this moment.
Is Kunafa Halal?
Kunafa itself is traditionally Halal — it's made with phyllo, butter, sugar, and cream. The question is what gets added. Some store-bought versions use gelatin, alcohol-based extracts, or non-Halal additives. Every cookie at Dubai House is made with Halal-friendly ingredients: no alcohol, no pork, no gelatin. Handcrafted in our Oklahoma City kitchen under strict cleanliness and quality standards.
How to Try Kunafa Cookies for the First Time
If you've never tasted kunafa in any form, start with Golden Mirage — the chocolate chip dough is familiar enough to be a soft landing, and the pistachio kunafa center introduces you to the whole tradition in one bite.
If you're buying for a wedding, an Eid celebration, or a corporate gift, the Heritage Edition tin gives recipients eight artisan cookies across six flavors — a full tour of the lineup in a luxury gifting tin.
If you already love this dessert and just want to design your own mix, Build Your Box with 3, 6, or 8 cookies in any combination.
Warm · Break · Savor — this is how Dubai House was meant to be experienced.
