Gluten-free “Dubai Style” Pistachio Balls

Ok, ok, I admit, I have fallen into the “Dubai” craze. To be fair, I was not convinced on the craze, as I find the actual chocolate you can buy far too sweet. However, if you make these Gluten-free “Dubai Stylr” Pistachio Balls at home, you can save a lot of that sweetness. Pistachio butter is quite naturally sweet anyways, so we are adding very little further sugar to this. That makes these pistachio balls utterly delicious. I swear – we ate the entire tray after we were done shooting in one single setting. It was absolute “Dubay Style” bliss (sorry – could not go without that pun).

What You Will Find In This Post

• What does “Dubai Style” for chocolate mean?
• How we are making this these “Dubai Style” Pistachio Balls gluten-free
• Easy Swaps and Questions
• How to adjust this recipe to your individual dietary requirements
• Other sweet recipes on the blog

What does “Dubai Style” in terms of chocolate mean?

This term has quickly come onto people’s radar, but really, it is not an officially recognized term, such as “Swiss” or “Belgian” chocolate. Rather, it is meant to describe luxurious, visually extravagant chocolate, which is adorned with flavors from the Middle East. This can, for example, include saffron, cardamon, rose, pistachio, or dates. As of late, Dubai chocolate has been used synonymously with a pistachio filling and katifi, which is crispy, shredded phyllo pastry.

How Are We Making These “Dubai Style” Pistachio Balls Gluten-Free?

Phyllo pastry, however, is not gluten-free and so we are changing some of the ingredients to get that indulgent feeling, whilst keeping this recipe gluten-free. The phyllo pastry, mainly, is there in order to provide some crunch and texture. We are replacing this element with gluten-free cornflakes. This also means that we do not have to fry off the phyllo pastry and then chop it. We can simply crunch the cornflakes a little bit, saving us valuable time.

Easy Swaps and Questions

I do not have a heavy food processor in order to make pistachio butter, what can I do? You could always go out and buy pistachio butter. This will also save you time in making this recipe. If you cannot find pistachio butter in the supermarket, you could likely swap it in for another nut butter (for example, peanut butter), but obviously the taste profile will be completely different.

Do I have to use tooth picks as you did in the picks? No, I just added them during the freezing process, as I thought it would be easier to then dip them through the chocolate (and for eating a bit more “fuss” free). However, you absolutely do not have to add them it will also work perfectly without.

What did you use in order to freeze the pistachio balls? I used a mini muffin form in silicone in which I dropped each individual ball into, and then also re-used them for freezing the chocolate.

How can I adjust these Gluten-free “Dubai Style” Pistachio Balls to my individual dietary requirements

This recipe is gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan, and dairy-free (be sure to check your chocolate, but usually 70% or higher is dairy-free anyways). Due to the pistachios used in this recipe, it is not nut-free.

Other Sweet Recipes on the Blog

There are so many delicious, easy, and super satisfying recipes on the blog. Because this one is a tad on the “cooler” side, I kept the inspiration a bit cooler as well:

• Chocolate Covered Peanut Dates
• Cool and Creamy Yogurt Ice Cream
• Chocolate Strawberry Yogurt Cups
• Honey Roasted Fig Popsicles
• Coconut Chocolate Bites

And there you have it for this week! I hope you enjoy these delicious little balls of deliciousness as much as we did over here. This recipe is definitely more of a “special” occasion one, ready for you on a little weekend bake or similar. Enjoy!

Gluten-free “Dubai Style” Pistachio Balls

Recipe by Ann Robejsek

5.0 from 1 vote

Course: Dessert, sweet treatCuisine: Gluten-free bakingDifficulty: Medium

Servings

13

pistachio balls

Prep time

15

minutes

Freezing time

40

minutes

These little balls of lovely pistachio nut butter have a heavenly chocolate coating, slight crunch and are a delicious indulgence. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 100 gr dark chocolate (70% or higher)

• 1/2 cup (130 gr.) pistachio nut butter

• 30 gr. gluten-free cornflakes

• 2-3 cassava flour – see notes*

• 1 tbsp maple syrup

• Chopped pistachios for topping

How to

• In a bowl, add the cornflakes and gently crush 3-4 times. Add the pistachio nut butter, maple syrup and cassava flour. I would start with 2 tablespoons and see how “runny” the mixture still is. You can always a third (or even forth one), this very much depends on how runny your original pistachio nut butter is
• With slightly wet hands (that way the mixture will not stick to your hands, form miniature balls and add them to a tray or a mini muffin silicone form. Pop into the freezer for ca. 30 minutes in order to become solid. Optional (but recommended for less of a “mess” situation): Stick a toothpick into every ball, that way you can cover them in chocolate super easily
• Once the pistachio balls are cold, melt the chocolate over a water bath by placing a pot with some water on medium heat and adding a heat proof bowl (usually metal or glass) on top with the chocolate broken into pieces. Once the chocolate is melted, dip every pistachio ball into the chocolate until fully covered. Put back on the tray and immediately sprinkle some chopped pistachios on top. Pop them back into the freezer for 10 minutes or so. They can be enjoyed immediately after the final freezing. When enjoying at a later time, depending on how sensitive your teeth are, you may have to wait for five minutes before biting into them. These should last in the freezer for minimum a week. Enjoy!

Notes

• You could likely also use coconut flour, but it has a much higher density and I would presume that you need 1.5 tbsp at the most.