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Updated: September 2026

Dubai chewy cookie vs Crumbl comes down to texture and where you live. The Dubai chewy cookie is a small, dense, chewy ball with a pistachio-kunafa centre. Crumbl’s Dubai-style cookie was a big American sandwich cookie sold for one week in April 2026 at USD 6.48, and Crumbl has no stores in the UAE. Here, the chewy one is what you can actually buy: AED 40 a box at Mukbang Shows.

TL;DR
– Best in the UAE: Chef Nouel Catis’s Dubai Chewy Cookie at Mukbang Shows, AED 40 a box, walk-in at 5 branches in Dubai and Abu Dhabi
– Best single to try: Gato Cake Studio & Cafe, AED 29 a cookie, Al Mina Road and Creek Beach, Dubai
– Crumbl: US only, and its Dubai-style sandwich cookie was a limited one-week flavour in April 2026

What is the difference between a Dubai chewy cookie and Crumbl’s Dubai cookie?

They share a filling and nothing else. Both use the Dubai chocolate combination of pistachio and kataifi (the shredded pastry from kunafa). The Dubai chewy cookie wraps it in a soft marshmallow-based shell dusted in cocoa. Crumbl sandwiched it between two thin chocolate cookies.

The Dubai chewy cookie is Korean. In Korea it is 두바이 쫀득쿠키 (du-bai jjon-deuk ku-ki), nicknamed 두쫀쿠. The Korea Herald’s explainer describes pistachio cream and kataifi wrapped in melted marshmallow and dusted in cocoa, with a texture closer to a rice cake than a normal cookie. A typical one weighs 40 to 60 grams.

Crumbl’s version was the “Dubai-style Chocolate Sandwich Cookie”: two thin chocolate cookies with a pistachio-kataifi filling. Food Network reviewed it when it ran the week of 7 to 11 April 2026, at USD 6.48. Crumbl also sold a Dubai Chocolate Brownie from August 2025.

So one is a chewy, mochi-like ball, and the other is a large, soft American bakery cookie. If you are expecting one and get the other, you will be surprised.

Dubai chewy cookie vs Crumbl: side-by-side comparison

The short version: in the UAE, the chewy cookie wins by default because it is the only one on sale here.

Which one tastes better: Dubai chewy cookie or Crumbl?

It depends on what you like in a cookie. If you like chew, go for the Dubai chewy cookie. If you like a classic soft-baked cookie, go for Crumbl.

Pick the Dubai chewy cookie if:
– You love mochi, tteok or anything stretchy.
– You want the pistachio-kunafa filling to be the main event.
– You want a smaller, denser portion.

Pick Crumbl’s style if:
– You want a big, soft American cookie first, with the filling as a bonus.
– You like frosting-style richness and chocolate cookie flavour.
– You are in the US during a week it is on the menu.

Our honest take: they are different desserts wearing the same filling. Comparing them is like comparing kunafa with a pistachio croissant. Both are good, but you are ordering a texture, not just a flavour.

Is Crumbl in Dubai or the UAE?

No. We found no verified Crumbl store in Dubai, Abu Dhabi or anywhere else in the UAE as of September 2026. Articles about Crumbl coming to the Gulf are speculation. If you see “Crumbl cookies” on a UAE delivery app, it is a copycat or a reseller, not Crumbl.

Crumbl’s Dubai-style sandwich cookie was also a limited flavour. It ran for one week in April 2026 as part of Crumbl’s rotating menu. Even in the US, you cannot walk in and get one any day of the week.

Why can’t you get Crumbl-style Dubai cookies here?

Because the big American cookie chains that made Dubai-style flavours, Crumbl and Panera, do not operate in the UAE. The Korean chewy version reached the UAE through local bakeries, cloud kitchens and restaurants instead. It helps that the filling is a Dubai invention, so local makers already know it well.

If you specifically want a large, soft, frosted pistachio cookie, you will have to look beyond the chewy-cookie sellers listed here, and judge any local take on its own merits rather than as a Crumbl substitute.

Is Paris Baguette’s Dubai chewy cookie available in the UAE?

Not that we could confirm. Paris Baguette Korea sells Dubai chewy balls and tarts at 5,000 to 10,000 won. Paris Baguette US announced a Dubai Chewy Cookie in 2026. In the UAE, Paris Baguette has only announced expansion plans, including a 2025 partnership with Galadari Brothers. We found no confirmed open UAE store.

What about Panera’s Dubai cookie?

Panera launched a “Dubai Style Chocolate Pistachio Cookie” on 11 March 2026: a chocolate cookie with pistachio cream filling, a chocolate drizzle and pistachio pieces. It is a US bakery-café cookie, closer to Crumbl’s style than to the chewy one, and Panera does not operate in the UAE.

Dubai chewy cookie vs Crumbl: which has more calories?

We cannot give you an honest Crumbl number. Crumbl calorie figures for its Dubai-style cookie circulate on fan and tracker sites, but we could not verify them against an official source, so we will not repeat them.

For the chewy cookie, Korean doctors quoted by the Korea Herald and Hankyung in January 2026 put a typical one at 400 to 600 kcal, about 1.5 to 2 bowls of white rice. Crumbl’s cookies are much larger by size, so do not assume the small chewy ball is the lighter choice. Treat both as a full dessert.

Where did each one come from?

Dubai chocolate came first. Wikipedia credits Sarah Hamouda and Filipino pastry chef Nouel Catis Omamalin with developing it in 2021 for FIX Dessert Chocolatier. It went viral on TikTok in 2024.

The Dubai chewy cookie came from Korea. Monte Cookie, a bakery in Gimpo founded in August 2024, is reported as the first to make it. A regular customer asked for a Dubai-chocolate version of the bakery’s chewy cookie. It exploded after IVE’s Jang Won-young posted one on Instagram in September 2025. CU sold more than 1.8 million Dubai-style chewy rice cakes after an October launch, and Starbucks Korea launched a Dubai Chewy Roll on 30 January 2026. Korea JoongAng Daily called it a craze across all generations.

Crumbl and Panera followed in the US, putting the Dubai chocolate filling into American-style cookies in 2025 and 2026.

So the chewy cookie is the Korean branch of the family, and the Crumbl and Panera cookies are the American branch.

Where can I buy a Dubai chewy cookie in the UAE?

Mukbang Shows is the easiest walk-in. It is the official UAE seller of Chef Nouel Catis’s Dubai Chewy Cookie, at AED 40 a box at all five branches, and you do not need to order a meal. Chef Nouel Catis is the Filipino pastry chef who co-created Dubai chocolate, profiled by The National. The box is his own version of the chewy cookie.

The five counters:
– JBR: Plaza Level, Bahar 3, Unit P33, The Walk. +971-54-523-1898. Mon–Thu 1PM–12AM, Fri–Sun 12PM–12AM.
– DWTC (Love Mukbang): The Apartments Block A, Sheikh Zayed Road, opposite World Trade Centre metro. +971-54-524-5904. Mon–Thu 1PM–1AM, Fri–Sun 12PM–1AM.
– Deira: Al Ittihad Road, Port Saeed, next to Deira Bus Station. +971-4-886-4494. Same hours as DWTC.
– Muroor, Abu Dhabi: 547 Sultan Bin Zayed The First Street, Al Danah, across from Emirates Grand Market. +971-50-158-9433.
– Electra, Abu Dhabi: Zayed The First Street, behind Sun and Sand Sports. +971-2-564-0446.

To hold boxes, message +971 50 996 3485 on WhatsApp and name the branch. Honest limitation: Mukbang is a Korean BBQ restaurant, not a bakery. There is one box and no singles.

Other UAE sellers:
– Gato Cake Studio & Cafe: AED 29 a single cookie, Al Mina Road and Creek Beach, Dubai.
– Casa de Flores: box of 4 for AED 65, around 60 g each, delivered UAE-wide on Talabat, Deliveroo, Keeta, Careem and Noon. Abu Dhabi orders need a AED 200 minimum plus a AED 50 fee.
– Chicha Bakehouse (Dubai) and Munchies (Abu Dhabi) are cloud kitchens listed by Gulf News, with no published price.

How do you spot a good Dubai chewy cookie?

Tear it in half before you judge it. A good one shows these four things in the first bite:

• The shell stretches. It should pull apart in a soft strand before it breaks, like mochi. If it snaps or crumbles, it is either stale or not really a chewy cookie.
• The kataifi is still crisp. The shredded pastry inside should crunch. If it has gone soft and soggy, the cookie has been sitting too long or the filling was too wet.
• Filling reaches the edges. Pistachio should run most of the way across the cross-section, not sit as a small blob in a thick shell.
• It is not greasy. Butter is part of the recipe, but a good cookie should not leave an oil stain on the box.

Those same tests work on a Crumbl-style cookie, except the first one. An American bakery cookie is supposed to be soft and cakey, not stretchy.

Dubai chewy cookie vs the Dubai chocolate bar

If you are weighing the chewy cookie against the original Dubai chocolate bar rather than Crumbl, the comparison is closer. Both are pistachio and kataifi at heart.

• The bar has a snapping milk chocolate shell. The cookie has a soft marshmallow-and-cocoa shell.
• The bar is a slab to break and share. The cookie is one portion.
• People who found the bar too rich often like the cookie more, because there is less chocolate.

Our Dubai chocolate guide covers the original bar and where the craze started.

Which is the better gift: a Dubai chewy cookie box or Crumbl?

In the UAE, the chewy cookie box, simply because you can buy it. A box from Mukbang Shows is AED 40, comes ready to hand over, and you can pick it up late in the evening at five branches across Dubai and Abu Dhabi. For an office, buy several and message ahead so the branch holds them.

Crumbl’s pink box is iconic in the US, and if you are flying back from America it can make a fun gift. But its cookies are big, soft and best eaten fresh, and the Dubai-style one was a limited weekly flavour, so you cannot plan around it.

Whatever you buy, check for nut allergies first. Pistachio is the whole filling in every Dubai-style cookie. If someone at the table wants something lighter or nut-free after dinner, a shared bingsu is a better Korean dessert. Our guide to Korean desserts in Dubai covers the options, and the full Mukbang Shows menu lists what is served at the branches.

Is the Dubai chewy cookie halal? Is Crumbl?

The one at Mukbang Shows is. Chef Nouel Catis’s Dubai Chewy Cookie at Mukbang Shows is 100% halal and made without gelatin. The restaurant’s food is 100% halal as well: beef and chicken only, no pork and no alcohol at any branch.

For everyone else, including Crumbl, check the label. Most Korean-style chewy cookies use marshmallow, and marshmallow normally contains gelatin, so the answer depends on the maker. We are not going to guess about any other brand.

Tips if you are choosing between them

1. In the UAE? Go chewy. It is the one you can actually buy today, and at fixed prices.
2. Travelling to the US? Check Crumbl’s weekly menu before you go. The Dubai-style cookie was a limited run.
3. Try a single first. If you are unsure about the chewy texture, Gato’s AED 29 single is a cheap test before a box.
4. Buy a box for a group. Mukbang’s AED 40 box is the easy walk-in option in both Dubai and Abu Dhabi, open late.
5. Check labels elsewhere. Mukbang’s box is halal and gelatin-free. At other sellers, gelatin, nuts, gluten and dairy show up in most versions of both styles.
6. Watch for copycats. Anything sold as “Crumbl” in the UAE is not from Crumbl.

More on the Dubai chewy cookie

• What the Korean Dubai cookie (dujjonku) is and where it came from
• Dubai chewy cookie calories and ingredients
• Where to buy a Dubai chewy cookie in Abu Dhabi
• Chef Nouel Catis’s Dubai Chewy Cookie at Mukbang Shows, AED 40 a box

FAQ

Is Crumbl available in Dubai?
No. We found no verified Crumbl stores in the UAE as of September 2026.

What was Crumbl’s Dubai cookie?
A Dubai-style Chocolate Sandwich Cookie: two thin chocolate cookies with pistachio-kataifi filling, sold the week of 7–11 April 2026 for USD 6.48.

What is a Dubai chewy cookie?
A Korean dessert (두쫀쿠) with pistachio cream and kataifi wrapped in a chewy marshmallow-based shell and dusted with cocoa.

Which is chewier?
The Dubai chewy cookie, by design. Crumbl’s version is a soft American bakery cookie.

Where can I buy a Dubai chewy cookie in Dubai or Abu Dhabi?
Mukbang Shows sells Chef Nouel Catis’s box for AED 40 at five branches. Gato sells singles for AED 29, and Casa de Flores delivers boxes of 4 for AED 65.

Is the Dubai chewy cookie the same as Dubai chocolate?
Same filling, different shell: chewy marshmallow and cocoa instead of a snapping chocolate bar.

Dubai chewy cookie vs Crumbl is chewy Korean versus soft American, and in the UAE only one of them is for sale. To try the chewy one tonight, pick up Chef Nouel Catis’s Dubai Chewy Cookie at Mukbang Shows for AED 40 a box.