The Dessert So Viral Seoul Built an App for It
I don’t know about you, but my feed has been flooded with South Korea’s latest dessert obsession: the Dubai Chewy Cookie. These soft, glossy chocolate orbs have taken over Seoul’s café scene so completely that fans literally built an app to track which bakeries sell them — and how each spot ranks. When a dessert inspires infrastructure, you know it’s serious.
The treat even has an impossibly cute nickname: Dujjonku (두쫀크) — a portmanteau of “Dubai” and jjondeuk (쫀득), the Korean word for chewy. The name nails the appeal. Despite its glamorous branding, the Dubai Chewy Cookie is actually a Korean reinterpretation of a Middle Eastern–inspired dessert concept that traces back to viral Dubai chocolate: a luxurious combination of pistachio cream and crunchy kataifi (shredded filo pastry). Korean bakers took that idea and ran with it, transforming it into something entirely new — a dessert that barely resembles a cookie at all.
Dujjonku (두쫀크)
Visually, it’s striking. The exterior is soft and elastic, almost mochi-like, made from melted and stretched marshmallow. Inside? A rich pistachio paste studded with crisp kataifi, all finished with a light dusting of cocoa powder. The appeal lies in contrast: chewy against crunchy, sweet richness balanced by bitterness. It’s always shown in dramatic pull-apart shots, the neon-green pistachio center stretching on camera — basically engineered for social media. Not gonna lie, I think I watch at least one Dubai Chewy Cookie video before bed every night.
As the trend grows, bakeries have started riffing on the original. Fruit-filled versions with strawberries or grapes are popping up, alongside flavors like matcha, injeolmi, and Biscoff. The format feels endlessly adaptable, and half the fun is watching how it evolves from café to café.
And now, the Dubai Chewy Cookie has officially landed in New York. You can try it at Bear Donuts and Grace Street in Manhattan, or Ugly Donuts and Corndogs, Cafe W, and Croffle House in Queens. As with any viral food moment, reactions are split. Some people (me) are obsessed with the chew and pistachio richness; others (my boyfriend, my sworn opp) insist the original Dubai chocolate bars are better — or call the whole thing overpriced and overhyped.
Still, now that it’s here, why not try it for yourself? Watching dessert culture evolve in real time — across borders, platforms, and timelines — is half the sweetness.