If you aren’t already familiar, Pocky are those easy-to-eat stick biscuit cookies from Japan that come in that catchy red box. These handy and delicious biscuits are popular enough now that you can commonly find them in the Asian food aisle of your local market. Having an almost cult-like following, Pocky are easily the most loved cookie in Asian American culture, like an Oreo cookie of the East!
Pocky are really such a perfect snack, you may wonder why anyone would ever bother making them at home. My answer to this is that making Pocky at home is almost as delightfully fun as getting to eat them. For me, the challenge is making them with as much precision as possible, the way I imagine they are made at the Pocky factory, wherever that may be.
I’m doing a Pocky Series this week, where I’ll be sharing 3 easy recipes for Homemade Pocky in some tasty variations to make your time worthwhile. Today we’ll start with the classic: Chocolate Pocky, the most popular and recognizable of all Pocky varieties.
It all starts with toasted grissini, or thin Italian bread sticks. I found mine in the bakery section of Safeway/Vons here in California. I like to use the grissini that are most uniform in size and shape. These thin bread sticks also come in more rustic style where each stick is more free form and not as straight, so it’s totally up to you which type you use, just make sure to grab the package that is plain in flavor…no garlic bread sticks here! Since grissini are super long, you’ll use a serrated knife to cut them to a more Pocky-like height before dipping.
Use only the best quality chocolate can find here. I like to mix a good semi-sweet chocolate with Swiss dark chocolate for a bit of bitterness and depth. And since we aren’t going through all the effort of actually tempering, be careful not to over heat the chocolate during the melting process. Just when it’s gently melted and beautifully glossy, it’s ready for dipping.
And as a riff on the original, I’m also making some decorated Pocky with crushed hazelnuts. Some other yummy toppings might be salty roasted peanuts, sesame seeds, or even some macadamia nut bits for a Hawaiian twist!
I’m decorating another set of the cookies with some naturally dyed sprinkles I found at Homegoods the other day. The just-off primary colored sprinkles make the Homemade Pocky look extra charming and party ready–a fun twist on Pocky that you can’t just grab off the grocery market shelf. If you are interested in these all-natural sprinkles, I found some online, where they have several other colors to pick from.
Homemade Pocky make a festive confection for parties, yet they can also make the most elegant light dessert with a cup of after dinner tea. I consider them like chocolate bark on a stick–super easy to make, even easier to eat, and always a crowd pleaser.
If you love Pocky treats, stay tuned! I have a few more Pocky-licious creations that I’ll be posting about in the next few days!
Homemade Chocolate Pocky
Makes about 30 stick cookies.
Ingredients:
12 oz semi-sweet chocolate
6 oz dark chocolate
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 package of grissini, cut into 5″ pieces with serrated knife to make 30 sticks
1 cup finely chopped hazelnuts
sprinkles
Equipment:
serrated knife
double boiler
rubber spatula
tea towel
large baking sheet fitted with parchment paper
small baking sheet or plate fitted with parchment paper
tall, narrow drinking glass, at least 6″ tall
Directions:
1. Fill bottom of double boiler with water, making sure the water doesn’t make contact with the base of the top bowl of the double boiler. Bring water to a gentle simmer (bring water to boil, then reduce to very low heat). Place semi-sweet chocolate in top bowl of double boiler. Using rubber spatula, gently melt the semi-sweet chocolate. When the semi-sweet chocolate has almost all melted, add the dark chocolate and mix together. When all the chocolate is just melted, mix in the vegetable oil, remove from heat, and wipe steam off the outside of the bowl with a tea towel.
2. Carefully pour the melted chocolate into the drinking glass to a height of 4″. Keep the remaining melted chocolate aside, preferably in a warm place.
3. Dip the cut grissini into the melted chocolate leaving the top 1″ undipped. Gently shake off any excess chocolate, then place the dipped cookie on the small baking sheet or plate fitted with parchment (I used a paper plate). Let the Pocky stick sit here for about a minute to allow any excess chocolate to pool onto the parchment/paper plate.
4. Transfer the stick to the large parchment lined baking sheet to fully dry. Refill chocolate in glass to 4″ as needed. Repeat the dipping process with the remaining grissini. The Pocky take about 2 hours to fully dry/harden. In a pinch, you can place them in the fridge to speed up the drying process. Homemade Pocky are best eaten within a day or two, as the bread sticks tends to soften with time. You can use leftover dipping chocolate for baking or fondue!
Variation: Generously or lightly scatter finely chopped nuts or sprinkles on the dipped Pocky before transferring the cookie sticks onto the large parchment lined baking sheet.
A very imaginative treat for afternoon tea. And it looks easy to prepare – an added bonus1
Thank you.
Thank you! I hope you can make them sometime! =)
Bonnie, your pocky sticks are so perfect, especially the one with sprinkles. Did you put each sprinkle on individually?? How do you make everything so pretty? You amaze me. 🙂
No my dear, YOU amaze me! I sprinkled them on a few at a time, nothing too snazzy. =)
I was picturing you applying each one with tweezers! You have an incredible talent for elegant simplicity. That’s not something anyone can learn. My pocky stick would probably look like it got hit by a sprinkle tornado. 😛
I grew up on Pocky and still look forward to having them once in a blue moon. I imagine this would be a very fun treat to make with my nieces and nephews. There is also the strawberry dip that would be fun to recreate. These look great!
Thanks so much Ngan! Since there isn’t any dough making involved, the kiddos can get straight to dipping and decorating…the part they would probably would enjoy the most. I’m actually working on a strawberry version for my next post…hope you can check it out! =)
I know these cuties under the name “Mikado”, my boyfriend loves them! 😀 Mmh the almond version sounds yummy too…
Hey there! Yes, there are just so many yummy possibilities! P.S. I’m still working on the Shine On post my dear…thanks again for the nomination–you made my day!! 😉
😀 happy to hear (read?) that 😉
My daughter introduced me to these about two years ago (her friend from college introduced them to her)… what a delightful treat!
Thank you for sharing, she will be so excited to see that we can make our own! Love this..
Your photos are gorgeous… I look forward to catching up on your blog… 🙂
Thank you, dear! Yes, these cookies have such a fantastic following. I think it’s because they make you feel like a kid when you eat them. Hope you can make these sometime! P.S. Everything on your blog makes me drooooooool!! Looking forward to your upcoming posts! =)
How fun! Bryan loves pocky. Whenever we go to Asian supermarkets, he always secretly take one or two boxes.
Yes, Pocky are the most-loved of Asian cookies! =)
these are so much fun! we gonna try making them ourselves!
That’s great! Let me know how it goes!
What a fabulous idea – they look so cute!
Thank you!! Hope you can try! 😉
Reblogged this on Architecture Biased and commented:
How to make pocky
What a fun treat! What brand are the grissini you used? I have looked and only found ones made with olive oil – which seems like it might mess with the taste of the chocolate…?
Why, thank you! So I used grissini that I bought at a local market in California (Vons/Safeway). Olive oil is in the ingredient list of my grissini, but the grissini are actually plain in flavor. I know that they also sell grissini that have garlic flavoring which is definitely a no-no. So, it’s ok if the grissini have olive oil in them as long as they are plain/non-flavored. Hope this helps! 😉
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