How to CookJapanese
How to Make Pocky Sticks at Home
It's always more fun to DIY. Every week, we'll spare you a trip to the grocery store and show you how to make small batches of great foods at home.
Today: This classic Japanese snack is perfect for movie munching -- and it's so easy to make, you won't miss a single preview. Samantha Seneviratne from Love, Cake shows us how.
My idea of fun has two basic ingredients: movies and snacks. So take my word for it when I tell you that I’ve done quite a bit of research on the question of the perfect movie snack.
A perfect movie snack should be quiet; popcorn munching, while socially acceptable, is rather disruptive. And you shouldn’t have to look at your snack while you eat it, so say goodbye to nachos, hotdogs, and the like. Your snack should be easy to handle -- Junior Mints will fall and stick to your jeans -- and tidiness is imperative: Small chocolate treats inevitably lead to melted-chocolate fingers. Gummy treats? They're great until your jaw gets sore.
More: Too late? Already stained your shirt? Here's how to get it out.
But don’t worry because I have the answer: Pocky. The Japanese chocolate-covered cookie sticks are just right. They’re quiet. They’re neat (the bottom 1/4 is conveniently left chocolate-free!). And they’re easy to eat in the dark. I’ve been known to inhale them, one after another, like a woodchipper taking down miniature logs, without even registering that I’ve eaten twenty-two in two minutes. They feel light. And fun.
There's only one problem with the perfect snack: They don’t sell Pocky at movie theaters. Good thing it’s so easy to make at home.
Homemade Pocky (Chocolate-Dipped Cookie Sticks)
Makes about 90 cookie sticks
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/4 teaspoon almond extract or 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup bread flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
4 teaspoons water, at room temperature
9 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
Preheat the oven to 300° F. Use a wooden spoon to stir the butter and sugar together in a large bowl until they're creamy and smooth. Add the egg and extract and stir to combine.
Add the flour, baking powder, and salt and stir to combine. Add the water and stir until smooth.
Transfer the mixture to a pastry bag fitted with a #7 plain round (3/8-inch) pastry tip. Pipe the batter onto two parchment-lined baking sheets in straight lines, about 6 inches long and at least 1/2 an inch apart.
More: Need a pastry bag? Get it here. Then learn how to use it.
Bake the dough until the sticks are set and light golden brown, 15 to 18 minutes, rotating the baking sheets halfway through. Let the sticks cool on the sheets on cooling racks for 5 minutes, then carefully transfer them to a rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining batter. Save the parchment-lined sheets for the next step.
Melt the chocolate in the microwave in a narrow, microwave-safe vessel (I used a Pyrex glass measuring cup) in 15-second increments. One at time, carefully dip each stick into the melted chocolate. In order to get the chocolate up higher on the stick, tip the cup on its side and dip each stick in where the chocolate is the highest. Scrape off any excess chocolate and lay each stick on the prepared sheets.
Transfer the sheets to the refrigerator to set the chocolate. Store in an airtight container in the freezer or fridge. Alternately, you could temper the chocolate so that the chocolate is hard at room temperature.
See the full recipe (and save and print it) here.
Photos by Samantha Seneviratne
Comments (24)
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10 months ago ひ2びきQ
I tried it out again, and the third time's a charm! I used a bit of table salt to substitirte for the kosher salt because I didn't have any, and it tasted great! I look forward to seeing your other recipes >♡
about 1 year ago Ashleigh
Oh my god. When i made them, they tasted good. I actually bought a box of pockybsticks to see if mine and the box's tasted the same. And they did. But the important thing is that I'm not a total failure after all!!!! 🦄😁😁
almost 2 years ago Jackie
It didn't go so great for me... I didn't have any unsweetened butter, or kosher salt, bread flour, or pastry bags. I tried using Ziploc sandwich bags and I had to use three because they kept bursting open. And so the sticks are all different sizes and they stuck together in the pan... And only had a stick of Hershey's chocolate bars and I tried using that and it didn't end well at all. I don't mean to sound whiny, but it's just that it was really difficult for me to make... I have a peanut allergy so I can't have storebought pocky because it "may contain peanuts."
10 months ago ひ2びきQ
Yeah, it was kind of the same for me... I used a ziploc bag but it didn't end very well. Maybe the next time's a charm?
4 months ago Steph Thompson
Don't blame the recipe when you didn't even follow it properly, it just makes you just sound like you don't know how to cook.
almost 3 years ago Alyssa Walker
Omg I love pocky now I can make it anytime thanks so much
almost 3 years ago Alana Kysar
Sam, I love this!! Homemade pocky = genius and necessary. I totally take them down like a woodchipper! Love that description and totally tell myself they're light. :D
about 3 years ago Eabha
Hi! I absolutely ADORE pocky, and although they're usually difficult to find here in Ireland, one of our local corner shops sells chocolate pocky which is a marvelous stroke of luck! I'm wondering, is the kosher salt absolutely necessary or can it be left out/substituted with something else? Thanks, I can't wait to try this recipe <3 ^-^
about 3 years ago Samantha Seneviratne | Love, Cake
Hi Eabha,
You can swap the kosher salt for table salt. Just use a bit less. Hope that helps!
about 3 years ago Destinee Penn
Do these need to be kept in the fridge if the chocolate is tempered and they're in an airtight container? I'm wanting to send some to my hubby in the mail!
about 3 years ago Samantha Seneviratne | Love, Cake
Hi Destinee,
If the chocolate is tempered you shouldn't have to refrigerate them. That said, these cookies are a bit fragile and I'm not sure they'd stand up well to being mailed.
about 3 years ago barbara
Hi Sam! How long does the pocky keep (in an airtight container)?
about 3 years ago Samantha Seneviratne | Love, Cake
Hi Barbara!
I always store my cookies in the freezer and that's what I did for these guys too. They didn't last too long but I would say they'd keep that way for months. Just be sure to keep them in an airtight, sturdy tupperware or something. They are quite fragile and will most certainly break if stored in a resealable plastic bag. Enjoy!
over 3 years ago Blue Strong
Great! Thanks for making it easy for us!
over 3 years ago Simone Horn de Petit
Hello, it must be bread flour or can I use all-purpose flour too? Thanks
over 3 years ago Samantha Seneviratne | Love, Cake
Hi Simone,
I used bread flour because it has more protein. I was going for a texture somewhere between grissini and cookie and I used bread flour to make them a bit more dense. I didn't test them with all-purpose flour but I bet they'd work just fine. I think they may be a bit more fragile. I hope that helps!
Sam
over 3 years ago deborah keefe
These are new to me, but look fabulous. I think they would be perfect on a dessert station at a party as well.
over 3 years ago windingspiralcase
"You shouldn't have to look at your snack while you eat it". Haha, agreed! Pocky brings me back to being a kid. Love these "grown-up" home-made ones. They'd be great party snacks too.
over 3 years ago Maryna Krasnozhon
A perfect snack! it is much more fun to DIY than to buy. Great time spending))
over 3 years ago Stealthy Lo
They TOTALLY sell Pocky at movie theaters! At least at the Landmark chain of theaters. It's what my now fiancee and I bonded over during a group viewing of a horrible cult classic movie. I offered him Pocky (to which his response was "And this is how I know we'll be best friends) but he stole my heart.
over 3 years ago Nancy Mck
I've never heard of these and can't wait to make some. And since you mentioned popcorn at the movies, I would like to vent here. Theater popcorn is bad, made even worse by drenching it in slimy fake butter, and the amount of noise created by people rattling around in the bag or box is extremely annoying. They remind the audience to turn off their phones; they should also remind them to eat something healthier or finish their popcorn before the movie starts.
10 months ago ひ2びきQ
I agree, it's much better to bring fruits or healthy snacks, right?
over 3 years ago cynthia | two red bowls
LOVE these, Sam!!! They came out so perfectly! Also, eating Pocky sticks like a "woodchipper taking down miniature logs".... Perfection. (And me, every time I have Pocky around.)
over 3 years ago Allyn
Yes! So good!
Now show me how to make Hello Pandas and I'm golden.
Showing 24 out of 24 comments