Homemade Pocky Sticks

I had my first Pocky Stick in Japan.  I was there on Semester at Sea and the whole ship went wild for Pocky!  Pocky Sticks are thin cookies (with an animal cracker taste) coated in chocolate. 

At the time, they were relatively hard to find in the U.S.  Now, they seem to be popping up everywhere.  Most recently (and by that, I mean yesterday), I saw them used in a stunning cake by Heather of Sprinkle Bakes (author of the gorgeous and inspiring cookbook of the same name).

Seeing Heather's cake immediately made me want to create cupcakes decorated with Pocky Sticks.  But after seeing my homemade Lucky Charms, you guys know that I can't just take the easy route and go buy some Pocky Sticks.  I had to make homemade Pocky Sticks with an ingredient list that I felt more comfortable with.  I found a recipe for homemade Pocky Sticks on Jun-Blog (the same place that I turned to with great success when trying out latik for the first time).  Jun found the recipe in Pichet Ong's cookbook, The Sweet Spot (a book filled with Asian-inspired desserts that is now on my wish list).     

Pichet's recipe for homemade Pocky Sticks tastes just like the real thing (I did a side-by-side comparison).  The main difference is that it is near impossible to get the homemade version to be as thin as the store-bought variety.  I tried, and tried, and tried, but even when I succeeded in rolling the dough thin enough, the cooked Pocky Sticks would invariably crack when I dipped them in the melted chocolate.   However, making the Pocky Sticks a bit thicker is a small price to pay when you consider the decorating potential of homemade Pocky Sticks.  

I've been noticing lots of people on Pinterest (like Lady Behind the Curtain) going all out decorating 4th of July pretzels. Guess what? You can decorate homemade Pocky Sticks any way that you would decorate pretzel sticks.  I kept my Pocky sticks basic red, white, and blue (created using white chocolate and food coloring), but you can make yours as simple or extravagant as you like.  I know that you will amaze me with your ideas!  If you make some, I'd love to see photos of your decorated sticks.  You can post the photos to the Cupcake Project Facebook page.

Homemade Pocky Sticks Recipe    

As noted above, the recipe I used for homemade Pocky sticks is from The Sweet Spot and I found it on Jun-blog. The recipe below is only slightly adapted.  I changed the size of the Pocky sticks to make them 5 inches long instead of the huge 10 inch ones the recipe calls for, and I describe how I achieved the red, white, and blue look on my Pocky Sticks.

Yield: About 60 Pocky Sticks

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 large egg white, beaten
• 4 1/2 ounces white chocolate
• Red food coloring
• Blue food coloring
• A few teaspoons of vegetable oil

Directions:

1. Mix the sweetened condensed milk with water and set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix the flour, baking powder, sugar, cardamom, and salt on low speed until well mixed.
3. Add the butter and mix until the mixture resembles cornmeal, about 5 minutes. 
4. Mix in the condensed milk mixture all at once and continue mixing until it is fully incorporated and the dough forms a ball around the paddle.
5. Transfer to a large sheet of plastic wrap, pat into a 1-inch-thick disk, and wrap tightly in the plastic. 
6. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.
7. Preheat the oven to 300 F.
8. Break off a ball of dough with the diameter of a dime (a tiny piece).  Roll the dough into a five inch long snake.  Try to make the snake fairly thin, but with enough thickness that you can still pick it up and move it without it breaking. 
9. Transfer the snake to a parchment- or Silpat-lined baking sheet (or just roll it directly on the sheet if that's easier for you) and repeat with the remaining dough, setting the sticks 1/2 inch apart. 
10. Refrigerate the baking sheets, uncovered, for 10 minutes.
11. Brush the dough snakes with the egg white and bake until golden brown and crisp.  Check on them at 20 minutes, but depending on how thick you made them, it may take 25 minutes. 
12. Cool completely.
13. Melt white chocolate in a double boiler or using short intervals in the microwave.  Stir until smooth.
14. Divide melted chocolate into three tall shot glasses.
15. Add red food coloring to one of the shot glasses.  If the chocolate is no longer smooth and liquidy, add a little vegetable oil at a time to the red chocolate until the consistency is good for dipping.
16. Add blue food coloring to another one of the shot glasses.  If the chocolate is no longer smooth and liquidy, add a little vegetable oil at a time to the red chocolate until the consistency is good for dipping.
17. One at a time, dip 1/3 of the Pocky sticks in the plain white chocolate. Set each one back on the lined cookie sheet when done.
18. Repeat with the other two colors.
19. Refrigerate until just before serving to harden the chocolate.