Men's Pocky

Lord Bezoar's Note:

Pocky is a Japanese treat, essentially a biscuit-pretzel stick coated with chocolate. If you know any otakus you've probably seen it. Pocky can be found at almost any Asian grocery store and most supermarkets, and prices differ across the country and with type. Japan has almost unlimited flavors but North Americans can usually only find Chocolate, Strawberry and White Chocolate. Some others they make in Japan are Apple Cream Custard, Almond, Banana, Berry Chocolate, Blueberry, Coconut Milk, Grape, Green Apple, Green Tea, Honey, Mango, Melon and 'Men's Pocky' which is Dark Chocolate and what I'm posting here. Be adventurous and try out some ideas on other toppings. Please post your favorites so we can all try them!

• Total Time: 30 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 6

Yield: 24.0 Pocky

• 2 cups flour
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 tablespoons butter
• ½ cup water
• 1 dash salt
• ¾ cup dark chocolate chips
• ½ cup crushed nuts (optional)

Directions:

1. Pre-Heat Oven to 400 degrees Farenheit.
2. Add dry ingredients and mix well.
3. Add butter, half of the water and the Egg Yolk. Begin mixing. Drizzle on more water as needed to form a nice smooth dough.
4. Break the dough into about two dozen small balls.
5. Knead each ball slightly then roll with both hands to desired length and thinness. *Any cracks in the dough will make it break after cooking so keep working until it is nice and smooth. *Round ends look better than pointed ones and they have the added benefit of not burning while they are baking.
6. Place on a greased baking sheet and put into your hotbox. Cook for 10 - 15 minutes, checking the bottom to make sure they don't burn.
7. While the sticks are cooking, melt your chocolate either in a double boiler or using your microwave.
8. Once the sticks are done, let them cool just enough to handle and dip in the chocolate leaving one end free of chocolate.
9. If you chose to use the crushed nuts, you will want to roll the pocky in the crushed nuts before the chocolate cools.
10. Lay these out on parchment paper to cool.
11. Enjoy!

Reviews

[Dreamer in Ontario]

What a fun recipe! I made this just as it's written using crushed almonds for the optional nuts. It took me more than 10 minutes to shape all of the dough though the process did get faster with practise. You could easily use this recipe with different chocolate or even candy coatings. Made for TYM - Theirs Yours & Mine photo tag game.