Homemade Kona Coffee Pocky

Yep, you read it right!  Over this past weekend, I ventured out of my tea-steeped comfort zone and created a Pocky recipe for all those die-hard, peppy coffee lovers out there.  Homemade Pocky always make an elegant cookie to have with a good cup of tea, and these Homemade Kona Coffee Pocky are no exception.

Just last year, I decided to completely nix coffee out of my daily regimen.  Tea gave me all the eye-opening effects that coffee did without the jitters, tummy discomfort, withdrawal headaches.  It’s a good thing I did quit too, because despite the fact that I love to cook, I am the seriously the worst coffee maker out there.  Not counting the K-cup brewer that my in-laws got me for Christmas last year, I can somehow manage to ruin every cup of coffee that I make. Sometimes the coffee I brew tastes like dirty dish water and other times it tastes like jet fuel. For some reason, I can never get it right.  That’s when I started using freeze-dried coffee.

As much as Hawaii is bountiful in its tea culture, it’s perhaps even more well-known for its coffee culture.  Much like they do for tea leaves, soil, climate, and altitude all work together to create complexities in coffee bean flavor.  A few years back when I was on the Big Island, I stopped by a coffee plantation high up in the hills of Kona.  Coffee plants thrive in humid, tropical conditions with a good amount of cloud cover.  Whether referring to tea, coffee, or even wine, term terrior is used to describe a plant’s sense of place, the collective effect of environmental factors like climate and geography on the taste of a product.

kona coffee farm

It was when I spotted some freeze-dried coffee in Hawaii that I began formulating this Homemade Coffee Pocky recipe.  Similar to the freeze-dried strawberries I used for my Homemade Strawberry Pocky, these crystals give us a punch of rich coffee flavor without moisture being an issue.  Where it seems like pouring some espresso or coffee extract into your melted dipping chocolate would instantly give you coffee flavored chocolate, I assure you that it won’t!  You’ll end up with a shaggy, clumpy mess, since both are water based.  The only way around this is to use freeze-dried coffee crystals.

The freeze-dried coffee crystals need to be ground into a fine powder before they can be added to the melted white chocolate.  If you add them directly, the crystals never dissolve and you end up with big, noticeable dots on your cookie stick coating.  The sticks would also be way too strong tasting, as each coffee crystal packs a punch of strong coffee flavor.  The solution is to use a mortar and pestle set to pulverize the crystals.  You could also place the crystals in a Ziploc bag, lay the bag on a flat work surface, and press down on the crystals using a large, heavy pan.

I was surprised that after mixing in my coffee powder to the white chocolate, the color of the dipping chocolate wasn’t as tan as I would have hoped.  Alas, I decided to not add any fake food colorings as I knew the taste of these Homemade Kona Coffee Pocky were already spot on.

Decorate these confections with some of the same freeze-dried coffee lightly crushed, for a sprinkly look.  Another pretty option is to sift leftover freeze-dried coffee powder over the top of the cookies while the chocolate it is setting up.  The warmth of the chocolate will help the coffee powder to bloom and darken in color.

My favorite variety of these Coffee Pocky are the ones drizzled with chocolate and then scattered with toasted macadamia nut bits.  The salt in the macadamia nuts balances out the sweet coffee chocolate base.  This combination is reminiscent of the chocolate covered macadamia nuts that visitors in Hawaii return from vacation with stacks of.

If I was going to violate my no coffee regimen I was glad to have done it with these Homemade Kona Coffee Pocky.  These cookie sticks pack a punch of rich, robust espresso-like flavor, so it’s nice to savor them nibble by nibble.

Back when I made Homemade Green Tea Pocky, I mentioned yuanyang, a popular Chinese drink where coffee is mixed with black tea.  The two flavors are very different, yet amazingly complementary.  Try these Homemade Kona Coffee Pocky with a cup of unflavored, unsweetened black tea, and the next time you’re asked “coffee or tea?” you just might end up asking for both!

Homemade Kona Coffee Pocky

Makes about 20 stick cookies.

Ingredients:

12 oz package of vanilla candy melts or 11 oz bag white chocolate chips

1 Tbsp freeze-dried Kona coffee crystals, ground into a fine powder with a mortar & pestle

1 tsp vegetable oil

1 package of grissini, cut into 5″ pieces with serrated knife to make 20 sticks

reserved coffee powder, for dusting

reserved coffee crystals, crushed, for sprinkling

chocolate candy melts

macadamia nuts, chopped finely and lightly toasted

Equipment:

mortar & pestle

serrated knife

double boiler

small bowl

rubber spatula

tea towel

small sifter

large baking sheet fitted with parchment paper

small baking sheet or plate fitted with parchment paper

tall, narrow drinking glass, at least 6″ tall

piping bag fitted with #2 tip or fork

Directions:

Step-by-step photos of the dipping process are in my Homemade Chocolate Pocky post!

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 white chocolate or candy melts in top bowl of double boiler.  Using rubber spatula, gently melt the chocolate.  In a small bowl, mix coffee powder with 1 tsp of vegetable oil.  Add this coffee oil/paste to the melting white chocolate and mix in thoroughly.  If you are using white chocolate (not candy coating) you may need to mix in another 1-2 tsp of oil to get a nice dipping consistency.  Remove the bowl of chocolate 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″.

3.  Dip the cut grissini into the melted chocolate leaving the top 1″ undipped.  As you get further along in dipping, you may need to tilt the glass to distribute the chocolate upwards so that you are able to cover all 4″ of each grissini with the chocolate.  Gently shake off any excess chocolate, then place the dipped cookie on the small baking sheet or plate fitted with parchment.  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.  Repeat the dipping process with the remaining grissini.  If you use white chocolate, the Pocky take about 1 hour to fully dry/harden.  If you use candy melts, they will take about 20 minutes to dry.  In a pinch, you can place the dipped cookies in the fridge to speed up the drying process.  Homemade Pocky are best eaten within a day or two, as the bread sticks tend to soften with time.

Variation:  Lightly scatter crushed, freeze-dried coffee bits on the dipped Pocky before transferring the cookie sticks to the large parchment lined baking sheet to dry.  Alternatively, you can sift a light dusting of leftover freeze dried coffee powder atop the drying cookies.  The residual heat of the chocolate will help the coffee to bloom and intensify in color.  For Chocolate Macadamia Nut Kona Coffee Pocky, drizzle the dried Coffee Pocky with chocolate candy melts.  Melt the chocolate in a microwave according to package directions. Pour the melted chocolate into a piping bag fitted with a #2 decorating tip and drizzle across the dipped cookie sticks back and forth crosswise.  You can also use a fork to do this.  Scatter finely chopped and toasted macadamia nuts on top of the drizzled chocolate and allow to fully dry before serving.

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Caitlyn

They turned out so pretty! I think it’s fabulous that you decided to pair them with tea. I used to love all of the unique flavors of pocky when I lived in Japan, so I love that you thought of trying a Kona coffee flavor. Definitely will have to add that to my list of things to try making.

Reply
Bonnie Eng

Hey Caitlyn! How awesome that you lived in Japan. I just love all the Japanese culture and cuisine that you can find in Hawaii. When you get around to trying them, please let me know how they turn out! 😉

Reply
Lan | morestomach

so i am fan of picky, i haven’t had it in years due to the ingredient list and i always said i’d attempt to make it from scratch eventually. these are so cute! like, they’d make the most perfect afternoon pick me up.

Reply
Bonnie Eng

Yes, these give just the right boost for a late afternoon. And you are so right Lan, being able to control the quality and amount of ingredients that goes in them makes them really worth making!

Reply
Patty Nguyen

Everything is gorgeous as usual, Bonnie! I’m not a coffee drinker myself…it makes me sleepy! Go figure. I keep green tea bags in my classroom kitchen so I can brew an occasional cup. 🙂

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Ashley Minck

These look INCREDIBLE! I am adding these to my menu for Mother’s Day brunch. They will look so great served with tea and coffee. Thanks for sharing.

Reply
Bonnie Eng

Thank you so much Ashley–I hope your mom enjoys them! And your blog is beautiful, thanks for stopping by so that I could find it! =)

Reply
Bonnie Eng

Thanks so much Dimple! Oh, and by the way, I love your name. Just got around to reading your bio…so inspiring, love it!! =)

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afracooking

I love how all your food looks like little arts and crafts projects 🙂 These look so lovely! And what a great photoset up 🙂

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