Hi Guys! Do any of you have weird childhood snacks that have stuck with you all these years? I do. When my sister and I were little we were (and still sort of are) obsessed with Yan-Yans; her with the strawberry and me with chocolate, always and always. Every time we went to the Asian market with our mom, we knew we’d each be walking out of the store holding a container of yan-yans…oh the good old days. :) If you know what yan-yans are you’re cool and I like you….if you don’t, its okay…just think “dunkaroos” but replace the kangaroo cookies with yummy biscuit sticks and add two more frosting flavors and mulitple the awesomeness by 20. That’s it.
Anyway, yan-yans are totally awesome and these homemade versions are super simple to make! I should warn that each frosting recipe makes quite a lot of frosting so you may want to scale back on each or just make one flavor. The consistency is thinner than regular frosting to make the sticks easy to dip, but you could always thicken it up with a bit more powdered sugar and have some really great strawberry, chocolate and vanilla-bean frostings for your baked goods too! Oh yan-yans, I love you…and I totally hope you all love them too! xx Jenny
Some other treats you might also enjoy:
Homemade Yan-Yans with a Trio of Frosting
INGREDIENTS
yan-yan crackers
- 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 ½ teaspoons granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ½ cup water
strawberry frosting
- ¼ pound fresh strawberries, cleaned and hulled
- ½ lemon, juiced
- 1 ½ tablespoons granulated sugar
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
- 1 ½ to 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
chocolate frosting
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
- 1 ½ to 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- ½ to ¾ cup melted semisweet chocolate
- 2 to 3 tablespoons cream
vanilla-bean frosting
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
- ½ vanilla bean
- 1 ½ to 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 3 to 4 tablespoons cream
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Place flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt into a food processor and pulse 4 times.
- Add butter and pulse until a mealy/grainy texture forms.
- Gradually add water, while pulsing, until all the water has been added and a smooth dough has formed.
- Form the dough into a disc, cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for about an hour.
- Roll chilled dough onto a lightly flours surface until about 1/8 inch thin.
- Cut 3” x ¼” strips from the dough and place onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the sticks just begin to brown on the edges. Allow to cool completely.
- strawberry frosting: Place strawberries, lemon juice and sugar into a food processor and puree until smooth. In a stand mixer or with a hand mixer cream butter. Add ½ cup powdered sugar followed by ½ the strawberry puree Add another ½ cup of powdered sugar followed by the remaining puree. Continue adding powdered sugar until a “dippable” consistency has been achieved.
- chocolate frosting: Cream butter. Add ½ cup powdered sugar followed by the melted chocolate (make sure the chocolate is no longer hot) and cream together. Add the remaining sugar and cream until a “dippable” consistency has been achieved.
- vanilla-bean frosting: Cream butter. Add ½ cup powdered sugar followed by the caviar of the vanilla bean (reserve vanilla bean itself for another use). Add remaining powdered sugar and cream until a “dippable” consistency has been achieved.
Did you make this recipe? We want to see!
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OMG YAN-YANS! This is amazing! One of my favorite childhood memories. Anybody who had Yan-Yans in school was the cool kid for the day! I still buy Yan-Yan’s and Pocky and Hello Panda wherever I see them being sold! I can’t wait to make this! Thank you guys :)
Mmmm those close ups on the frosting look absolutely delicious!
This brings back so many memories. It was a treat when my mom would buy me Yan Yan’s on a visit to Chinatown. Always chocolate.
o. mi. gosh. I LOVE these little snacks!!!! They make me so happy!!!! Now I can make my own!! AHHHHH!!!!!!!!! =D
So excited to try this! We LOVE yan-yan, pocky, pucca, and a host of other goodies from our time living in Japan. I remember reading the ingredient list and I think yan-yan biscuits have cheese in them, so I may take out a little of the butter and add just a touch of grated cheddar cheese. Thank you for posting this!
wonderful! ;)
Perfect timing! I just bought some for my pocky-loving son today. If he likes them I’ll be trying this recipe soon
Sounds like they would be amazing with Nutella!
These look perfect for an after school snack, thanks for sharing the recipe!
Omg…i love yanyans! i definitely want to try these!
I got so ridiculously excited when I saw this post. Like really. Embarrasingly so. I grew up in Hong Kong and *lived* on Yan Yan, Pocky, those chocolate-filled koala biscuits. Yakult. Hi-C Lemon Tea. So to know I can make Yan Yan *and* three different dipping flavors? I’m in heaven. Thanks so much for posting this!
I think there is cheese in the Yan Yan crackers. My favorite is the strawberry!
oh, no, you didn’!! yan yans are the bomb and i am so all over this! =D
My mind is confused and amazed – they look like French Fries but they’re sweet … and anything that comes with dipping sauces is a win. What a perfect treat for a date with gal pals!
YUMM these are so adorable!!
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love these! whenever i’m at home visiting my mom, i go to the asian supermarket and get these, totally reminds me of childhood.
Oh you smarty-pants. :)
OMG! I LOVE YAN YANS!!! Totally making these.
Have a lovely day!
my kids are obsessed with the asian store on Sawtelle and they usually pick something similar to this as their “one” treat. I must make these – how fun would these be for their lunchbox? I am confident they will acquire a few more friends with a batch of these in their lunch!
Ive never heard of a yan yan! But now I need them! And love the classic flavors of the frosting trio. I love strawberry frosting!
Ah! So good! And pretty!
Are Yan Yan like Pocky?? Because if so, I’m making these, like, yesterday.
Very similar, yes!
At first, I thought you had made sweet dipping sauces for french fries. LOVE yan-yans and will get them every once in a while when I’m at the Japanese supermarket.
What a snack. Beatiful color. Vanilla bean? Have to try this. :)
Yum, I love these little snacks! I didn’t grow up enjoying them, but I have grown to love them! ;) I had some not to long ago that had funny captions on them:
http://ink361.com/#/photos/175418781991400010_4620475