Sweet, sticky skuinskoek are a speciality of Williston – a tiny dorp in the Karoo – and the Hantham areas. They’re named after the diagonal shape that they’re cut into.
This recipe comes from Elsa van Schalkwyk who modestly says she can’t take all the credit. ‘I took my mother’s recipe,’ she says, ‘then went round to all of the old tannies in the town and got theirs too and combined them.’
Skuinskoek are similar to vetkoek but oh so tasty! Incredible served with good coffee.
You’ll need:
2,5kg flour
3 cups sugar
250g butter
30g instant dried yeast
1tsp grated ginger
1tsp ground cinnamon
15ml salt
25ml aniseed
2tsp grated lemon zest
2 litres of cooking oil
SYRUP
2 cups sugar
750ml water
5ml salt
Here’s how:
Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl with four to five cups of lukewarm water until nice, smooth dough is formed. Leave in a warm place to rise until it has doubled in size.
Roll out the dough to a thickness of about 2,5cm. Horizontally slice the dough into strips about 2cm wide. Then slice the dough diagonally, each slice about 2cm apart again. You should have diagonal-shaped cookies! Keep them in a warm spot while you’re cooking.
SYRUP: Boil the syrup ingredients together for 5 minutes then remove from the heat. Use when lukewarm.
Heat a pot of oil on the stove. To test the temperature, drop a piece of a toothpick in and if it sizzles, your oil is ready. Drop small batches of the skuinskoek into the oil and deep fry until they’re coffee-brown. Remove and place into an empty flour packet to absorb the excess oil. Remove and place in a sieve over a bowl and pour the syrup over them until they are coated and shiny. This gives them a longer shelf life but also makes them sticky and delicious.
Enjoy with good coffee (preferably on a Karoo stoep!)
Yours in food
Leigh
