TWISTED DOUGHNUT RECIPE

Filipino-Style Twisted Doughnut. These Filipino-style twisted doughnuts have been called different names in the Philippines, but in Cebu, we call it Shakoy. Twisted DOughnut (Shakoy) is and always has been my favorite snack. I remember I was always excited to see those smoking hot twisted donuts on the sidewalk stalls in my neighborhood. The smell of fresh dough rises, and melted butter comes right at me, so I promise myself that I should learn to make it when I came here to the US twenty years ago. Twisted Doughnut is now one of my children’s favorite rolls too!

What are twisted doughnuts?

After the heartwarming feedback of my Brazo De Mercedes recipe, I would now like to share this super famous Filipino snack cuisine called Twisted Doughnuts. A twisted doughnut is similar to Churros or “stick donuts” but twisted. In Luzon, they call it Pilipit, which means twist. In the Visayas region, we call it Shakoy, which is a term I don’t even understand, but let’s live with it and munch it. And since this snack is also well-known in Korea as seen from different Korean soaps, I’ve learned that they call it Twisted Korean Donuts or Kkwabaegi.
This Filipino delicacy’s mode of cooking is deep frying. After frying them, you will dip them into the glaze or put some cinnamon sugar to make them sweet. Very simple right?

Filipino-Style Twisted Doughnut vs. Churros

Churros is an extruded or choux pastry, deep-fried or baked and then coated with sugar or other spices. Often people add a chocolate dip or different garnishing flavors. It has a long, thin shape with a ridged surface of about an inch. On the other hand, Filipino-style Twisted Doughnut is sugar-coated, twisted, and fried using homemade dough whose ingredients are easy to find; probably, they are in your pantry.

What oil should you use when Making Shakoy?

There are different oil in the market, but I often use Canola oil. You can also use corn oil or vegetable oil. You can try frying with butter since it will add flavor, but since it tasted too strong for me, I decided to use canola oil or refined coconut oil instead since the taste is very mild.
What is the best flour to use for this recipe?
When making a twisted doughnut, bread flour is perfect to use. It contains more gluten plus additional barley or wheat germ that further enhances the flavor of your baked goods. It will also make your items chewy and soft when cooked, so I recommend this.
However, I use all-purpose flour for this recipe since it’s currently available in my kitchen.

What about the yeast?

I am sure that some of you will ask me if it’s possible to use active dry yeast instead of instant yeast; therefore, I also tried it out. Instant yeast does a great job! It even gives the doughnuts a better texture.

What Equipment can you use to make a Twisted Doughnut easier?

• Bread Machine
  Yes, you use a bread machine when you make your Twisted Doughnuts. Just follow the machine’s instructions and have it do the hard work of kneading the dough for you. If you don’t have this, you can use your hand to knead. As you can see in the video, kneading is very easy.
• Electric Mixer
  You can use a hand mixer or even a stand mixer to make the dough for you, and it will do all the heavy work of kneading the dough and, at the same time, whipping up some air into your dough as well.

Can I Freeze my Twisted Doughnuts?

Yes, you can freeze your twisted Doughnut after you form the dough. After shaping the dough, line the uncooked ready-shaped dough in a flat pan and freeze. When frozen and stiff, transfer them to a Zip loc and freeze until you cook them. Thaw dough until soft before frying.

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• Two tablespoons butter
• One packet active yeast 2 1/4 teaspoons
• Three tablespoons white granulated sugar
• 1 cup milk room temperature ( I prefer evaporated milk)
• One large egg room temp
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• vanilla extract (optional)
• canola oil for frying
• Two tablespoons granulated sugar inside a brown paper bag for coating

Instructions

• Put flour in a large bowl, mix using a wire whisk and set aside.
• In medium heat, melt the butter in a small saucepan. When it melted, add milk, then remove from heat. Add egg, sugar, and kosher salt and mix until dissolved. After mixing thoroughly, add the active dry yeast. Let it sit for 5 minutes. You will see bubbles.
• Pour mixture into the flour and mix with a wooden spoon or a spatula. Mix again and then use your hand until smooth, form into a round ball, and then cover with a plastic wrap. Let dough sit in a warm place for an hour until it doubles its size.
• After an hour, punch the dough to deflate air and knead until smooth. Cover again and let it sit again in a warm place for another 30 minutes.

A word of advice:

• If your dough is too dry and crumbly, add some milk one tablespoon at a time while mixing with the electric mixer. On a side note, you can also add food colors if you want to make them colorful.

Rolling the Twisted Doughnut

• Uncover the dough, knead for a few minutes and form it into a ball. Divide the ball into two, then divide equally into 16 pieces.
• Take a piece of dough, and starting in the middle, roll the dough into a string form. When moving the dough, do one upward and the other hand downward to form tension. Pick up the dough and twist. Make sure to seal the end so that the dough will not untangle while frying.
• Let the twisted dough expand for another 20 minutes, roll to the other side, and let sit for another 10 minutes.

Frying the Twisted Doughnut

• Heat a large amount of oil in a deep skillet setting it to 350 F, and lower heat to medium to get that crisp outside and soft inside shakoy. Fry doughnuts until golden brown on each side. Let the dough rise.
• Put about 3-4 doughnuts as they expand.
• Strain the cooked doughnuts. Please put them in a paper towel for a few seconds to remove the excess hot oil. Place them into the brown paper with sugar and shake so that the prepared sugar coats the doughnuts. Do this while doughnuts are still hot.

Tip and Tricks

1. I’ve discovered a lot while doing some trial and error with my twisted doughnuts. Here are some of my recipe notes that you can also take into account:
2. Prepare Everything Ahead of Time
3. Prepare the ingredients and the Equipment ahead of time to keep everything clean and organized once you start kneading. Components should also be at room temperature.
4. Practice twisting. Start at the middle of the dough. Roll dough to about 12 inches long and twist in 4
5. Make sure that you heat the oil (- 350 F) before frying the twisted doughnuts, then turn it to medium heat.
   Coat doughnuts with sugar while they are hot, not after they cool.

Variations!

If you can make this recipe, I’m sure you’ll also be able to do some twists. If you love variations like me, it’s time to try more on our baking sheet.

• Cooked Twisted Donuts with granulated sugar
  Nothing beats the classic! You can also roll the hot baked doughnuts in a bowl of granulated sugar, and your taste buds will be delighted in every bite! You can better taste the donut dough mixture with these plain sweet twisted doughnuts.
• Glazed Twisted Donuts
  Definitely! To make the glaze for your Twisted Doughnuts, you will need powdered sugar and whole milk. When you get the right consistency, whisk them together, slowly add more milk if needed, and set aside. Make sure that your glaze is not too thick or runny. It should be like a pouring sauce so you can dip your donuts perfectly.
• Cinnamon Sugar Twisted Donuts
  Another variety of Twisted Doughnuts happens by adding sugar and cinnamon to your dough while kneading the dough. Just add 1 cup of powdered sugar while you are making your dough and before frying or baking, whisk or cover them with cinnamon sugar so that every bite will have even more flavor!

There are lots of ways to enjoy your twisted doughnuts!

• If you like warm doughnuts, you can pop them in the microwave for a few seconds to reheat. If you like hot doughnuts, you can fry them again with a few sprinkles of cinnamon sugar.
• Most of all, grab a couple of these delicious Filipino snacks and pair them with a hot cup of coffee for a late breakfast or mid-afternoon snack. If you want to store them for the next day, make sure to keep them in an airtight container, then store them in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

There you have it! I hope I have answered all your questions about our Filipino-style Twisted Doughnuts. These are one of the easiest ones to prepare on short notice, which is why it’s one of my favorites to cook ever! Let me hear your thoughts about this recipe; hit your comments below!

For more Filipino Desserts you can Make

1. How to Make Churros
2. 21 Famous Filipino Desserts

SHAKOY TWISTED DOUGHNUT

This Filipino style has been called different names in the Philippines; but in Cebu, we call it Shakoy. This is my favorite snack after school and it's sold in sidewalk stalls in my neighborhood.

4.90 from 19 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: FILIPINO

Keyword: filipino twisted donuts, shakoy recipe, twisted doughnuts

Prep Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes

Servings: 16

Author: shobelyn dayrit

Ingredients

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 packet active yeast 2 1/4 teaspoons
• 3 tablespoons white granulated sugar
• 1 cup milk room temperature ( I prefer evaporated milk)
• 1 large egg room temp
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• canola oil for frying
• 2 tablespoon granulated sugar inside a brown paper bag for coating

Instructions

• Put flour in a large size bowl and mix using a wire whisk  and set aside.
• In medium heat, melt the butter in a small sauce pan. When butter is melted, add milk then remove from heat. Add egg , sugar and salt and mix until dissolve. and mix completely then add the yeast. Let yeast sit for 5 minutes. You will see bubbles.
• Pour mixture into the flour and mix with a wooden spoon or a spatula. Mix and then use your hand until smooth and form into a round ball and cover with a plastic wrap. Let dough sit in a warm place for an hour until it double its size.
• After an hour, punch the dough to deflate air and knead until smooth. Cover again and let it sit again in a warm place for another 30 minutes.

ROLLING THE TWISTED DOUGHNUTS:

• Uncover the dough and knead for a few minutes and form into a ball. Divide the ball into 2 then divide equally into 16 pieces.
• Take a piece of dough and starting in the middle, roll the dough into a string form. When rolling dough, roll the other upward and the other hand downward to form a tension. Pick up dough and twist. MAKE SURE TO SEAL THE END, SO THAT DOUGH WILL NOT UNTANGLE WHEN FRYING.
• Let the twisted dough expand for another 20 minutes and roll to the other side and let sit for another 10 minutes.

FRYING THE TWISTED DOUGHNUTS:

• Heat a large amount of oil in a deep skillet setting it 350 F and lower heat to medium, to get that crisp outside and soft inside shakoy. Fry doughnut until golden brown each side.
• Put about 3-4 doughnuts as they expand.
• Strain the cook doughnut and put them in a brown paper with sugar and shake so that doughnuts is coated with sugar. Do this while doughnuts are still hot.

FREEZING TWISTED DOUGHNUT:

• Line the twisted dough in a flat pan and freeze them. When dough are hard, transfer them in a zip loc and freeze until you are ready to cook them. Thaw dough until soft before frying.

Video

Notes

Please watch this video for step by step instruction : Shakoy Video

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