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Tea and soetkoekies to soothe the psyche

Tea and soetkoekies to soothe the psyche
A small glass does the job of cutting out the biscuits. (Photos: Ray Mahlaka)
Ray Mahlaka
By Ray Mahlaka
8 Nov 2024
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I have been drinking a lot of tea to lower my stress levels. The tea has been paired with deliciously crunchy soetkoekies, which will briefly make you hopeful about the next four years.

The past few days have been unnerving for many of us watching certain alarming developments unfold in the US. My nerves have been shot to pieces, and I have been drinking a lot of tea to lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol. 

Some of you have indulged in something more potent than tea while debating US politics and why and how most Americans make their choices. 

In my tea-drinking adventures, I also craved a sweet treat on the side. Tea and biscuits usually make the best pairings; some sweetness is needed to balance tea’s astringent and intense taste. 

The universe of biscuits is immense, and I was bereft of inspiration. My friend and former Daily Maverick journalist, Ruan Jooste, suggested that I make soetkoekies, or sugar cookies, a pinnacle of South African cookie recipes. I’ve never heard of soetkoekies, which Jooste tells me are a hit in the Afrikaans community as they are a go-to pairing with tea.  

Ray prepares the dough for baking. (Photos: Ruan Jooste)



However, I have indulged in biscuits similar to soetkoekies as they remind me of shortbread biscuits. The main ingredients for soetkoekies and shortbread biscuits are identical — both require white sugar, butter and wheat flour. The difference between soetkoekies and shortbread is that the latter does not contain leavening, such as baking powder or baking soda, but the former does.

Whether you prefer soetkoekies or shortbread, the ingredients required are simple and straightforward. The recipe below yielded deliciously crunchy soetkoekies, which will briefly make you hopeful despite the mad politics to come from the US over the next four years.

Ray’s homemade soetkoekies

A small glass does the job of cutting out the biscuits. (Photos: Ray Mahlaka)



Ingredients

1 cup butter or good margarine

1 cup of sugar

1 egg

1 tsp of vanilla essence 

1 tsp of baking powder

2 and ⅔ cups flour

Method

Cream the butter and sugar together well (the butter mixture should be pale yellow, light and fluffy. The sugar should be mixed well with the butter.)

Add the egg and vanilla essence to the mixture and whisk.

Add the dry ingredients (baking powder and flour) and mix well.

Let the dough rest for a while and then roll out thinly. Press and form the dough into any shape, or cut out rounds with a glass as I did.

Bake at 180°C for 7 to 10 minutes. Constantly watch the biscuits as they burn easily. DM

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