Guyuria
Guyuria (pronounced gu-ju-ree-ah) is another traditional Chamorro cookie (Rosketti is another). Some of my friends call them jawbreakers because of their rock-hard texture.
This cookie is not baked, however, it is DEEP FRIED and glazed in a thick sugar syrup that hardens when dry.
Wait…I had you at DEEP FRIED, didn’t I? 🙂
These cookies keep for a long time, if stored properly. Keep them sealed in a ziplock bag or a resealable container.
My recipe can be easily doubled, but since they are so easy to make, you don’t have to. Just make up a fresh batch every time the craving hits you–which will be often, once you try these cookies. Trust me. Fry up a batch today. You’ll be glad you did.
Enjoy!
GUYURIA
Ingredients:
DOUGH:
- 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- A pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 tablespoons butter (use 3 tablespoons for a softer cookie)
- 1 3/4 cups coconut milk
GLAZE:
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/8 cup Water
OTHER:
- Oil, for frying
Directions:
1. Make the dough: Mix the flour, salt, and teaspoon of sugar together. Cut the butter into the flour mixture (as if you are making pie dough).
2. Add in the coconut milk and knead until a dough forms.
3. Roll the cookies: Pinch off small pieces of dough, the size of a small marble. Press the dough onto the back of a fork; slowly roll it off the fork, shaping it into the traditional guyuria shape. OR: roll out the dough and cut into small pieces. Set the formed cookies aside for a few minutes to dry slightly. I find this helps when frying the cookies.
4. Heat the oil to about 350 degrees. Here is a tip on how you can tell if the oil is hot enough. Dip the tip of a wooden spoon (I use a wooden chopstick) into the oil. If little bubbles start to form around the wood, then the oil is hot and ready. Make sure the wood is clean and dry first; you don’t want hot oil to splatter and burn you.
This is a short video clip I made that describes what I stated above. You can see all of the little bubbles form around the tip of the wooden chopstick. This tells you that the oil is hot and ready for frying.
Fry the cookies until golden brown; drain well on paper towels or in a colander. For crispier cookies, fry until the cookies are a dark golden brown.
5. When all the guyuria is fried and cooled slightly, place them in a large bowl.
6. Prepare the sugar syrup glaze. Place the cup of sugar in a small sauce pan. Add the water to the sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly until the sugar dissolves and a syrup forms. Remove syrup from the heat; allow to cool to thicken slightly.
7. Pour the sugar syrup over the guyuria, tossing gently to coat all the cookies.
8. Let the sugar syrup thicken then pour out the cookies onto a baking pan (pour any excess syrup over the cookies). Spread the cookies out in an even layer; let them sit for a few minutes to allow the glaze to harden. Ensure the glaze is completely dry and hard before storing the guyuria in a ziplock bag or resealable container.
Fried these up in my air fryer. Not super hard, but crunchy enough. 350 degrees for about 25 minutes and shooked them up half way in.
Oh, thanks for the info! I just recently bought an air fryer and might give this a try in it.
How much butter do I use if I want it to be softer
Never mine I see it
I may have overcooked the glaze…I waited for the second boil and the syrup made the cookies stick to rack other ..it tasted great otherwise……
Gonna have to try this recipe. I doubt I can make an as good as Tita’s bakery, too bad they don’t ship off island.
Thank you for posting this recipe! I lived on Guam for a little over 2 years back in the 70’s. One of my lovely neighbors taught me this recipe and had me help her make it so I could learn as I go. I loved them! I have had a craving for these for years now and could not remember the complete recipe. Now I can’t wait until I can get to the store to get some coconut milk to make these delicious morsels. Plus, I love the fork idea ! My neighbor had the board to roll them and I don’t have a clue where to buy one, but now no need.
Using a fork definitely makes it easy…it takes a while to form all the dough, but it’s quite useful if you don’t have the special guyuria board. Let me know how your guyuria turns out.
Making it right now thank you so much for sharing your recipe in Arizona Experimenting Guam’s finest.
Hafa Adai! Love your recipe! Made some, actually ALOT, and gave them out to family and friends as Christmas goodies. They loved it too. Thank you for sharing your recipe! Si’ Yu’os Ma’ase!
Guyuria is one of my favorite childhood snacks! I haven’t had these for a long time as I was only able to get them with care packages from family back home on Guam. I was ecstatic to find your recipe and gave it a try. It was so easy to make and very delicious. I did have trouble with the sugar glaze though. I wasn’t sure what heat setting to use (low, medium, high?) though. My sugar glaze turned out gritty…like the sugar didn’t dissolve. Any help/suggestions on that? Even though my glaze didn’t turn out, it didn’t stop me and my family from devouring them! 🙂 Thank you so much for sharing! I’ll be sure to come back.
Hi! I’m glad you liked the guyuria! For the glaze, try cooking it over medium heat. It should dissolve the sugar completely and cook into a syrup like consistency once it boils.
Okay, great. Thank you!
I really love this Guam snack. It reminded me of my “auntie bebang”, Silvia Limtaco favorite snack. I really wanted to thank you and everyone involved for Annie’s Kitchen. It’s informative and easy to follow. I appreciate Annie’s Kitchen ever since my best friend invited me to your web. TY again; brought back memories.
Hi Jeanette! You’re very welcome, and thank your friend for me for inviting you into my virtual kitchen. Stop by again soon!
Thank you! for being so kind for sharing the recipe. We live in Las Vegas and I had a craving for those yummy! cookies. My daughter was born here and when she first tried those delicious cookies she could not stop eating them.
You’re welcome, Joy! Stop by again soon. 🙂
Thanks for the recipe!! I made a whole bunch to send to my husband who is deployed!! He loves Guyuria!
You’re welcome! Prayers for your husband’s safe return home. If he can manage it, please ask your husband to share photos of him enjoying his guyuria. I’d love to see it. 🙂
Wonderful instructions! My adult kids have missed guyuria so much. I am so happy I found this site. I made guyuria and it is great. The dough turned to a little soft but when I added more flour it was perfect. Finally got the feel for it. Also learned why it always seem so brown. I used the 3 tb. spoons of butter and had to fry it a little longer to make it hard enough and brown enough. Thanks so much. Will try some of the other recipes. Our family reunions always involved Chamorro food. Now I have more recipes. Thanks so much.
Hafa Adai, Anna! Thanks for giving my guyuria recipe a try! I’m glad you liked it! Please let me know if you try any if my other recipes and how they turned out for you. Please share photos too, if you can. Thanks again for your feedback, and happy cooking!
~ Annie
Hafa adai and thank you for this site!! I’m going to try to make this for my mom (I’m lying, they’re for me) The closest thing I could find to Gujuria is “Pilipit” a Filipino cookie and while they are good, the chamorro “jaw breaker” still holds a special place in my heart!
Hafa Adai, Lola! Thanks for stopping by! Let me know how the guyuria turned out for you, and share pictures too, if you took any. 🙂
After doing an internet search, I chose the recipe from Annie’s Chamorro Kitchen, because I thought it was the best and easiest to follow.