What is Shaggy dough...it's a simple question

Shaggy would imply a rough appearance.

This is yet another example of how process photography would be useful, something Food52 has eschewed for a number of years for unknown reasons. They generally just include one or two beauty shots (typically from the direct overhead camera position which is often not the most helpful angle) in a slideshow which makes saving the recipe to a PDF less than ideal.

Luckily, the recipe author has included numerous photographs on the recipe page living on her blog:

https://woonheng.com/crispy-sesame-balls-jian-dui/

which is actually quite useful and comprehensive if saved as a PDF.

When I find an interesting looking preparation at Food52, I always look to see if there's a more detailed version by the author elsewhere on the Internet.

The Emiko Davies recipes are like this. The versions on her website are far more instructional than the abbreviated versions published here.

Anyhow, there you have it. Enjoy reading the recipe on the author's blog.

Best of luck.