Southern Tea Cakes (Cookies)

I love taking a look back at Southern recipes that I ate as a child. Today’s is for Old Fashioned Southern Tea Cakes. Tea cakes have been a staple of southern baking for generations, and they show no signs of going out of style anytime soon. The key to a great tea cake is simplicity, and the best ones are made with just a few basic ingredients. flour, sugar, butter, eggs, and baking powder. These humble ingredients come together to create a light and fluffy cake that is perfect for enjoying with a cup of tea or coffee. Whether you prefer your tea cakes plain or adorned with a dusting of powdered sugar, one thing is for sure: they are sure to bring a smile to your face.

They were my Grandaddy’s favorite cookie. The recipe in the our church cookbook was submitted by their neighbor Inez Brown. I spent many childhood afternoons in her sunny kitchen with my grandparents. We stopped their on the way home from school to enjoy coffee and a chat. More often than not, we enjoyed Little Debbie snack cakes or Beebo cinnamon rolls but occasionally she would have tea cakes fresh from the oven. Tea cakes are right up there with Old Fashioned Hummingbird Cake and Peach Cobbler as my favorite Southern desserts.

Tea cakes are very similar to a sugar cookie. They are quick and easy to make and use ingredients you have in your pantry at any given time. Vary your baking time to give either a crisp cookie or a chewy cookie. As the name says, they go wonderfully with a cup of hot tea.

Wondering about more recipes for your next tea party? Whip up our Glazed Lemon Loaf or Cherry Almond Scones!

How to Make Southern Tea Cakes

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cream butter and sugar together.

Add egg and vanilla and mix well.

Mix flour, soda and salt in a small bowl. Add to butter mixture and mix well.

Turn out on a lightly floured surface and roll to a 1/4 thick. Cut with a cookie cutter.

Bake 5-7 minutes until puffed and just starting to brown around the edges. (Bake less for chewy and more for crispy.)