A soft, slightly crispy on the bottom, buttery cookie that's not too sweet and brings back memories of yesteryear.
Prep Time20 minutesmins
Cook Time8 minutesmins
Total Time28 minutesmins
Servings: 48cookies
Calories: 164kcal
Author: Lucy Brewer
Ingredients
2sticks unsalted butter, melted
1 ¼cupsgranulated sugar
2large eggs
1teaspoonvanilla extract
5cupsself-rising flour
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375. Generously butter baking pans.
In a large bowl, whisk eggs and sugar together with a fork or whisk. Add vanilla. Slowly pour in butter and stir gently with fork until well mixed.
Stir in flour until well mixed and you have a stiff dough.
Use a little flour on your hands and the dough and knead the dough a few times, then roll out to 1/4-1/2 inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Don't add too much extra flour when rolling or your tea cakes will be too dry.
Cut with cookie cutters and place on baking sheet. These cookies will not spread much so you can put them close together.
Bake 8-9 minutes until bottom is barely turning brown. (8 minutes works best in my oven.) Remove from oven and cool on a rack.
Notes
Tips for the best Southern Tea Cakes
Don't add extra flour when you start rolling out the cookies. Just have a lightly floured surface and sprinkle a little flour on top so you can roll them out.
Don't use parchment paper or cooking spray on the baking sheets. Use butter. This is what will give you a lightly browned bottom.
You can use all-purpose flour but you'll need to add baking powder and salt incrementally. For this recipe, I prefer self-rising flour.
Storage: store the tea cakes in an airtight container. They will keep for several days.