Southern Tea Cakes
Southern Tea Cakes are soft, lightly sweet cookies that sit somewhere between a biscuit and a sugar cookie. This is a truly simple recipe with common pantry ingredients.
Servings 24 cookies
Calories 193kcal
Equipment
- 1 cookie sheet
Ingredients
- 4 cups flour all-purpose
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1//2 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs large
- 2 cups sugar granulated
- 1 stick butter unsalted
- 1/2 cup milk or buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Optional Spices
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg ground
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/4 cup nuts chopped
- 1 tablespoon powdered sugar for dusting
- 1 teaspoon lavender dried, culinary grade
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Sift the flour (with baking powder, baking soda, and salt if using all-purpose flour) into a large bowl.
- In a second bowl, whisk together the eggs, granulated sugar, melted butter, milk, vanilla extract, and nutmeg or cinnamon if using, until smooth.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Stir just until combined; do not overwork the dough.
- The dough will be sticky. Either turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and cut rounds with a biscuit cutter or cookie cutter, or lightly flour your hands, pinch off small pieces, roll each into a ball, and drop it onto the baking sheet, patting it down gently with your fingertips.
- Fold in chopped nuts at this stage if using.
- Bake for 7 to 9 minutes, until the edges turn golden brown.
- Transfer the tea cakes to wire racks to cool completely.
- Dust with powdered sugar before serving if desired.
Nutrition
Calories: 193kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 24mg | Sodium: 67mg | Potassium: 47mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 146IU | Vitamin C: 0.3mg | Calcium: 24mg | Iron: 1mg