The Best Old Fashioned Tea Cakes
The Best Old Fashioned Tea Cakes recipe is right here. This recipe is well over 100 years old and has been handed down for many generations. Made with simple ingredients like butter, flour and buttermilk, these tea cakes are a bite of days gone by.
They can be decorated or enjoyed plain. This is also a great recipe to make ahead and the dough even freezes well.
These old fashioned teacakes are a recipe that was handed down to me by my Great Aunt Peggy that my Great Grandmother was famous for making. Tea Cakes come from traditional British Tea Time and likely came over on the Mayflower with the British settlers.
The Perfect Easy, Soft Tea Cakes
There are just some things that require just the right amount of texture and often when we think about those things, more often than not, cookies come to mind. You know what you expect when you bite into an OATMEAL COOKIE or even a SHORTBREAD COOKIE, right?
Traditional Tea Cakes are a wonderful mixture of just the right amount of crispy on the outside and softness on the inside. We have all of the secrets to this perfect texture for you right here. For another great cookie recipe that is a bit different, try out our CINNAMON COOKIE recipe.
Ingredients for Southern Tea Cakes
While this is recipe was original to Great Britain, like so many other recipes, it didn’t take long for it to become a Southern recipe. It is still celebrated in Southern areas today as to who makes the best. Get ready to count your name among some of those.
We use pantry staple ingredients to make these glorious cookies.
The full ingredient list and quantities are listed at the bottom of this post on a printable recipe card.
- Butter
- Sugar
- Eggs
- Buttermilk
- All Purpose Flour
- Baking Soda
- Vanilla
How to Make The Best Tea Cakes
A nice stand mixer or high powered hand mixer make this job a cinch. You can do it by hand, I am sure my Mama Polly did it all by hand but with todays technology, save yourself the arthritis flare and use that mixer!
In a mixer, cream butter until it is smooth. Gradually add in sugar and mix well.
Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each one. Add Buttermilk and mix well.
Sift flour and baking soda and add in batches to cream mixture. Mix well. Stir in vanilla. Place cookie dough on a sheet of plastic wrap and seal. Press dough into a disc and store in the refrigerator for 2 hours to overnight.
Preheat oven to 375 and unwrap and diving dough into two sections. Roll dough out to 1/4 inch thickness and cut with your choice of cutter.
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Place on a lightly greased cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Allow to cool and serve and enjoy!
Southern Tea Cake Frequently Asked Questions
Where did the Recipe originate?
Like many American recipes, these came from Great Britain. This simple cookie was popular during afternoon tea. It has taken many forms since coming here but this version is closest to the true over 250 year old recipe.
What can I use instead of Buttermilk?
If you don’t have buttermilk, add a splash of white vinegar or lemon juice to one cup of milk and allow it to sit. You will then have buttermilk! Alternatively, you can also just use regular milk or half and half.
What is the difference between Tea Cakes and Cake?
Tea cakes are more along the lines of a cookie. The name Tea CAKE refers to the soft center that closely resembles a soft cake texture.
How long will they last?
After cooling, these can be stored in an airtight container for up to a week. The chilled dough will also last in the refrigerator for about a week tightly sealed.
Can you freeze Tea Cakes?
Freezing the dough is a good option too as it will last up to 3 months when properly stored in the freezer. Remove from the freezer and allow to thaw in the refrigerator overnight before rolling and baking.
Variations of Tea Cakes
The Tea Cake is a basic vanilla cookie. You can do so many things with it. We like to keep it simple to preserve the family history of the cookies but have been known to add sprinkles. One option is to treat it like a thumbprint cookie and fill it with your favorite filling.
Other Cookie Recipes You May Like
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Top 25 Holiday Recipes
We love these cookies at Christmas. For more great recipes, we have a wonderful list of THE TOP 25 TRADITIONAL HOLIDAY RECIPES. Be sure to check it out. Here is a sample of what is there.
Click the link to see all 25 EASY AND TRADITIONAL CHRISTMAS RECIPES
The Best Old Fashioned Tea Cakes
Ingredients
- 1 cup Butter softened
- 2 cups sugar
- 3 Eggs
- 2 tbsp Buttermilk
- 5 cups All Purpose Flour
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 1 tsp Vanilla
Instructions
- In a mixer, cream butter until it is smooth. Gradually add in sugar and mix well.
- Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each one. Add Buttermilk and mix well.
- Sift flour and baking soda and add in batches to cream mixture. Mix well. Stir in vanilla. Place cookie dough on a sheet of plastic wrap and seal. Press dough into a disc and store in the refrigerator for 2 hours to overnight.
- Preheat oven to 375 and unwrap and diving dough into two sections. Roll dough out to 1/4 inch thickness and cut with your choice of cutter.
- Place on a lightly greased cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Allow to cool and serve and enjoy!
Sorry can’t rate your recipe yet. I am not a baker or cook in fact boiling water comes out wrong. I am looking at your Tea Cake recipe Which calls for 2 table spoons of butter milk which seems a little strange. Is this for an actual 1/2 cup of liquid butter milk or two tablespoons of something like Saco Pantry buttermilk blend powder. Thank You
This is a recipe for an American cookie called Tea Cakes, the buttermilk measurement of 2 tablespoons of liquid buttermilk is correct. You can substitute buttermilk with regular milk if you wish.
Thank You
How do i add the sprinkles?
Add the sprinkles right before baking.