Saturday Share Recipe - My Dad's Tea Cakes

Since tomorrow is Father’s Day, I thought I’d post the recipe for my Dad’s favorite cookie, Tea Cakes.

When the subject was Tea Cakes, he always mentioned the Tea Cakes he first tasted when he was a child.

These old-fashioned cookies  remained his favorite despite his affection for the oatmeal cookies which I made for him when I was a child.

These aren’t super sweet, and they do call for buttermilk which I always have in my fridge.

I wish all of you Dads out there, a Happy Father’s Day. I hope your kids and grandkids make the day special for you.

NOTE ABOUT BUTTERMILK VS. MILK

Buttermilk and baking soda create a chemical reaction in a recipe that regular milk doesn’t. It also has a softening effect and a browning effect on baked goods. 

You can try this recipe with sef-rising flour thus eliminating the salt and decreasing the baking soda to 1/4 teaspoon, but the baking powder that’s already in self-rising flour will make the cookie fluffier rather than dense like a butter cookie.

MY DAD’S TEA CAKES

Ingredients

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) of butter, softened

1 large egg

4 tablespoons buttermilk

* 2 1/2 to 3 cups AP Flour

* 1 teaspoon baking soda

* 1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

* I suppose you could use self-rising flour thus eliminating the salt

1. Set out the stick of butter about an hour before you want to make the tea cakes.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. (about 176 degrees C.).

3. Line a heavy cookie sheet with parchment paper.

4. Cream the sugar and butter together.

5. To the creamed mixture, add the egg, buttermilk, salt, and vanilla. Mix well.

6. Mix the flour and the baking soda together then begin to add this dry mixture to the creamed mixture.

7. Add enough of the flour mix until the dough forms a ball that is pliable and easy to handle without it breaking apart.

8. Sprinkle a tiny amount of flour on your rolling surface and roll the cookies out thin.

9. Cut with a round, star-shape, or heart-shape cookie cutter and carefully transfer to the baking sheet. For a more rustic look, you can drop by teaspoonfuls onto the baking sheet.

10. Sprinkle sugar over the top of the cookies.

11. Bake 10 to 15 minutes until very light tan color.

12. Carefully transfer the baked cookies to a cooling rack. Sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired. Cool slightly before serving. Simply delicious with a glass of milk or a cup of tea or coffee.

TAKEAWAY TRUTH

I miss you Daddy. 

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Joan Reeves aka SlingWords: The Word Slinging Adventures of Joan Reeves