Sugar Cookies ("Tea Cakes")

Sugar Cookies ("Tea Cakes")
Sugar Cookies ("Tea Cakes")
"My fondest memories of growing up in the South are of times spent with my Alabama grandmother, Gorda Dyson," says Sandra Crook of Jacksonville, Florida. "In the afternoon we would retire to the front porch, sip iced tea, and eat traditional English biscuits, which we called tea cakes. She would tell me stories of her youth, and I felt so grown-up and special. I hope you enjoy the recipe." Sandra Crook serves her tea cakes warm, when they're nice and chewy, with jam or with strawberries and cream. When cooled and left unadorned, they become crisp and buttery sugar cookies. She uses the southerner's favorite flour, White Lily, which gives the tea cakes a wonderful crispness, but we also had good results when we tested the recipe with cake flour (self-rising).
  • Preparing Time: -
  • Total Time: -
  • Served Person: Makes about 3 1/2 dozen (3-inch)
Cookies Mixer Dessert Bake Southern Vanilla Spring Gourmet Florida Kidney Friendly Vegetarian Pescatarian Peanut Free Tree Nut Free Soy Free Kosher
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 large egg, lightly beaten
  • Carbohydrate 14 g(5%)
  • Cholesterol 16 mg(5%)
  • Fat 5 g(7%)
  • Fiber 0 g(1%)
  • Protein 1 g(2%)
  • Saturated Fat 3 g(14%)
  • Sodium 3 mg(0%)
  • Calories 98

Preparation Preheat oven to 350°F. Put flour in a bowl and make a well in center. Beat together butter and sugar in another bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, then beat in egg and vanilla until blended. Add butter mixture to flour and rub it into flour with your fingertips just until dough comes together in a ball (do not overwork dough, or it will be tough). 3Halve dough and work with 1 half at a time. Roll out dough 1/4 inch thick on a floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin. Cut out cookies with a floured cutter (we used a 2 1/2-inch fluted round cutter), arranging cookies, as cut, 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets. Reroll scraps once, using as little flour as possible, and cut out more cookies. Bake cookies, 1 sheet at a time, in middle of oven until very pale golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on baking sheet 1 minute, then transfer to a rack to cool 5 minutes if serving warm, or to cool completely. Cooks' notes:· If your kitchen is very warm, you may need to chill dough to keep it from sticking to work surface. · Cookies keep in an airtight container 1 week.

Preparation Preheat oven to 350°F. Put flour in a bowl and make a well in center. Beat together butter and sugar in another bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, then beat in egg and vanilla until blended. Add butter mixture to flour and rub it into flour with your fingertips just until dough comes together in a ball (do not overwork dough, or it will be tough). 3Halve dough and work with 1 half at a time. Roll out dough 1/4 inch thick on a floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin. Cut out cookies with a floured cutter (we used a 2 1/2-inch fluted round cutter), arranging cookies, as cut, 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets. Reroll scraps once, using as little flour as possible, and cut out more cookies. Bake cookies, 1 sheet at a time, in middle of oven until very pale golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on baking sheet 1 minute, then transfer to a rack to cool 5 minutes if serving warm, or to cool completely. Cooks' notes:· If your kitchen is very warm, you may need to chill dough to keep it from sticking to work surface. · Cookies keep in an airtight container 1 week.