Old-fashioned southern tea cakes are a classic, simple cookie recipe with buttery, rich flavor, and the perfect soft and slightly crispy texture. Tea cakes taste terrific served with coffee, milk, or - you guessed it - tea!
Tea cakes are an incredibly delicious Southern snack that is similar to a butter or shortbread cookie but with a bit of a cake-like consistency. Southern tea cakes are made with a few simple ingredients that you most likely already have in your kitchen and come together in no time.
For more irresistible Southern desserts, check out our Best Ever Bread Pudding and Old Fashioned Buttermilk Pie recipes next!
What Are Southern Tea Cakes?
Southern tea cakes are an old-school recipe that many folks my age know nothing about. Growing up in Mississippi, my grandma made tea cakes all the time but I don't know many people who still make them today.
One person I do know who still makes legendary tea cakes is my Aunt Lorretta. She is the family tea cake queen and this recipe was influenced by the queen herself!
Tea cakes are a cross between a cookie and a cake and can be more like one or the other depending on the ratio of ingredients used and how thick you make your tea cakes.
Like many Southern recipes, tea cakes have humble origins dating back to the days of slavery when enslaved people took what few ingredients they could get their hands on and created something delicious.
Ingredients You Need To Make This Recipe
- All-purpose flour. To make perfectly soft but chewy cookies. Use good-quality flour for the best texture.
- Baking powder. To help the cookies rise.
- Salt. To enhance the flavors of the other ingredients.
- Unsalted butter. For buttery flavor and the perfect texture. Make sure your butter is softened to room temperature.
- Granulated sugar. To sweeten the tea cakes.
- Egg. To bind the ingredients together.
- Buttermilk. For subtle tanginess and a tender cookie.
- Vanilla extract. For flavor and depth.
How To Make This Recipe
- Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium mixing bowl and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter on medium-high (7-8 on a stand mixer) for 2 to 3 minutes until light and creamy. Add the sugar and cream the ingredients on medium-high for an additional 5 to 7 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Add the egg, vanilla, and buttermilk to the bowl with the butter and sugar and mix on medium speed (5-6) until thoroughly combined.
- Add the flour and mix until no more dry steaks of flour are visible. Be careful not to overmix the dough.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour up to overnight.
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper and set aside.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll it out into a rectangle about ¼ inch thick. Cut out 18 to 20 cookies using a biscuit cutter or glass dipped in flour. Rework the scraps as needed to get more cookies.
- Place the cookies on the lined baking sheet about 1 inch apart. Bake the cookies on a middle rack in the preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the edges just start to turn a light golden brown.
- Do not overbake the cookies! They should be very light in color when removed from the oven. Serve the tea cakes warm or at room temperature.
Variations and Substitutions
What I love most about old-fashioned tea cakes is the simplicity of the scrumptious cookies. You don't want to do much messing around with the ingredients in old-fashioned southern tea cakes.
As a matter of fact, my Grandma's recipe didn't even include vanilla extract! But feel free to adapt this recipe to your liking and try adding some of these ingredients to your next batch of tea cakes:
- Lemon zest
- Lemon juice
- Nutmeg
- Cinnamon
- Almond extract
- Molasses
- Powdered sugar on top
Southern tea cakes can also be made with a handheld electric mixer instead of in a stand mixer.
What Is The Difference Between Southern Tea Cakes and Russian Tea Cakes?
Russian tea cakes are shortbread cookies typically made with chopped nuts that are shaped into balls and rolled in powdered sugar. These cookies are also sometimes referred to as Mexican or Italian wedding cookies.
Southern tea cakes share some similarities with Russian tea cakes in that they both include flour, butter, and sugar in their ingredient lists. However, southern tea cakes also incorporate egg and milk into the dough, giving them a more cake-like texture.
More FAQs
Yes. To ensure tea cakes hold their shape while baking, the dough needs to be chilled for at least an hour.
Absolutely! You can shape tea cake dough into a log or into individual cookies and freeze the dough for up to 6 months. Allow the dough to thaw in the refrigerator before baking.
Old-fashioned tea cakes can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days and up to a week in the refrigerator. Tea cakes also freeze well and will keep for up to 3 months in the freezer.
Tips For The Best Tea Cakes
- Measure your flour properly by spooning it into the measuring cup and leveling it off with a knife.
- Make sure your butter, egg, and buttermilk are at room temperature. This helps them more easily combine with the other ingredients and gives you a cohesive dough.
- If the dough is no longer cold after rolling it out and cutting out the tea cakes, place the pan of cut-out cookies in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes before baking.
- Do not overbake the tea cakes! They should barely be golden brown on the bottom when you take them out of the oven.
Recommended Tools For This Recipe
More Southern Desserts You Will Love!
- Southern Pecan Pie
- Southern Sweet Potato Pie
- New Orleans King Cake
- Southern Pecan Pralines
- New Orleans Beignets
- Pecan Pie Cheesecake Bars
📖 Recipe
Old Fashioned Southern Tea Cakes
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour spooned and leveled
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup butter unsalted, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 2 tablespoons buttermilk room temperature, whole or low-fat
- 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium mixing bowl and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter on medium-high (7-8 on a stand mixer) for 2 to 3 minutes until light and creamy. Add the sugar and cream the ingredients on medium-high for an additional 5 to 7 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Add the egg, vanilla, and buttermilk to the bowl with the butter and sugar and mix on medium speed (5-6) until thoroughly combined.
- Add the flour and mix until no more dry steaks of flour are visible. Be careful not to overmix the dough.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour up to overnight.
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper and set aside.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll it out into a rectangle about ¼ inch thick. Cut out 18 to 20 cookies using a biscuit cutter or glass dipped in flour, reworking the scraps to get more cookies as needed.
- Place the cookies on the lined baking sheet about 1 inch apart. Bake the cookies on a middle rack in the preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the edges just start to turn a light golden brown.
- Do not overbake the cookies! They should be very light in color when removed from the oven. Serve the tea cakes warm or at room temperature.
Notes
- Measure your flour properly by spooning it into the measuring cup and leveling it off with a knife.
- Make sure your butter, egg, and buttermilk are at room temperature so that they are easily incorporated into the dough.
- Old-fashioned tea cakes can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days and up to a week in the refrigerator.
- Tea cakes also freeze well and will keep for up to 3 months in the freezer.
LoLo
Great southern tea cake recipe and beautiful perfectly round baked results. I can’t wait to baked these southern tea cakes.
LoLo
Ashley Boyd
Thank you very much, LoLo! I hope you love them!