Old-Fashioned Crispy Tea Cake Cookies
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This is a crispy version of old-fashioned Southern tea cake cookies. They still have the same lightly sweet taste that’ll have you dipping into the cookie jar for more.
Where I’m from, an old-fashioned tea cake cookie is a simple flavored cookie. It’s not a or a . It’s delicious on its own or with a cup of coffee, just lightly sweet with the texture of a sugar cookie, so that it can double as a snack or treat.
My mother’s grandmother, Mama Reed, was known for her soft old-fashioned tea cakes. She would serve them warm, straight out of the oven, to her 10 kids and whoever happened to be around when they were done. Then, after they had cooled she would store them in a big old cookie jar, where they didn’t last long.
Today, though, I’m sharing another variety of tea cake cookies that was also a standard of many Southern families These crispy little tea cakes are what my husband calls “evil little things that won’t let me stop eating them.” Whether you try the soft or crispy version, you’re guaranteed to love these old-fashioned tea cake cookies as much as my family.
Fortunately, they’re easy to make and take less than 15 minutes to bake. All you’re going to need are ingredients you probably already have at home, like butter, sugar, flour, eggs, salt, and vanilla extract. Will these be your family’s new favorite ? My bet is yes!
Recipe Ingredients
- Butter
- Sugar
- Eggs
- Vegetable oil
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Vanilla extract
How to Make Southern Tea Cake Cookies
In a large bowl, cream together the sugar and butter with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add eggs and beat again. Add the remaining ingredients and beat until fully incorporated, scraping down sides as needed.
Drop the tea cookie dough by tablespoon-size balls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Dip a glass in sugar and press down lightly on each dough ball to flatten, dipping in sugar again after each one.
Bake at 350 for 12-14 minutes, or until lightly brown on the edges. If you would like them to be softer, bake one to two minutes less. Cool completely.
Storage
- Store your tea cake cookies in an airtight container at room temperature until they disappear (or 3 days).
- You can also freeze either the unbaked cookie dough or the baked cookies for up to 3 months. You’ll just need to add a few minutes to the baking time for the unbaked cookies and just allow the baked cookies to thaw at room temperature before serving.
Recipe Notes
- The more golden brown the edges, the crispier your cookies will be.
- If you want to take this to the next level, sandwich your favorite ice cream flavor between two cookies to make an epic homemade ice cream sandwich.
Here are more cookie recipes to bake:
Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
Easy Homemade Peanut Butter Cookies
How to Make Snickerdoodle Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature (two sticks)
- 1 3/4 cups sugar
- 2 eggs
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a large bowl, cream together the sugar and butter with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add eggs and beat again. Add the remaining ingredients and beat until fully incorporated, scraping down sides as needed.1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature, 1 3/4 cups sugar, 2 eggs, 3/4 cup vegetable oil, 4 cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Drop the cookie dough by tablespoon-size balls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Dip a glass in sugar and press down lightly on each dough ball to flatten, dipping in sugar again after each one.
- Bake at 350 for 12-14 minutes, or until lightly brown on the edges. If you would like them to be softer, bake one to two minutes less. Cool completely and then store in an airtight container until they disappear.
“Our greatest fear should not be of failure but of succeeding at things in life that don’t really matter.”
~Francis Chan
I really like lemon cookies so I think I will try adding some lemon zest. Hope they turn out!
I love the picture of Zoey and Pick. What could be sweeter than cookies? Big puppies.
I most certainly will try these they sound yummy. Have a great week-end Christy
Do you think I could make these using lemon extract? Would you use 1/2 vanilla extract and 1/2 lemon extract or all lemon extract? Thank you.
I think you could go full lemon extract or half like you suggested and they’d be great. I love lemon, too 🙂
How many cookies does the recipe make?
I would have been able to tell you had I not lost that SD card :). I take photos and count later. However, I can tell you that I used three cookie sheets and they filled a gallon sized cookie jar when done.
Oh, my GOODNESS, those are gorgeous hens! I’m sorry you lost your SD card (my head actually explodes when things get lost) but I’m very happy we got to see your cuddling dogs and beautiful chickies.
My Daddy will love this! He talks often of his Grandmother making these and are his favorite cookie. I live in an area with lots of “transplants” from up North and they have never heard of tea cakes. I will have to share these treats with them! Also, thanks for not sweating the small stuff with the pictures. Our Grannies were able to successfully bake them from a memorized recipe or one scrawled on the back of an envelope! Surely we will manage!