These tea cakes from my Mississippi big mama have been passed down from generation to generation. They are soft, buttery and the perfect mix of cake and sugar cookie textures. If you want authentic Southern tea cakes that have been thoroughly recipe tested, you’ve come to the right place.
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These shape up easy like cookie dough so you won’t find it hard to pull these off. Just make sure you:
- Refrigerate the Dough: It needs to firm up for at least an hour.
- Use your Hands: Your hand warmth helps shape the dough so it’s more workable.
- Keep it Tender: Make sure you don’t overmix the dough or overbake your cookies so they stay soft.
- Cool on the Pan: The cookies will be soft when you first remove the tray from the oven. I like to let them cool slightly on the pan which firms them up slightly making them easier to move.
How to Make Tea Cakes
Make the Tea Cake Dough
Step 1: Whisk together flour, salt, and baking soda.
Step 2: In your mixer, beat together butter and sugar until fluffy.
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Step 3: Add in the egg and vanilla and keep mixing until it’s smooth.
Step 4: Slowly add the dry ingredients into the mix.
Step 5: Mix after each addition only until just combined. Don’t overdo it.
Step 6: Cover the bowl or place the dough in a freezer bag and refrigerate it for at least an hour.
Bake Them Up!
Step 7: Scoop tablespoon-sized balls of dough. Smooth the balls, place them on a baking tray, and flatten each one slightly.
Step 8: Bake the tea cakes for 9-11 minutes or until the edges are golden. Cool and serve them up.
Southern Tea Cakes Recipe
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Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 stick unsalted butter room temperature
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/4-1/2 tsp ground nutmeg optional
Instructions
- In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and baking soda and set aside.
- In the bowl of your mixer, add butter and sugar and mix together on high speed until fluffy and smooth (about 4-5 minutes).
- Turn mixer to medium speed and add in one egg, vanilla extract and nutmeg, if using, and beat until well incorporated.
- Lastly, turn mixer to slow speed and add in flour mixture in intervals of three beating after each addition to incorporate.
- After dough is well mixed, turn off mixer and remove dough from mixer and add to a ziploc bag and place in your refrigerator for at least one hour to firm up dough.
- Once dough is firm, remove from fridge and preheat your oven to 325 degrees.
- Line your cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Taking a measuring tablespoon, scoop out cookie dough the size of the tablespoon and roll into a ball. Using your thumb, gently press the center to flatten a bit and place on the tray.
- Do the same for the rest of the dough leaving at least an 1 1/2 inches between each dough ball.
- Bake for 9-11 minutes until golden brown on the edges and remove from the oven.
- Cool for 5-10 minutes and serve.
Notes
How to Store Tea Cakes
To keep your Southern Tea Cakes tasting just as amazing as the day they were baked, store them in an airtight container at room temp boos.How long will old fashioned tea cakes last?
They’ll stay fresh for up to 5-6 days. Keep them away from direct sunlight and some place cool such as the pantry or cabinet.Can I freeze them?
Yep, for sure boos! Just make sure they’re tightly wrapped, pop in a freezer bag, label with the date and they’ll be good for up to three months.Ingredient Swaps and Information
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- Unsalted Butter: You can also use salted butter here. Just leave out the salt in the recipe if you make this swap.
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- Granulated Sugar: You can swap in brown sugar or even molasses like my daddy’s grandmother used to do.
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- Egg: Just one binds the batter together.
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- Pure Vanilla Extract: You can swap this for any extract you like from almond to lemon.
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- All-Purpose Flour: You can try a cup-for-cup gluten-free option here though the texture might change a little.
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- Salt: Just a pinch! It helps balance the sweetness.
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- Baking Soda: Check your expiration date to make sure it’s good to go.
Nutrition
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Thank you so much and that Video! You are amazing! Thank you for all you do to make people like me look good! 🙂 I love working with you and Chef and the rest of the team! Thank you for being so wonderful!
Best ever tea cakes, I will never use any other recipe !
My Grandma, who was from England, used to make English Tea biscuits. They were a rather bland cookie with raisins but very good. We never got her recipe and I have been trying to find something similar. Going to try this and see if it compares.
Thank you for posting this recipe. I grew up eating my best friends grandmother’s tea cakes and when she died no one had the recipe. I’m going to try this, this week and hopefully they taste just like Big Mama’s did. I’ll let you know when I make them and how they came out.
I would love to make your southern tea cakes. I do not especially like chewie cookies. I like mine relatively flat and crispier than chewie. Can these cookies be made flatter and crispier???
Thanks.
Joanne
These aren’t very chewy but you can flatten them out and use less dough when baking them so they become more crisp but then it wouldn’t necessarily be a tea cake? Totally up to you.
I will try this recipe,once I get unsalted butter,I’m stuck in the house. A friend of mine used to make tea cakes,they were the best.I’ve made other recipes,they weren’t like I remembered. I hope this recipe is it. She was from Tylertown,MS.
Both of my parents are form Different parts of Mississippi as well and didn’t meet till they both moved up north. I laughed at your comment about your parents being from different worlds… mine were too. Father more north and used molasses, mom was in the middle of MS and used nutmeg in theirs. We’ve been trying for years to replicate my grandmother’s recipe, I’ll give these a try and add the nutmeg.
I was at the last stage end when I realized the recipe calls for parchment paper. If it weren’t so late (1:15 am) I’d run out and get some. I’ll have to use my cooking spray an out okay.
How did they turn out?
I’ve made teacakes before. But I have never used baking soda. I am excited to try it this way.
I am going to try your recipe but I have a question. In #2 on your recipe you say “add butter and sugar and cream together “. In your ingredients where is the cream??
Creaming means to mix in this recipe.
Creaming is a process where you mix the butter and sugar together until it is creamy and smooth.