A tender cross between pound cake and shortbread, as Heidi Haughy Cusick described them in her 1995 cookbook,Soul and Spice,tea cakes are not as sweet as sugar cookies and less fluffy than madeleines (the French tea cakes shaped like a scallop shell). They show up in black cookbooks—a lot.
Through the history of this recipe, I found the combination of butter, sugar, eggs, and flour usually flavored one of three ways. A hint of nutmeg seemed essential for some, while modern interpretations add a bit of citrus zest or extract. Cooks without access to spices baked plain dough, enriched with whole milk, evaporated milk, buttermilk, or sour cream.
With reverence for the old ways, and pulling from several recipes, here is my rendition of tea cakes, with baking powder added for a little extra lift. You can personalize them, too, substituting a pinch of cinnamon, allspice, or mace for the nutmeg or sour cream for the buttermilk.
Ingredients
Makes about 2 dozen tea cakes
Step 1
In a bowl, whisk together the flour,baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg.
Step 2
In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl again, then beat in the buttermilk and vanilla.
Step 3
Gradually add the flour mixture, beating just until smooth and well blended. Divide the dough in half. Flatten each half into a disc. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate until chilled and slightly stiff, at least 1 hour, but overnight ideally.
Step 4
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
Step 5
On a lightly floured surface, working with one portion at a time, roll the dough to a ¼-inch thickness. Cut with a floured 1½-inch round biscuit cutter. Gather the scraps, reroll, and cut again. Sprinkle lightly with demerara sugar. Transfer the tea cakes to the baking sheets and space them about 1 inch apart.
Step 6
烤,直到茶饼是浅棕色,此时810 minutes. Cool on the pan for 1 minute, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. The tea cakes will keep for about 2 weeks in an airtight container.
Leave a Review
Reviews (4)
Back to TopThese are VERY good. Just what I've been looking for. I suspect people that find them dry either used low fat buttermilk or overbaked them. Sometimes I can't find full fat buttermilk so I replace some of the milk with heavy cream... Problem solved.
nita10
Dallas, TX
6/13/2021
Dry as a bone. Way too much nutmeg; it's the only thing you taste. Shortbread melts in the mouth, pound cake is moist. This is the driest cookie i've ever had. Made them for my husband and he wont eat them. They are going into the garbage. The only way to redeem them is to roll them into balls, press an indentation into them and put some jam on them. That will keep them moist enough to not dry out your mouth, but the nutmeg is still too strong. I'll tell you what, I will never get a recipe from epicurious again. I would have hoped for someone to actually have test baked these. Waste of time and money.
r.alington
Seattle, WA
12/22/2020
Wonderful tea cookies! I've been trying for years to duplicate my mother-in-law's cookies (she was born in Essaouiria, Morocco) that I had only once. She flavored her cookies with anise seeds. I used a tablespoon of anise seeds and substituted the buttermilk with coconut cream and also perforated the unbaked cookies with the tines of a fork. The cookies came out perfectly!
la_kitty
Los Angeles, CA
11/10/2020
Absolutely delicious. these are light, fluffy, delicate, and the perfect treat to go with tea or coffee. Or anything. Also quick and easy to make. We added fresh blueberries on top before baking - just one berry on each cake. I tried the recipe because I had buttermilk to use up, but now it'll be going into my regular rotation!
lexilu
Denton, TX
6/20/2020
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