Tea Cakes

Houseful of Cookies is continuing with guest poster Devaria H. from Louisiana! She teamed up with her mother to make tea cakes for the holidays, and she’s here sharing with us. I love hearing about family traditions and seeing mom and daughter teams work together. Welcome, Devaria to the blog! 

Tea Cakes

1 c. butter

1¼ c. sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

3 c. flour

¼ tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

3 tbs buttermilk

1. Preheat oven to 350°
2. Cream butter (my mother sits her butter out the day before).
3. Add sugar (I incorporated a cup then added the ¼ c and stirred)
4. Add eggs one at a time
5. Stir in flour one cup at a time
6. Add baking soda and stir
7. Add salt and stir
8. Add vanilla and stir
9. Add buttermilk and stir
10. Drop onto a greased cookie sheet one spoonful at a time
11. Sprinkle with sugar (optional)
12. Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes until lightly browned on the edges
13. This recipe makes about 36 tea cakes (depending on the size)

After adding sugar

After adding 2 cups of flour. My Mama is observing my technique and telling me to “fold the flour in Dee.” This is a lot of arm work. I asked if I could use the mixer and she said, no, keep stirring.”



After all of the flour is added. My arm is tired but I feel accomplished!!



Added the buttermilk

My mom saw my first two “drops” and decided that she needed to step in and “help” me.



She actually rolls them a tiny bit to make them more uniform and pats them a bit to ensure they cook evenly.

First batch is out. Those are my first two in the upper right hand corner. Notice the struggle in them compared to the smoother edges on the others my mom “helped” me with.


First batch didn’t last long at all!!



2nd batch…



Good thing the cooling time is short!!



3rd and final batch. We were able to get 36 tea cakes. Mine were a bit larger than a teaspoon drop.



I don’t think these will last until Christmas. My Mama says that when her mother used to make them, they would enjoy them with fresh buttermilk they churned. She even demonstrated the action and shared the entire process with me. If you want to make these more festive, you can add red and green sugar before placing in the oven.