Did anyone else's grandmothers make them, and does anyone know why they are called Tea Cakes instead of 'cookies'? Is this a Southern thing?

I love tea cakes. I found several sites which gave a variety of explanations as to the origin of the name. I think its fairly reasonable to say that these little "cookies" are an American incarnation of the English shortbread cookies served with afternoon tea. Both my Grandmothers served them (one recipe slightly different than the other). My New Orleans Grandmother's recipe had a tiny bit of anise added to the recipe. My Birmingham Grandmother's did not. In both cases the recipes were basically flour, sugar, butter (lots),vanilla, whole milk and eggs. I make them once or twice a year.

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*I do think this is a "Southern thang". I have met few southerners who are not familiar with them.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: meanasasnake,

Come on ladies. Tea cakes originated in England for tea time. We americanized it.

My grandmother made things that she had available. I am sure that's why Tea Cakes were made often at home. Flour, sugar, milk and butter were ingrediants that were always on hand. This was an easy way to make a treat for us. The vanilla came from the Watkins van that came by our house. She also bought coffee and tea from Watkins. Going to the grocery store was something we didn't do often.

My grandmothers recipe was written on a torn flour sack. She was left handed and had the most unique handwritting. I have etched in my mind, the paper stained with what ever she was making.
I still see the list of names and weights of the hired hands that picked cotton for us.
After she passed all of us wanted a sample of something she had written.

The 'cake' part has always puzzled me. The British call cookies 'biscuits'. Maybe they used to be more cakey?

Only one of my grandmothers made tea cakes and her recipe calls for shortening instead of butter. The recipe I got from her was a list of ingredients. I looked at other cookie recipes and mixed the ingredients in the order they suggested. I guessed at the oven temp and baking time.

They are really easy to make...the trick with her recipe is adding just enough flour to roll and cut them. The dough is really sticky. When I make them and take them to family reunions the older people are astounded. "Who made these tea cakes? This tastes like Mama's!" "Mama" in this case is my great-grandmother and they are always openly incredulous when they hear that someone from my generation made them.

My husband's grandmother called hers cookies. And hers were square...she cut out rounds but they ran together on the baking sheet and then she cut them into squares while they were hot. She never measured, so sometimes they were better than at other times.

It would be fun if we could all make tea cakes and taste the different ones.

By the way....Watkins vanilla and parchment paper are the two most important items in my cooking making asenal!

Amen to parchment paper, HomesickGirl!

I've given up on making proper tea cakes. The closest I can come is just sugar cookies.

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Originally posted by HomesickGirl:


When I make them and take them to family reunions the older people are astounded. "Who made these tea cakes? This tastes like Mama's!" "Mama" in this case is my great-grandmother and they are always openly incredulous when they hear that someone from my generation made them.

This reminds me of CrustyWife's grandmother who always made tons of cookies and treats at Christmas time for the whole clan. She would spend days making everything from scratch.

We had the family over for a gathering and CrustyWife had baked some cookies using Pillsbury dough. CrustyWife's grandmother had some cookies, liked them, but smugly asked if CrustyWife had made the cookies "by hand". She meant "from scratch", but when I quickly and honestly said "Yes!", her jaw dropped. We are probably both going to hell for not correcting her misconception of the truth.

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Originally posted by CrustyMac:

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Originally posted by HomesickGirl:


When I make them and take them to family reunions the older people are astounded. "Who made these tea cakes? This tastes like Mama's!" "Mama" in this case is my great-grandmother and they are always openly incredulous when they hear that someone from my generation made them.

This reminds me of CrustyWife's grandmother who always made tons of cookies and treats at Christmas time for the whole clan. She would spend days making everything from scratch.

We had the family over for a gathering and CrustyWife had baked some cookies using Pillsbury dough. CrustyWife's grandmother had some cookies, liked them, but smugly asked if CrustyWife had made the cookies "by hand". She meant "from scratch", but when I quickly and honestly said "Yes!", her jaw dropped. We are probably both going to hell for not correcting her misconception of the truth.

LOL!

I have relatives who are good bakers who disdain the use of cake mixes and claim to be able to taste the cake mix in any recipe.

Why do some people feel it's ok to make disparaging comments? I keep mine to myself. The people who spout off will probably live longer while I die of a bleeding ulcer.

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Originally posted by tomfan:
Amen to parchment paper, HomesickGirl!

I've given up on making proper tea cakes. The closest I can come is just sugar cookies.

I have thrown more than one cookie sheet into the yard WITH COOKIES ATTACHED. Parchment is a dream come true. I won't bake cookies or frozen pizza without it.

Have we decided what the difference is in a tea cake recipe and a sugar cookie recipe?

My grandmother's tea cake recipe calls for shortening, self rising flour, sugar, a little milk (I sometimes use buttermilk) and eggs. I can get the exact amounts for you later.

How does that differ from a sugar cookie recipe?

I looked up sugar cookies and tea cake recipes and discovered little difference in most recipes. I even noticed that on Epicurious.com they have a recipe which reads:Sugar Cookies(tea cakes) - Link

I still believe that sugar cookies/tea cakes are an American incarnation of the English shortbread cookies often served with afternoon tea. The recipes are VERY similar.

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I am fascinated about using shorting instead of butter.

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Originally posted by HomesickGirl:

quote:

Originally posted by tomfan:
Amen to parchment paper, HomesickGirl!

I've given up on making proper tea cakes. The closest I can come is just sugar cookies.

I have thrown more than one cookie sheet into the yard WITH COOKIES ATTACHED. Parchment is a dream come true. I won't bake cookies or frozen pizza without it.

Have we decided what the difference is in a tea cake recipe and a sugar cookie recipe?

My grandmother's tea cake recipe calls for shortening, self rising flour, sugar, a little milk (I sometimes use buttermilk) and eggs. I can get the exact amounts for you later.

How does that differ from a sugar cookie recipe?

Same ingredients, but my sugar cookies just don't taste the same, or have the same texture, as the tea cakes made by my MIL and other ladies of her generation. I have no explanation...

My Grandmother's tea cakes were more cakey than my husband's grandmother's are. Don't know why, and can't compare recipes because Grandmother-in-law just pours ingredients out of bags til she feels like stopping.

I have tried several chocolate chip cookie recipes and I find that recipes with shortening make cookies that don't spread out as much. That may be the difference in my grandmother's tea cakes and my grandmother in law's tea cakes. I think I've actually seen her use margarine.

I have also noticed that most cookie recipes call for plain flour and soda and salt. It could be that my grandmother's tea cakes are taller because she used the self rising flour instead. I have tried using self rising flour in my chocolate chip cookie recipe and the cookies don't rise and flatten like I like for them to. (Plain flour, parchment paper, a small scooper for consistent sizing are the things that have saved me from throwing out any more cookie sheets! And turning the sheet around in the oven half way through. Oh, and setting the timer. I am easily distracted.)

A friend of mine gave me a shortbread pan, and I have made that one time. It was tasty..it had a melt-in-your-mouth quality, and wasn't as sweet as most cookies. I was disappointed because there were 'bubbles' in the cookies and the design from the pan wasn't plain on the shortbread. Some of the best shortbread recipes have powdered sugar in them, so they are really melty.

I'm sure Meanasasnake is right about the name and origin. Folks came here and stopped having afternoon tea, but kept eating cookies!

I enjoy talking about cookies. I can't eat them, but I like to make them and talk about them.

quote:

Originally posted by tomfan:

quote:

Originally posted by HomesickGirl:

quote:

Originally posted by tomfan:
Amen to parchment paper, HomesickGirl!

I've given up on making proper tea cakes. The closest I can come is just sugar cookies.

I have thrown more than one cookie sheet into the yard WITH COOKIES ATTACHED. Parchment is a dream come true. I won't bake cookies or frozen pizza without it.

Have we decided what the difference is in a tea cake recipe and a sugar cookie recipe?

My grandmother's tea cake recipe calls for shortening, self rising flour, sugar, a little milk (I sometimes use buttermilk) and eggs. I can get the exact amounts for you later.

How does that differ from a sugar cookie recipe?

Same ingredients, but my sugar cookies just don't taste the same, or have the same texture, as the tea cakes made by my MIL and other ladies of her generation. I have no explanation...

Is your dough really soft and sticky? The recipe I use makes very very soft dough and I have to add flour to roll them out. I actually don't roll them, I just pat the dough out and cut it. I think your consistency differences probably come from the amount of flour added and how much the dough is handled. Maybe you could hide and watch your MIL and see how she does that.

When people in the family ask for my recipe, they usually lose their enthusiasm when they see the procedure for rolling and cutting. Now they just tell me to 'bring some of those sugar cookies' when we are getting together.

quote:

Originally posted by meanasasnake:
I love tea cakes. I found several sites which gave a variety of explanations as to the origin of the name. I think its fairly reasonable to say that these little "cookies" are an American incarnation of the English shortbread cookies served with afternoon tea. Both my Grandmothers served them (one recipe slightly different than the other). My New Orleans Grandmother's recipe had a tiny bit of anise added to the recipe. My Birmingham Grandmother's did not. In both cases the recipes were basically flour, sugar, butter (lots),vanilla, whole milk and eggs. I make them once or twice a year.

Link

Link

*I do think this is a "Southern thang". I have met few southerners who are not familiar with them.

I hope you have a lot of your NO's grandmother's recipes. I loved hearing about her kitchen and how much her cook enjoyed her work.