Description
Southern tea cake cookies blend nostalgic Southern charm with sweet comfort. Delicate crumbly textures and subtle vanilla notes promise a heartwarming dessert experience you’ll savor with pure delight.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (115 g) unsalted butter, softened
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup (60 ml) whole milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cups (315 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ tsp nutmeg (optional, for a traditional touch)
Instructions
- Dry Ingredient Preparation: Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium mixing bowl, ensuring a lump-free, uniform blend.
- Butter Mixture: Cream softened butter with granulated sugar using an electric mixer until the mixture becomes light, pale, and incredibly fluffy.
- Wet Ingredient Integration: Incorporate egg and vanilla extract into the butter-sugar mixture, blending until achieving a smooth, silky consistency.
- Dough Formation: Fold dry ingredients into wet ingredients with minimal stirring to prevent tough cookies. Adjust dough consistency with milk if needed, then wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.
- Dough Shaping: Preheat oven to 350F (175C). Roll chilled dough on a floured surface to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes using cookie cutters.
- Baking Preparation: Arrange cookies on a parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving slight space between each. Optionally, brush with egg yolk for a golden finish.
- Baking and Cooling: Bake for 10-12 minutes until edges turn golden while maintaining a soft center. Transfer to a cooling rack, allowing complete cooling before serving or storing.
Notes
- Chill for Texture: Refrigerating the dough prevents cookies from spreading too much and enhances their tender, melt-in-your-mouth texture.
- Minimal Mixing Magic: Gently fold dry ingredients to avoid developing tough gluten, keeping the cookies soft and delicate.
- Egg Wash Elegance: Brushing with egg yolk creates a beautiful golden sheen and adds a professional bakery-like finish.
- Versatile Customization: Experiment with different cookie cutter shapes or add subtle spices like cinnamon for personalized variations.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Desserts, Snacks
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Southern American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 25
- Calories: 151
- Sugar: 8 g
- Sodium: 40 mg
- Fat: 6 g
- Saturated Fat: 4 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 22 g
- Fiber: 0.5 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Cholesterol: 34 mg