Tea Cakes are not on my diet – no way! But when I started this diet I told myself that my commitment only went so far. If there was something I was really craving, I’d just do it and then start anew. Today I made tea cakes so tomorrow, I start anew!
Tea Cakes
There were more. I shared some with the mail lady and gave some to a friend. These taste great – some of the best tea cakes I’ve made. The truth is . . I keep trying to duplicate my great grandma’s tea cakes and I think I don’t actually remember what they taste like. Of all the tea cake recipes I’ve tried, I think these are my favorites. None of the recipes I’ve tried have been bad. Many of them used butter and I always doubted that my great grandma or even my grandma used butter. They were big into shortening back then. I rarely use shortening and was surprised to find some in the fridge. Sometimes, shortening just does the trick and for these cookies, it may be the shortening. I have no idea but we both liked them.
Here’s the recipe I found in my grandma’s recipe box:
Nannie's Tea Cake
- 1-1/2 cups sugar
- 1 cup Crisco
- 3 cups flour
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 3 eggs
- 1 tsp. vanilla
-
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cream together shortening and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat well.
Mix flour, salt and baking powder in a separate bowl. Add flour mixture to Crisco mixture a little at a time. Beat well.
Drop by tablespoons onto a cookie sheet. (I use parchment paper on top of the cookie sheet.)
Bake until they begin to turn brown – about 12 – 15 minutes depending on the size of the cookie. You can make them smaller or larger.
teresamnj says
Those look and sound so yummy! Will definitely have to try them!
Mary M says
I made my grandmother’s oatmeal cookies today and her recipe called for 1 cup of melted shortening. Yes, shortening was used in a lot of old recipes. Your tea cakes look good.
Mary says
Yikes! One cup of Crisco. These look nothing like the tea cakes I am familiar with. I guess cookie recipes are like quilt blocks, same name but different product!
Ava says
Those look like a cookie my sister used to make. She was always the one in the kitchen with Mother and I was the one outside with the dogs and cats. I learned to cook late. Ha Ha
I do my new eating plan the way you’re doing yours. It usually only takes a little taste of the stuff I used to eat, to go back to “no sugar, flour, etc. I feel better eating the new way and I’ve lost some weight and my joints don’t bother me now.
Paula Hidalgo says
OMGoodness, I love my mama’s tea cakes. She said her granny made them once a week and she kept them in a wooden box on top of a trunk at the foot of her bed, mama said they were always sneaking in and eating them!!! I loved when she told us that story.
Judy Laquidara says
That is too funny. I also love those great stories that have been passed down. I can just see little kids trying to sneak in and grab a cookie without waking granny!
Nelle Coursey says
I had to print this because Pat loves tea cakes!!
Linda Jones says
Yum. Thanks so much Judy. Will definitely make these.
w jordan says
Try a bit of nutmeg in them.Did you ever try the one I sent you that was my grandmothers? She had 10 kids and she made teacakes almost daily with the left over dough from breakfast.Waste not won’t not their ideas back them mine to still these days.