It’s a perfect (and finally rainy and cool!) day to make cookies in the kitchen today. I recently stumbled across a recipe for Southern Tea Cake Cookies and I couldn’t believe how simple they were to make – which is always my favorite: simple ingredients and easy to make.

They are soft, buttery and delicious with a hint of nutmeg. Melt in your mouth type of cookies 😋 They remind me of childhood while standing next to my grandmother as she made cookies. Carefully watching and salivating with anticipation of the warm, homemade deliciousness that would soon come out of the oven.

Tea Cake Cookies most likely evolved from the recipe for English Tea Cakes and gained popularity in colonial America in the 1700’s. The cakes were served at the homes of wealthy planters for afternoon tea (or “high tea”) and consisted of currants or other dried fruits.

It’s wasn’t very long before the popular tea cakes made their way into Southern homes and the recipe changed to make them much simpler and affordable for poor Southern families. The basic ingredients were what most had in their kitchen already: flour, sugar…butter…eggs.

They are a perfect cookie to make for any occasion. For Christmas, just add some icing and color…sprinkles…and would make the perfect Christmas cookie! Or if you want to be fancy, make them to impress your friends and gather for afternoon tea with tea cake cookies and small sandwiches.

On a wet, rainy day like today? It’s the perfect comfort food that brings me back to childhood. So I think I will just binge watch a favorite show and eat a few cookies with a large glass of milk.

Life is good 👍

Southern Tea Cake Cookies

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 cup (one stick) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature

3/4 cup granulated sugar

One large egg, room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda and nutmeg. Set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together butter and sugar with a hand held mixer (about 4-5 minutes) until creamy.

Add the egg and vanilla to the mixture.

Slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix well with a wooden spoon.

Cover and refrigerate the cookie dough for at least 30 minutes.

Using a small cookie scooper, scoop the dough and using your hands to roll the dough into a ball.

Place the cookie dough balls onto a lined cookie sheet. Use a cup, glass…press…anything that you have handy to flatten the cookie balls.

Bake for about 10-12 minutes until the edges are brown.

Remove from the oven. Cool for a few minutes before removing from the cookie sheet so they will set properly. Enjoy! ❤️