“Mammy” was my Great-grandmother on my Mother’s father’s side. She was born in the late 1800s and grew up in Kentucky. Her name was Sarah Kathryn Dwyer, mostly called “Kate”.
Interesting story: My other Great-Grandmother and she were close friends. So, my other great-grandmother named her own daughter after her friend. My oldest daughter is named for her as well. We have a lot of Kathryns.
Kate’s family was from Ireland and England and they of course brought many delicious, traditional Irish and English recipes with them. This is her recipe for Tea Cakes. She got it from her own great-grandmother. My family has been in this country for many, many generations, so who knows how this recipe may deviate from the original?
We’ve made this recipe at my house since I can remember. My Mother made them growing up as well. We have them throughout the year with tea and at Christmas we decorate them with royal icing.
These tea cakes are not as sweet as regular cookies, so they lend themselves to a cup of tea or even coffee, and also to sweet toppings like lemon curd and jam. Don’t brown them, let them stay white and delicate.
Mammy’s Tea Cakes
Ingredients:
4 c plain flour
1 1/2 c sugar
2 eggs
3/4 c shortening or use 1/2 cup lard and 1/4 cup butter. You’ll get a slightly different texture if you do not use shortening. I prefer the flavor of the butter and lard but if I am making them for company I use shortening because it gives a more consistent cookie shape, color and flavor.
1 tsp baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) dissolved in 1 c buttermilk
pinch of salt
1 Tablespoon vanilla, I use white vanilla for the whitest cookies possible, but regular vanilla will do.
Mix all ingredients and be gentle with the dough, it is very soft.
Roll out to 1/2″ thickness and cut into 2-3″ circles. I sometimes use heart shapes or other shapes. Gently using a thin spatula transfer the cookies to a baking sheet.
Bake in a 350* oven for about 10 minutes, but try not to let them get brown. They are done when they are no longer shiny and when they are firm all the way through.
You may have to test a few before baking the whole batch, because oven temperatures differ so widely. Bake two or three and test for doneness by tasting and if they are puffy and a little springy when you lightly touch them. If they taste dough-y bake longer. Mine usually take 10-12 minutes.
Hello and welcome! I'm Sylvia Britton, and I've been online since 1996 offering encouragement and help in the spirit of Titus 2 and Proverbs 31 at Christian Homekeeper. CHK is the original Homekeeping site on the internet
Bonnie, I have purchased lard at Walmart. Right now I buy it at Kroger.
Thanks so much Sylvia for your answer, and the “eating well” post was stuffed w/ great info. We usually use olive oil, butter, and coconut oil, just for the reasons you mention. It could be why my husband and I (in our 50’s) do not have high cholesterol levels !? Now where do I buy the “can of lard” for those tea cakes? Does Walmart sell it?
I guess I will get back out my copy of Nourishing Traditions, and had already started GNOWFGLINS basic course a few weeks back!
God Bless
Maybe its more like a “can of lard” LOL
I use lard because it is healthier for our bodies than any kind of hydrogenated oil like shortening or margarine. Here is a quote from the Weston A. Price Foundation website that explains briefly why hydrogenated oils are not a good thing:
“For many years the media have told us to replace saturated fats with unsaturated fats, like those from vegetable oils. This is not very good advice considering that, in the process of producing vegetable oils, toxic chemicals and high temperatures are used to extract the oil from the seed or bean. In this process virtually all of the nutritional value has been destroyed, not to mention the fact that high temperatures turn the oil rancid before you even bring it home.
Even worse, most vegetable oils in processed foods have been hydrogenated, a process that rearranges the fatty acid molecules and creates trans fatty acids. Not only are trans fats difficult to digest, but they have also been implicated as a cause of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, obesity and sterility.”
So I have cut down and amount of fats in our diets and replaced what fat we do use with healthier fats like olive oil, butter, lard, palm oil and coconut oil.
I have written a new blog post about eating well that might be of help to you, too. http://christianhomekeeper.com/blog/eating-well/
In the tea cake recipe, I use the same amount of lard that it calls for shortening; 3/4 cup. The only different thing I do is to refrigerate the lard because many times it is not as firm as shortening and doesn’t cut into the flour as well. Refrigerating it makes it work well.
OK Sylvia now you have opened the “can of worms”!
When you get time please tell me why you use lard and direct me to anything you have written about it. Also how do you substitute it in this recipe.
Thanks!
Janette, I have never used coconut oil with this recipe but I believe it would work ok. I don’t normally use shortening either, so cold lard is what I have always used with this recipe.
These look wonderful…thanks for sharing your “Mammy’s” recipe.
I was wondering if you’ve ever substituted butter for the shortening? We don’t keep shortening in our pantry, but would like to try making these. We do have coconut oil…have you ever tried with that?
I can’t wait to try these out on my husband! When he was little he would sometimes spend the night with an 80 something year old woman that did two things he remembered her for. Number one her teacakes were the best ever, and two she could spit chew farther than anybody he ever knew! Maybe this recipe will live up to hers!!
MMMmm These look easy and delish. I am making my list for cookies to make for Christmas. These are now on the list. Thanks for sharing.
Can’t wait to give these a try!