First Cookie Recipe...and my very favorite one...an old family recipe, Teacakes

[Guest guest]

This recipe won the 2001 Christmas Cookie contest on About.com's Dessert

site. :>) It also has been winning the hearts and tummies for five

generations of my family--and everybody else who tastes these wonderful

cookies. They're called, simply, " Teacakes " , because they're good plain

cookies to eat with either hot or icetea, and they're an old American

Southern favorite and tradition. I make these at Christmas, Valentine's Day,

and any other occasion that needs celebratin'.

 

Here's my family's cherished version. Enjoy!

 

Tennessee Teacakes

 

2 c. sugar

3 eggs, room temp

1 stick butter, room temp

1/2 c. plain vegetable shortenin'

3 T. milk (I do substitute soymilk now)

3 c. allpurpose flour (I use unbleached and King Arthur's brand; White Lily

is the traditionally preferred Southern flour to use for baking, but it's

bleached so...I don't use it much now, except for biscuits)

1 t. baking powder (Rumfeld, no aluminum)

2 or 3 splashes vanilla extract

 

Mix in order given, combining well. Chill 2 hours. Preheat oven to 350 and

prepare baking sheets with parchment. Roll 1/4 inch thick and cut out into

desired shapes. Place carefully (the dough is very tender) onto cooky sheet

approx. 1 inch from each other. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until just golden

brown on tops. Cool in pans on wire coolin' rack. When completely cool,

transfer to large piece of wax or parchment paper for decoratin' purposes.

YIELD: 5-6 dozen, dependin' on shapes of your cooky cutters.

 

Teacake Icin':

 

1 large bag powdered sugar, sifted

2-3 splashes vanilla

2 T. softened butter

*Food colors

Sprinkles, jimmies, nonpareils, coarse sugar, and all such like as that :>)

Toothpicks and table knives

 

Mix the first three ingredients together very well. Take out a portion of

icin' for white or background icin', and set it aside. Divide the rest of it

into teacups (how appropriate, huh? lol) and add food colors with a

toothpick; stir with a knife until you get the colors you like. Spread onto

cooled cookies, and add the sprinkles, etc. as desired. If you want to, for

brown, use cocoa. YUMMY!

 

When cookies are dried, store in cookie cans between layers of wax or

parchment paper. They will keep real well for about four or five days, and

then after that, they'll still taste pretty good, and after THAT...well,

I've never had any to go past about six days, they get eaten up. So I can't

tell you how they'd be, but I don't expect they'd be wonderful anymore!

 

*In my great-grandmother's original recipe, she called for food colors made

from plants, like blueberry juice and carrot juice! Thought y'all would be

interested in that piece of information...:>)

 

I have made these with children for church projects, for children, for

adults, and everybody loves 'em.

 

It's my hope y'all will too.

 

Oh, they're also good plain, with tea or even ice water...but the icin'

gilds the lily, of course!

 

Bron