This tea cake recipe is made with simple ingredients. It is a favorite cookie recipe because it is so simple to make and have a lovely buttery flavor and a cake-like texture. It's wonderful served with a cup of hot tea or, if you're like me, coffee!
I bake these cake-like cookies for the Christmas holiday season but they are perfect to serve year round. Simple change out the topping (colored sugars) or leave these sweet treats without any extra froufrou.
If you're looking for more easy dessert recipes this beautiful and tasty mint torte starts with a store bought pound cake but the end result looks like you slaved over it for hours and this peppermint mint brownie pie is made from scratch but is ready for the oven in under 15 minutes.
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😋 Why You'll Love This Recipe
- No need to roll dough
- Basic ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry
- Gentle on your taste buds
🥐Ingredient List
- sugar
- butter
- vanilla extract
- egg
- milk
- self-rising flour
- colored sugars for decorating (or powdered sugar for dusting!)
See recipe card for quantities.
📋Instructions
This is an overview of the instructions. The full recipe and instructions as well as nutritional information can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees f.
- Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.
- Allow butter to come to room temperature.
- Once softened cream butter in a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer or electric mixer.
- Add vanilla extract, egg, and milk and mix ingredients well until smooth.
- Gently combine flour with the butter mixture adding a little at a time until a stiff dough forms.
- Drop cookie dough by teaspoonfuls onto
baking sheets. - Place in oven on middle oven rack and bake cookies for 9 to 10 minutes.
- Remove from oven and place cookies on trays on wire rack to cool.
- Sprinkle with colored sugar will still warm or powdered sugar once cooled.
Hint: Center will be soft when cooled.
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🍽 Equipment
The following items will help you to make this recipe successfully.
🍱Storage
- Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for one week. Cookies stay fresher longer if they are in a tightly sealed container.
- These cookies can be frozen for three to four months. Wrap cookies tightly in plastic wrap to protect them from freezer burn.
If you love this recipe please give it a 5 star rating. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card below ⬇️ you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need.
If you love this recipe please give it a 5 star rating. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📖 Recipe
Georgia Tea Cakes ~ A Light and Sweet Tea Cake
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 egg beaten
- ½ cup milk
- 2 to 2 ½ cups self-rising flour
- Colored Sugars
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees f.
- Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.
- Allow butter to come to room temperature. Once softened cream butter in a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer or electric mixer.½ cup butter
- Add sugar, vanilla extract, egg, and milk and mix ingredients well until smooth.1 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 egg, ½ cup milk
- Gently combine flour with the butter mixture adding a little at a time until a stiff dough forms.2 to 2 ½ cups self-rising flour
- Drop cookie dough by teaspoonfuls onto baking sheets.
- Place in oven on middle oven rack and bake cookies for 9 to 10 minutes.
- Remove from oven and place cookies on trays on wire rack to cool.
- Sprinkle with colored sugar will still warm or powdered sugar once cooled.Colored Sugars
As with any of my recipes, calorie counts and nutritional information varies greatly depending on which products you choose to use when cooking this dish.
Nutrition
These sound so good and look so pretty topped with colored sugar. I know that they wouldn't last long at my house!
They didn't last long here. I've got to be quicker about hiding a few for myself! Have a great weekend, Paula.
Mary Beth, these look perfect! Especially with the colored sugar. Thanks for sharing! ~Jeanette
Thanks so much for stopping by, Jeanette!
They look beautiful! I used to have a recipe for tea cakes but seem to have misplaced it. Thanks so much for sharing this one!
xo
Pat
Thank you, Pat. Hopefully, this recipe will fill the bill for you. hugs, mb
Oh I love these kind of light simple cookies and they look so festive with sugar sprinkles- I'd love these with afternoon coffee!
Cheers
Thanks so much,Christina. P.S. I did have some with afternoon coffee while the kids were playing and it was such a treat.
These do look delicious - love tea cakes!
Kathy
Thanks so much, Kathy!
BEAUTIFUL cookies! Southern = doing things in a beautiful way! I'll have to try to be a little southern when I make them! YUMMY, y'all!
Thank you, Yvonne! 🙂
Yes! I'm always looking for a cookie to go with my coffee. These sound (and look) amazing. Thanks for sharing.
Mary Beth:
I want to try this recipe this weekend. Quick question - the cookies look frosted in the picture. Are they? If so, what kind of frosting? Merry Christmas and best wishes for a great 2014! Thanks!
Hi Deborah,
The cookies are only sprinkled with sugar before putting them into the oven; no frosting at all. 🙂
Merry Christmas to you as well and a Happy New Year!
Mary Beth
They look amazing Mary Beth!! I'm adding this to our baking list next week.
The cakes look amazing!
That;s a new name for me for a favorite cookie any time of year. Now if our oven repair man can actually repair it with out ordering parts....
I hope the repair man gets your oven working soon so you can enjoy your holidays! xo
I'm so excited to try these! My Grandmother used to make these and they were my favorite - they were simply called Tea Cakes to her. We are from Georgia though 🙂 She didn't have anything as fancy as colored sugars, but she let us kids sprinkle regular ol sugar over them right out of the oven. SO YUMMY! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you so much for sharing such a wonderful memory with me! xo