Unassuming although they may look, Southern Tea Muffins are particular cookies. It’s mentioned that these candy little cake-like cookies had been served at tea events hosted by Juliette Gordon Low in her efforts to kind the Lady Scouts of America. Depart it to Southerners to create an empire out of butter and sugar. Make a pot of tea for 2 and nibble on these mushy, cakey cookies calmly scented with nutmeg.
What’s a Tea Cake in America?
In case you’ve by no means heard of tea muffins, it is best to know precisely what you are coping with. Tea muffins are mushy roll-out cookies which are tender, chewy and pleasantly dense. They’re a cookie with a cake-like texture. The substances are quite simple (flour, sugar, butter, milk, nutmeg, and eggs), and the mild taste of nutmeg is what makes these so particular.
I first got here throughout tea muffins in Southern Dwelling journal, and gave them a strive one vacation season. I am comfortable to report that we make these 12 months after 12 months, as a result of they’re simplicity makes them so approachable but nonetheless scrumptious.
Favourite option to serve Tea Muffins
We usually make these round Christmas time, as a result of they’re so nice with sizzling cocoa or a heat mug of tea. My gingerbread latte and a chai sizzling chocolate are a few of our favourite drinks to serve alongside.
What you will want for this Tea Cake Recipe
Southern tea muffins have easy substances, so you should definitely use high-quality butter and guarantee your nutmeg is freshly grated.
- Butter. When baking, I attain for European-style butter, as a result of it has much less water and barely extra fats. I clarify this in my puff pastry recipe submit very properly.
- Sugar. Plain, white granulated sugar is all we’d like.
- Vanilla. At all times bake with pure vanilla extract, not imitation vanilla. In easy recipes with only a few substances, the flavour of the vanilla actually shines. Additionally, vanilla extract makes issues style sweeter with none further sugar.
- Egg Yolks. We solely want the egg yolks, not the egg whites. Separate two eggs, and save the egg whites for different issues, like my baked Pumpkin Donut Holes.
- Milk. A really small quantity of milk (only one teaspoon) makes this dough mushy and cake-like, relatively than crisp like a cookie. The additional egg yolk does the identical factor.
- Flour. One of the simplest ways to measure all-purpose flour for baking is to fluff it with a spoon, scoop the cup into the flour, after which scrape off the floor with a butter knife.
- Salt.
- Baking Soda.
- Nutmeg. These tea muffins have a sprinkling of sugar and freshly grated nutmeg on prime earlier than baking, and it’s the key to their unbelievable taste. If attainable, attempt to use contemporary entire nutmeg that you just grate contemporary on a microplane.
Tools wanted for making Tea Cookies
This Southern tea muffins cookie recipe requires a couple of commonplace baking instruments.
- Hand Mixer for bringing the cookie dough collectively.
- Microplane for grating the contemporary nutmeg on prime.
- Small Rolling Pin for rolling out the dough earlier than chopping out the circle shapes.
- Circle cookie cutter set, although you possibly can all the time use a water glass to maintain issues tremendous easy! For the tea muffins within the photographs, I take advantage of the two.5-inch dimension circle cutter.
make Tea Muffins
This dough comes collectively shortly in a single bowl utilizing a hand-held mixer, after which it’s rolled out and minimize into good circles. The cookie cutter is the important thing to the enduring good circle form of the tea cake.
1. In a medium bowl, mix the butter and sugar collectively, and beat, utilizing a handheld electrical mixer, till gentle and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
2. Subsequent, add the vanilla, egg yolks and milk. Beat properly. Keep in mind that you are solely utilizing the egg yolks, not the entire egg!
3. In a separate bowl, whisk collectively the flour, salt and baking soda in a small bowl.
4. Pour one-third of the flour combination into the butter and beat till simply mixed. Add one other ⅓ of the flour and proceed beating calmly. Lastly, add the final flour and beat till simply mixed—don’t overmix.
5. Form the dough right into a sq. disk that roughly measures 6 inches, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for quarter-hour. If you’re able to bake, preheat the oven to 350-degrees Fahrenheit.
6. Calmly flour a piece floor and dump the dough out onto it. Utilizing a rolling pin, roll the dough right into a ¼” rectangle and minimize out 8 circles with a 2 ½” spherical cookie or biscuit cutter. Then, collect and re-roll the scraps to get 4 extra cookies, for a complete of 12 cookies.
7. Place cookies a greased baking sheet, sprinkle calmly with sugar and freshly grated nutmeg, and bake for 9 minutes. The cookies shouldn’t have any brownness across the edges; they are going to be puffed within the center.
8. Cool on the sheet for five minutes earlier than transferring to wire rack to chill utterly. Get pleasure from instantly, or maintain in an air-tight container for as much as 5 days.
Tea Cookies storage
Since these are vacation cookies, it is best to know that they’re nice when made upfront! Nevertheless, they have to be saved in an hermetic container in order that they’ll keep contemporary for as much as 5 days. You may make and freeze the dough upfront on the dough chill step, however let it relaxation at room temperature till it is mushy sufficient to roll out and minimize circles. You’ll be able to freeze already baked cookies months upfront, after which allow them to thaw at room temperature earlier than serving.
Tea Muffins Recipe FAQs
Whereas I want we nonetheless had the custom of pausing each afternoon for tea and a candy deal with, we merely don’t anymore. I consider the identify ‘tea cake’ comes from their affinity for afternoon tea events.
Tea muffins are easy roll-out sugar cookies with a barely dense, cake-like texture sprinkled with nutmeg and sugar. They’re elegant cookies which are all the time completely formed in circles.
A tea cake in America is what you see right here: a mushy sugar cookie with a lightweight dusting of nutmeg on prime earlier than baking. In England, a tea cake is just like a mushy candy bun however it may well even be a scone!
In case you look carefully within the photographs, I believe you will see that these cookies are a a lot brighter yellow than common sugar cookies. It’s because the dough comprises solely egg yolks. The egg yolks together with the small splash of milk make these cookies, mushy, dense and cake-like. In contract, a sugar cookie is often crisp across the edges and mushy perhaps within the middle solely. It usually comprises cracks, like my Straightforward Sugar Cookie Recipe.
The very best sorts of cookies to eat with tea are easy cookies that don’t overpower the style of the fragile aromatic tea. Something small, fairly and buttery is all the time a protected guess. I wish to serve an assortment of shortbread (like my lemon shortbread), these tea muffins, and strawberry jam cookies.
Yield: 1 dozen
Tea Muffins
Excellent tea time candy cookies to get pleasure from with a cup of tea! They’re Southern tea muffins!
Prep Time
20 minutes
Prepare dinner Time
9 minutes
Complete Time
29 minutes
Components
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 2 massive egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon milk
- 1 cup flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- Sugar & freshly grated nutmeg for sprinkling on prime
Directions
- In a medium bowl, beat the butter and sugar collectively till gentle and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Add the vanilla, egg yolks and milk; beat properly.
- Whisk collectively the flour, salt and baking soda in a separate small bowl. Pour ⅓ of the flour combination into the butter and beat till simply mixed. Add one other ⅓ of the flour and proceed beating calmly. Lastly, add the final flour and beat till simply mixed—don’t overmix.
- Form the dough right into a disk, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for quarter-hour.
- If you’re able to bake, preheat the oven to 350°.
- Calmly flour a piece floor and dump the dough out onto it. Then, utilizing a small rolling pin, roll the dough right into a ¼” rectangle and minimize out 8 circles with a 2 ½” spherical cookie or biscuit cutter.
- Reroll the scraps to get 4 extra cookies. Place cookies a greased (or parchment paper lined) baking sheet, sprinkle calmly with sugar and freshly grated nutmeg, and bake for 9 minutes. The cookies shouldn’t have any brownness across the edges, nevertheless, they are going to be puffed within the center. Cool on the sheet for five minutes earlier than transferring to wire rack to chill utterly. Get pleasure from with tea.
Notes
Storage/ Make-Forward: Since these are vacation cookies, it is best to know that they’re nice when made upfront! Nevertheless, they have to be saved in an hermetic container in order that they’ll keep contemporary for as much as 5 days. You may make and freeze the dough upfront on the dough chill step, however let it relaxation at room temperature till its mushy sufficient to roll out and minimize circles. You’ll be able to freeze already baked cookies months upfront, after which allow them to thaw at room temperature earlier than serving.
Vitamin Data:
Yield:
12
Serving Dimension:
1
Quantity Per Serving:
Energy: 124Complete Fats: 5gSaturated Fats: 3gTrans Fats: 0gUnsaturated Fats: 2gLdl cholesterol: 57mgSodium: 84mgCarbohydrates: 17gFiber: 0gSugar: 9gProtein: 2g
