Mama Reed’s Southern Tea Cakes
If you’ve never had a southern tea cake, they are rather difficult to describe. I can assure you though, despite appearances, it is nothing like a cookie. This tender little cake is soft and pillowy, with just a touch of sweetness. A very simple and comforting flavor, they are generally only iced for company or special occasions, at other times getting only a light sprinkling of sugar as they come out of the oven.
These tea cakes are something I dearly love to bake. One of the main reasons (despite the flavor and texture and…well everything else that is wonderful about these!) is that I have issues with sugar and therefore can’t really eat most of the yummy desserts I make for Southern Plate. These tea cakes don’t bother me, though, as they are not loaded down with sugar and super sweet taste as most cookies are. They are the perfect treat with an afternoon cup of coffee or as a snack. If you are expecting something really sweet, you’ll want to plan on icing.
Mama Reed (Adle Reed was her given name) made these on a regular basis and the day she made them her kids (all ten of them) were allowed to eat as many as they wanted as they were coming warm out of the oven (can you imagine the thrill of that?). After they cooled the would be placed in a large glass jar with a screw on lid and the children had to come ask permission before they got one, so they wouldn’t ruin their supper.
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This is just a simple cookie icing. Nothing fancy but it sure does taste good. You’ll need confectioner’s sugar, vanilla, margarine, and food coloring. Just use the cheap food coloring bottles, no need for the fancy stuff here.
Place two tablespoons of well softened margarine or butter in a bowl, top with 1/2 C confectioner’s sugar.
Spread it around with your spoon.
Top with sprinkles and VOILA!
Mama Reed’s Tea Cakes
1 C butter or margarine
1 C sugar
3 eggs
3 1/2 C self rising flour
1 tsp vanilla
Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and mix again. Add vanilla and flour and mix well. Roll thin on floured board, cut with cookie or biscuit cutter. Bake at 350 for ten minutes. Sprinkle with sugar while warm or ice with simple icing.
Simple Icing
2 T softened butter or margarine
1/2 C Confectioner’s sugar
2 Tablespoons milk (can add another if needed)
1 tsp vanilla
Few drops food coloring
Cut butter into confectioner’s sugar. Add milk and stir until lumps are gone. Add one teaspoon of vanilla and a few drops of food coloring, stir until combined. Spoon onto cookies or tea cakes and spread with back of spoon. Top with sprinkles while still wet, if desired. Let dry before stacking.
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This has absolutely nothing to do with cooking or Southern Plate but I thought you moms might appreciate it!!
We’ve all come down with our first good coughing cold of the season and my husband came home from Wal Mart with a real gem!!!
Now keep in mind, I am a veteran of Robotussin ~shudders~, which likely holds the record for most disgusting taste in the history of mankind. Think I’m kidding? Go buy a bottle and try it. Better yet, get some and wait until your spouse is dead asleep but coughing in the middle of the night. Now wake him/her up and say “Here honey, take this” and pour it down his or her mouth before they realize what hit them. THATS WHAT MY MOTHER USED TO DO TO US!!
Alright, I have a point here. We have discovered a Cough syrup that actually WORKS for TWELVE hours and tastes GOOD. Seriously, it tastes good! I’m not saying it “doesn’t taste bad”, but that it tastes good! Kids will actually LIKE this stuff! Lord, I’ve been using it and it works like a miracle cure! I am posting a photo of the box (that I had to look up on the internet because I gave the actual box to my mother so she could get some) so you will know just what to get. Its so hard when your kids are sick and coughing their little hearts out and then you have to try to force them to take this horrid medicine. This is just a life saver. I thought it was a little expensive (close to ten dollars for the bottle), but once I tasted it I knew it was well worth the money. I just took two teaspoons this afternoon and my cough has been completely gone (it was horrible all day today).
Anyway, I just wanted to share this with you because it really is amazing and I know those of us with little kids nee
d all the help we can get when they are sick!
It is Delsym Grape Twelve Hour for Kids, but adults just take two teaspoons of it. I’m not sure what the adult version tastes like, but I’m sticking with the good stuff!
I hope y’all had a great day today (its evening for me right now) and have a great day tomorrow as well! I’m getting ready for my Katy’s fourth birthday party this weekend and we are so excited!
Thank you so very much for taking the time to read Southern Plate!
Gratefully,
Christy
Be sure to check out the latest edition of the Carnival of Simple Family Favorites over at Mommy’s Kitchen!
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Those look wonderful! I know what I’m going to make the next time I’m hankerin’ after cookies (oh, now you have me typin’ like a southern gal)! And I’ll be sure to treat them very special, because they’re such special cookies.
I made the maple-mustard glazed chicken from your cookbook for dinner tonight (actually the recipe was for cornish hens, but I used chicken thighs). That glaze is amazing stuff! The chicken was fantastic, and we didn’t even turn the pan drippings into gravy like we usually do. We just spooned the drippings right over our mashed potatoes and used them to dip our bread! I won’t be posting it, I didn’t take pictures and I don’t know how you feel about people posting recipes from your book that aren’t on your blog. But I wanted to let you know that I tried the recipe and it turned out fantastic!
Hey Stephanie! That recipe was actually one of Granny Jordan’s. It was in her recipe box with “Very good” written on it. She used to always write a little review of each recipe along with the dates she made it and who she made it for. If Granny Jordan put “very good” on something, you knew it was a good one!
You are so considerate about posting the recipe but its really fine with me if you want to post things you’ve tried from the cookbook, but that is very sweet of you to fret over it! I’m pretty easy about things and you know how I am about sharing recipes! LOL
Christy
Cool, good to know. Next time I do one of your recipes, I’ll go ahead and take pictures so I can post it, and then I’ll send people over here so they can buy your book!
I have to agree with your Granny Jordan’s review. That recipe was “very good.”
Good Morning Christy, Those Tea Cakes are beautiful with or without the frosting. My oldest son would love these, he is a big sugar cookie fan he only loves sugar on them so i think this would be perfect and a nice change.
The cough syrup story made me laugh. When we were kids mother used to buy the vicks formula 44D IKES we hated it as kids she opened the bottle poured it into a pot and added lemon and honey and wared it up. Then poured it back into the pot and made us kids drink it!!!! ugh it was always hard to swallow even with all the lemon and honey. We always ran when we saw her pull that pot out and put that cough syrup on the counter. She also used to warm oil and then put it in our ear for a ear ache LOL i so remember that one. all kidding aside Delsym is the best i discovered it a long time ago its the one cough med my kids will take. I cant hold my kids down like mama did with the old vicks formula 44D, my mama must of been a strong lady LOL my kids can squirm.
Those are SOOOOOO cute!! I LOVE serving teas, so I’m definitely going to have to make these!
Stephanie Hey! Thank you, that would be great!!! I appreciate all of the kind things you do for me!
Tina you know what is funny? We gave our son an old laptop but restricted it so that he can only access certain websites (he thinks its horrible that he can’t even use google!). This morning at six o clock he darts out of his room “Where are the tea cakes? I just read about them and I have to have them!”. I even quizzed him “Who used to make these? How many kids did she have?” He really had read this post well! LOL!
Thank goodness for Delsym! Your mother was much kinder than mind, at least she TRIED to make it taste better! LOL
Katie Oh I just love every time I see that name! I do hope you get to try these, they are so very different from what you are used to! thank you so much for taking the time to comment!!!
I hope y’all are having a great day!!! I’m off to my son’s school for a bit and then back home to try to catch up on replying to these great comments!!!
Christy
Oh Christy, that was a beautiful post. I have always tried to pass on what I knew about recipes on to my girls. The greatest part was when their friends would come over and they would get so excited telling them what I said!! Those cookies made my mouth water. With or without frosting. I also love a cookie that is soft and not so sweet.
I am a HUGE fan of Delsym. Even at the age my girls are, I still cant help but hover over them when they are sick. I guess you just never get past that as a mother. I hope you have a wonderful day!
P.S. Those BBQ sundaes from the previous post are genius! As a life long southerner I thought I had BBQ everyway you could but that was mouth-watering…I bet you guys had a fun day with that!!
Christy, thanks for the tea cake recipe. I can’t wait to try it. I have searched for years for one that was like my mother’s and like my husband’s great grandmother William’s. These look great. Keep up the good work, your recipes are great.
I love your site and the recipes are amazing. I’m going to be famous for that apple pie!
But I subscribed to the email recipe thing and they come in all scrambled. Like text all over pictures and pictures all cut up…
I don’t know what the problem is but I’m just having to delete them – impossible to read. I’m not really complaining because I just copy/paste the recipes I want to save from your website (which I visit every morning!) but I thought you might want to know that something is weird there.
Hey Joan! hehe, I think I will always hover over my kids, too, poor things! There is just something about a sick child that makes you want to cradle them in your arms! I’m so glad you enjoyed the post!! Thank you!!!!!
Anonymous 1 Yay! I hope you get to try this soon and I hope it is just what you wanted!! Thank you so much for commenting AND reading!!
Anonymous 2 Hey! I am so sorry about he emails. My feeds are automated through feedburner and except for the recipe one I sent out personally, they just all go out on their own. I have looked on feedburner and haven’t been able to find anyone else having his problem, However I have had three other readers tell me they have experienced this as well. I will email feedburner tonight and see if I can get a response.
Does anyone know how to fix this problem or have any advice for me? It would be greatly appreciate!
Thank you os much for your kindness and understanding!
Gratefully,
Christy
mmmmm..I love tea cakes. My mom always makes them for work and drops me off a few!
I am soooo scared to give my kiddos cough syrup now..I guess there was a big study on it(it was on the Today show this week), and it is REALLY dangerous. I dont remember all of the details, but they basically said DONT give it to kids. Hmmm..that sucks cause I cant stand when my kids are coughing all night!
I love tea cakes. My grandmother used to make them all the time. Oh, and you have an award over at my place when you get a chance to drop by. http://www.thepost-itplace.com
I love your blog makeover!! So cute!! I will have to give these little tea cakes a try . . . they remind me of these pink frosted cookies I loved growing up. They were very light tasting cookies but I still called them cookies so I will have to try it out and see.
brady-I wana munch on a tea cake ma.
Hello!
I had to stop by and tell you that I made your tea cakes (icing and all.) My husband kept telling me to STOP giving them away. I never gave a single one to anyone (it was the kids and him that kept getting into them! Ok, me too..hee..hee..)
Anyway, I just wanted to say they turned out great!
I’ll try to do a post about them on my blog sometime this week at
bricoreandfamily.blogspot.com
(it’s just hard to get to it right now because I have a hurt old goat that I am caring for.)
Thanks again for the recipe,
Dora Renee’ Wilkerson
Why would only “moms” be interested in this information? I think everyone, no matter their gender, would need this information. Could we please stop stereotyping and assuming that only mothers are caregivers? Please!
Yes honey, we’ll stop assuming that if it makes you happy. It’s really not all that bad now, is it?
Try smiling, it does help.
You are so nice and sweet that it’s kind of amazing you got even one of these grumpy comments.
But you did a great job responding. My cousin always says that she has a PhD in “Southern B****” but I never had the pleasure of seeing sweet and sassy in action until now. It’s gratifying to know that ladies, such as yourself, are real nice, but can also stand up for themselves. Good for you!
Ciao bella!
/ Leslie I wish my mom still made tea cakes!!! These days she leaves most of the baking to me. My kids call Nilla Wafers “grandmamma cookies”! LOL
I hadn’t heard that about the cough syrup, wow! I’ll have to go look it up!
Jillybean oh wow, THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! I am hoping to have my awards page up soon and I’ll be sure and put that in my next newsletter!! Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Holly Thank you! Your pink frosted cookies sound like the same thing as this. They are a lot like those soft soft sugar cookies folks get at Wal Mart now, too! Let me know!
Brady Thank you, baby. I’ll make you more really soon and surprise you after school with them one day!
Dora LOL! I am so THRILLED they all liked them so much!!!! I was kind of worried that folks might not like these as much as I do because they are not very sweet and most people are used to sweet sweet desserts. YAY! Let me know if you get to post about them and thank you so much for even thinking about it!!!! You are so sweet!!!
Awww, poor goat! We actually had a pet goat when we were little at one time! I hope it gets to feeling better soon!
Anonymous (again) Mothers are natural caregivers by mere biology although it is wonderful to see so many others stepping into those shoes and doing an excellent job. My goodness though, you’ve either had a very difficult day or being a caregiver makes you quite tense, doesn’t it? Relax, honey. As they say, “Don’t take life too seriously, you’ll never get out of it alive anyway.”
How about some nice sweet tea or a piece of pie or something ?
Thanks all of y’all!!!
Christy
These look like love yummy (but awful for you) sugar cookies that all the grocery stores sell. You know, the ones that melt in your mouth and have piles of frosting on them? Mmmmmm!
“Now keep in mind, I am a veteran of Robotussin ~shudders~, which likely holds the record for most disgusting taste in the history of mankind. Think I’m kidding? Go buy a bottle and try it.”
I would actually like to suggest that “Buckley’s” medicine is the worst tasting and smelling concoction known to mankind. It’s actually advertised that way, too. Get a bottle of Buckleys, and your kids will NEVER fake being sick again! I’m not kidding, either.
It’s funny, the story about the two sisters and the rolling pins. My younger sister and I both think we have out Mom’s first rolling pin. I have a feeling that one of us have our grandmother’s rolling pin, as they are both obviously old ones. All wood ones. One of them has red handles and the other one, green handles.
What is the substitute for the self-rising flour? You didn’t post it at the bottom.
OMG I LOVE tea cakes. They are so good and I’m so glad to have this recipe. Thank you!
They go great with a glass of cold milk or coffee or even lemonade or something like that. Mmm!
Christy,
I just stepped back 40 years into my great Aunt Jimmie’s kitchen of her dog trot house out in north Mississippi…it’s been that long since I’ve had tea cakes…OMG! these look a lot fancier than Aunt Jimmie’s but they have that same “soft and pillowy” look to them that hers did. I’m a big boy and I always loved those tea cakes because she made them HUGE! Love your site and all the recipes!
These look like the soft sugar cookies sold in Walmart.
True tea cakes have neither icing nor sprinkles.
Hey Southern Sunshine,
*your* teacakes may not have icing or sprinkles, but mine and my Mama Reed’s do. ~grins and winks~
Go have a great day now, its a beautiful world!
Gratefully,
Christy
Thank you for the Tea Cake Recipe, I don’t cook much
but I had to make these because my Grandmother made them for me when I came to visit her! Everyone that tried them loved them last night!
Hi Christy. ROAR LIONS! I hope I got the right info—a UNA girl? I’m a former Willy Cat myself
I love that you posted the teacake recipe. My Grandmother used to make these for my aunt (6mos. younger than I am) and me, when I spent my annual 2 weeks with them every summer. I didn’t get her recipe and now she’s gone. I’ll use yours and remember her with love. thank you.
Very good cookies. I agree with some of the other comments that some cinnamon or other flavoring would be great. Thanks for the recipe.
Loved reading about these teacakes and rollin pin. Growing up, we had an elderly neighbor who ALWAYS had teacakes in the cookie jar. When I got off the school bus in the afternoons I stopped by her house first to get a cookie..or two…or three…some milk and some conversation. Your post brought back good memories and I can’t wait to try the recipe!
I made a batch of these today, for teacher gifts, and I started out rolling them thin, but they didn’t look anything like the ones in your photos. How thick do you roll yours out? I’m curious, because I was rolling the 1/4″ thick to get the look I had in mind.
Regardless, they’ll all get eaten – thin, crispy ones, too!
thanks
so much for this recipe, i`m 40 something and i remember my Momma
baking these tea cookies, oh the smell of her baking….. these was so awesome!!!!!!!!! she baked these cookies when we came home from school, she iced them with chocalate fudge icing oh my, i`ve never forgotten the smell and taste. one huge problem, she didn`t have enough time to bake them enough, the recipe long forgoten. i must remake these memories. i wished i could write my own cookbook to finacially help us. much needed.
thankya, from cullman on the FARM
KAREN H.