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109082
Fancy calling biscuits 'Tea Cakes". :-)
I live in Australia and a Tea Cake to me is a small sponge like cake Usually made by beating the heck out of the egg white to make it all fluffy then adding the other ingredients and usually topping it with melted butter + cinnamon & sugar once it is cooked. Yummy!
The biscuits look like my Pusher Biscuits - recipe from high school days.
Live & learn it is a big world.
by toogie
03 Feb 2014
No they are a cookie not a biscuit. They do get hard as they cool,better right out of the oven.I always wondered what an 'English' tea cake was.
1941Hi Toogie, Thank you so much for this but I have to ask - what is shortening? Is it like lard that they use for baking in UK? Sorry to be so dumb!!!!!
by AltaRoos
31 Jan 2014
shortening is any kind of fat suitable for cooking puroses- usually margarine or butter:- excluding all the lite / spread variations
by bevintex
31 Jan 2014
no it's not
Lard is animal (pig) fat, and shortening is vegetable fat. Lard is not used much anymore because it is very high in saturated fat.
by spendlove
31 Jan 2014
Here in UK we can buy "vegetable lard" - I suppose it is just white shortening.
by joansatx
01 Feb 2014
Shortening, butter, and margarine do not cook and bake equally. Googling will probably give a better explanation than I. I know to be careful substituting.
by cfidl
01 Feb 2014
Now I am all confused. So lard can be plant or animal in the UK and shortening can be plant or animal in the US. makes a lot of sense. To me shortening was the new word for lard.
253107Here in England "tea-cakes" are a fruited bread bun which is often served toasted (On a toasting fork in front of an open fire if you are lucky.) They are delicious. Yours look good as well - more like our shortbread although that doesn't have eggs in
by spendlove
31 Jan 2014
Sorry, I make a lot of different breads but I'm not so hot on fruited ones. They always come out rather heavy.
140717My grandmother made Tea cakes. Otherwise, her cooking was unremarkable. She overcooked all her veggies in the Southern way, and Papa lived to be 96 by eating very little at the table, then going to the kitchen and pouring all the "pot-likker" (liquids) in a tall glass and drinking it like medicine. He got ALL our vitamins.
66546Oh my goodness! My grandma used to make "tea cakes" & my papaw would say to me "Go in there & get us one of those tea cakes." He knew Grandma would fuss at him, but not me!! I'm going to give them a try! Sweet memories. thank you!
35675Wow! What a gem. I love heirloom recipes. I usually make scratch recipes using Plain White Lily flour, but I will buy self-rising White Lily flour just to make it authentic. Can't wait to try them. Kay
by toogie
30 Jan 2014
My hubby thinks someone changed it to self-rising,along the way.He said he thought it was originally plain flour, is why they put baking soda.He does put the b.soda but he says he uses 1/2 teaspoon.I didn't know until I asked him,after his nap.
by katydid
30 Jan 2014
yes , it is and when I moved from East Tennessee to Savannah, GA. in 1970 the stores did not carry it. For a while, I would buy it each time we traveled back and forth and finally got a grocery store to stock it. It is made from Winter wheat and is the very best for baking . Kay
85867They look really yummy!!
by toogie
30 Jan 2014
Mary,it is so funny.When Lanie was about 5, she ask,'Gram,who made these cookies?' I told her 'Papa did',to which she replied,'he sure can't make good cookies!' -LOL ...They were good but to her,because they are not real sweet,she thought they weren't good.
33871I just wrote it down .I have a wooden pie board hand made by amish that I was given about 25 years ago.It's used to knead bread,roll dough etc. Almost had a heart attack when my brother thought it was a meat chopping board and had the biggest knife he could find to cut a brisket. I quickly steered him right.
Bev
by toogie
30 Jan 2014
I don't blame you.Can you take a photo? I love old things,that's why I keep my husband-LOL
67271There isn't any vanilla in these? Mine has vanilla, baking soda plus b. powder and regular flour.. A 92 yr. old lady gave me the recipe. Very good cookies thanks dee
by toogie
30 Jan 2014
Dee-My hubby just woke from his nap,wore himself out, poor thing.Anyway, he said he believed the original recipe did use Plain flour and someone changed it over the years.He also said,even tho he uses self-rising,he adds only 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda,the self-rising has some in it already.
29242My mother used to make them and they were so good we were poor and never had bought cookies this was the only kind of cookie we ever had.
loved them wish I had her recipe but it was in her head and she took it with her.
Lenamae
Hugs Lenamae
by toogie
30 Jan 2014
Maybe this is something like hers.My husband came from a family of 12 kids,he is #11 and this is an old recipe....His grandfather had 24 kids! Notice I said his g-father.His first wife died when last was 3 months old,and he remarried.One wife had 11 one 13, but he fed and raised 24,one of which was my husbands' dad.Mind you, this was when people fended for themselves,worked hard and no government help...I joked with my husband when he wanted to marry me.I told him,his father halved his grandfathers 24 and had 12. If he thought I was going to half his fathers 12, by halving 6, he better recalculate.lol We had 3, so I guess you could say we quartered it.-LOL Thanks for the memories-Toogie
32767Carolyn and other Cuties-You will have to,at some point,get in there with your clean hands,because the dough gets too thick for the mixer.
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by lenamae
30 Jan 2014
thanks toggie I love these and I will make some. really my mom made them with her hands but I thought she put buttermilk in hers.. we would come home from school and she would have a great big pan full of them and we could get some and eat oh my we thought we were in heaven.
Lenamae
by toogie
30 Jan 2014
Lenamae, when my kids were coming in from school,I would have them something hot out of the oven,on a cold day.I used to make a coffeecake/struddle that my son mentionedand he liked,not long ago.He's 43,and he remembers,that's nice to know. I also, when it was hot,would have a freezer of ice cream going,when they came in.My husband came in at that time too,since he worked at school.They remember that too.
109082Can we bake these please ??So i would need the recipe right???Is it possible lol hugs Carolyn
by toogie
30 Jan 2014
Light you oven! then scroll here to get your recipe.He doesn't give this recipe to just anyone,it's a family secret,but I told him NOBODY goes on Cute-LOL LOL
by noah
30 Jan 2014
welll i am a no body ok Tell him thanks ,i will let u know how i make out and thank-you :):)
by toogie
30 Jan 2014
You are NOT a no body,I didn't mean that.I am so sorry, that's not what I meant. I just was joking with him.-Toogie
by cfidl
31 Jan 2014
OK safe, I am going to make them. I love the pecan idea and I wonder what other goodies would go well. I put dried cherries and pineapple in my Christmas banana bread to make a pseudo fruit cake. Lol!
360438I make old fashioned tea cakes, too. Sometimes I ice mine if I want a sweeter one. This is my icing recipe for them, if you want to try it sometime.
Icing
• 1 stick melted butter
• 1 box (1 lb) of powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 7 Tbsp milk
1. Melt 1 stick butter over low heat.
2. Add full box powdered sugar.
3. Add milk and vanilla, mix.
I just use a plain cookie cutter and don't have anything as fancy as yours. ;)
by toogie
30 Jan 2014
You are so funny! Thanks for the icing. I don't want to gain,what I just lost,so I better not eat too many of these with icing..-Toogie
by jrob
30 Jan 2014
Yes, this icing will work for lots of things. Just cool your cookies before icing. There's a lady in my town who bakes these for Christmas and individually bags them and sells them for $1.00. She makes 100s every year.
by cfidl
31 Jan 2014
I have been just adding milk and sugar as I go. I will have to try to measure and see if I like it better. Thank you Jeri and toogie!
158560Joan-Photos added of funnel he uses,for the perfect circle.This is an old funnel I use, when I put my figs and such,into their jars,when canning.
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by katydid
30 Jan 2014
Men always seem to find something in a drawer and make do. I'll bet if you bought him a cookie cutter or biscuit cutter that he would not use it.
by haleymax
30 Jan 2014
I have one just like this.
My grandmother made these for us. Sweet memories.
109082I would like to reach through the screen here and eat some! Are the slice and bake or cutouts? They are beautiful circles!
by toogie
30 Jan 2014
Oh,I'm not telling him you thought they might be slice and bake,tube cookies.-LOL he'd have a heartattack-LOL Did you not read above????He uses an aluminium canning funnel,I have,to cut them out so perfect.He likes home cooking,no package stuff for him.Hey,it's okay with me,cause he cleans his mess up.
by joansatx
30 Jan 2014
Ha! When I was typing, I saw the one and only comment below! So much has been added since. wow! You've created quite a stir.......You are always generous with your life and I thank you with many others for all you give. Joan
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