Butter and sugar can look combined after a minute or two, but Corinne Griffith doesn’t stop there when making her old-fashioned tea cakes. She creams them for five to seven minutes.
That extended mixing comes before the eggs, vanilla, flour, or baking powder. Griffith points to the step as key to the soft texture she wants from these Southern-style tea cakes.
Butter and Sugar Get Up to 7 Minutes
Start with one cup of softened unsalted butter and 1½ cups granulated sugar.
Cream them together for five to seven minutes, until the mixture is light and fluffy. The goal isn’t just to combine the two ingredients.
Creaming incorporates air into the butter mixture, which Griffith credits with helping the tea cakes develop their soft texture.
Eggs Go in One at a Time
Once the butter and sugar have had their full mixing time, add three room-temperature eggs.
Beat in one egg at a time, mixing before adding the next. Stir in one tablespoon of vanilla extract after the eggs.
Lemon or almond extract can replace the vanilla if you want to change the flavor.
Flour Goes in After the Wet Ingredients
Whisk three cups of all-purpose flour with two teaspoons baking powder and ¼ teaspoon salt in a separate bowl.
Add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture in stages.
Don’t expect a firm cookie dough at this point. Griffith describes it as soft and a little sticky. If it becomes difficult to scoop, she recommends chilling it for 15 to 20 minutes.
The Dough Doesn’t Need to Be Rolled Out
There’s no rolling pin or cookie cutter required for this version.
Drop rounded tablespoons of dough onto greased or parchment-lined baking sheets, leaving about two inches between them.
A cookie scoop can help keep the portions close in size so they bake at the same rate.
She Takes Them Out While the Centers Are Still Pale
Bake the tea cakes at 375°F for seven to eight minutes.
Don’t wait for the entire cookie to turn golden. The edges should just begin to pick up color while the centers remain soft and pale.
That short baking window matters because Griffith warns against overbaking them.
Transfer the finished tea cakes to wire racks and let them cool.
Seven minutes of creaming may feel long compared with the seven or eight minutes the cookies spend in the oven, but it’s part of the method. Griffith gives the butter and sugar time at the beginning, then keeps the bake short enough to leave the centers pale and soft.
Do you cream butter and sugar for a full five to seven minutes, or stop once they look combined?
Image credits to chefmaniac
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