I know, I know, it’s beastly hot out and the thought of putting on the oven makes you want to do this 😂😂 but I promise you that the baking time for these delightful Southern Tea Cakes is so minimal that you can handle the heat!!

Plus, as my grandpa always claimed, drinking hot tea always cools you down, which seems counterintuitive, but sweating does make you cooler so…

Going with that logic, let’s make some little cakes. Now. really these are cookies—soft and cakey, but still definitely in the cookie camp, but to me calling them little cakes just feels so much more fun!!

Whatever you decide to call them, you are going to find them addictive. Every bite is tender, buttery and not-too-sweet with the beloved flavors of lemon and vanilla wafting through.

And they come together in no time at all! Which is about all we can handle now, right?

So brew up a pot of tea (ok, it can be iced if you just can’t imagine going the hot route) and bake up a batch asap. I just know that you and everybody you are generous enough to share them with is going to love them!

Southern Tea Cakes

Makes about 2 dozen

Prep Time: 12 minutes, plus at least 20 minutes chilling time; Bake Time: 8-10 minutes

Ingredients

• 3 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour

• ½ teaspoon baking soda

• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt

• 2 sticks (16 tablespoons) unsalted room temperature butter

• 1 ½ cups sugar

• 2 large eggs, room temperature

• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

• The finely grated zest of 1 large lemon

The Recipe

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt and set aside.

2. Use an electric mixer to beat the butter and sugar together for several minutes until it’s really light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula between additions and until eggs are well incorporated. Add in vanilla and lemon zest and mix only until just combined. On low speed, add the flour mixture in thirds, beating until just combined. Using your spatula, give the mixture a couple of good turns, making sure no flour is stuck to the bottom of the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 20 minutes, until the mixture seems firm enough to scoop. If after 20 minutes, it still feels too soft, let it go for another 10 and check.

3. Preheat the oven to 325ºF and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Drop the cookies using a small ice cream scoop (about 1 tablespoon) onto the prepared sheets with at least a couple of inches between them.

4. Bake the sheets one at a time for 8-10 minutes, reversing the sheet halfway through, until the cookies are pale golden at the edges. Let the cookies cool completely on the pan on a wire rack.

5. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week at room temperature.

Enjoy!

Note: Recipe adapted from Cheryl Day’s Treasury of Southern Baking. I left out the nutmeg and increased the lemon zest.