Barbaras Tea Cakes Cookies Food

BARBARA'S TEA CAKES (COOKIES)

Steps:

• Cream together sugar & shortening until fluffy.
• Add eggs & vanilla. Mix well.
• Sift dry ingredients together.
• Add alternately to mixing bowl with the milk.
• Beat until well mixed.
• Dump onto lightly floured surface & knead until dough is smooth.
• Place in sealed bag or covered bowl. Chill several hours.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Roll dough on floured surface taking care to not add too much flour. The thinner the cookie the crispier it will be. I prefer them softer so leave my dough about 1/4-1/3 inch thick.
• Cut as desired. Place on ungreased cookie sheets with room to expand. Rolling the scraps together take care to not overwork the dough. The additional flour makes the cookies tougher.
• Bake approx 10 minutes or until done & lightly brown. They should still be very white.
• Cool a few minutes & then remove to cookie racks to finish cooling before decorating.
• Glazing; Sift the powdered sugar to remove all lumps. Stir in the vanilla & the milk a tablespoon at a time. Whisk together until the desired consistency is reached. To use as a glaze I make it about the thickness of pancake batter. It is NOT spreadable like a frosting. Color as wanted to provide the background color.
• Lay the cookies as close as possible on wax paper. Spoon the glaze over the cookies sparingly. Use the spoon to smooth the glaze to the edges of the cookies. Let dry.
• If more decorating is planned the glaze does support both buttercream & royal icings.

TEACAKES

Steps:

• Warm the milk with the butter in a pan until the butter has melted, then add 100ml water to cool the mixture to room temp. Tip the flour, yeast, sugar, spice and 1 tsp salt into a bowl, making sure the yeast is on the other side of the bowl to the salt. Make a well in the flour mixture and pour the milk and butter in, mixing until it forms big flakes, then bring together with your hands. Tip on a surface and knead until smooth (about 5 mins). Put the dough into a large, lightly oiled bowl, cover with a damp tea towel and leave until doubled in size, so about 1-1 ½ hours.
• Line a tray with baking paper. Tip the mixed dried fruits into the dough and knead them in, trying to disperse them evenly throughout the dough. Cut your dough into 6 even-sized balls, take each ball and, using the cup of your hand, and pressing down a little with your palm, roll the ball in a circular motion on the surface to create tension across the top of the bun and a neat round shape. Place onto a tray about 5cm away from each other and press down with your palm to flatten the dough down a little, creating the teacake shape. Cover loosely with an oiled sheet of cling film, for a further 45 mins, or until they have doubled in size.
• Meanwhile, heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas mark 6. Brush the top of each bun liberally with the egg wash, then bake for 20 mins on the top shelf of the oven, until the buns are golden and well risen. Allow to cool on a wire rack, then slice in half, toast and slather with butter if you like.

BARBARA'S CARDAMOM COOKIES

Steps:

• Cream 1 cup butter and the granulated and brown sugars until fluffy.
• Add the egg yolk and 1 teaspoon vanilla, mix well.
• Stir in the flour, cardamom and salt.
• Spread in an ungreased 10 x 15" baking pan.
• Beat the egg white until bubbly but not forming peaks.
• Brush the dough with the egg white and sprinkle with the chopped nuts.
• Bake at 275°F for 1 hour.
• In a saucepan, melt the 1 1/2 Tablespoon butter until it browns slightly, remove from heat.
• Beat in 1 cup confectioner's sugar and the 1/2 teaspoon vanilla.
• Add enough milk to make a"drizzling" consistency.
• Drizzle on baked dough.
• Cut into bars.

TEA CAKE COOKIES

Steps:

• Beat the butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add the sugar, beating well. Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating until blended after each addition. Add the vanilla, beating until blended.
• Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, beating at low speed until blended.
• Divide the dough in half; wrap each portion in plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 hour.
• Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Roll half of the dough out to 1/4-inch thickness on a floured surface. Cut out cookies with a 2 1/2-inch round cutter, and place 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake until the edges begin to brown, 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the sheets and switching their positions halfway through baking time. Let cookies stand on baking sheets 5 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool. Repeat procedure with remaining dough.

TEA CAKE COOKIES

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients and preheat the oven to 350 F.
• Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat, or grease lightly.
• Combine the sugar and butter in a mixer bowl, beating until light and fluffy.
• Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
• In another bowl, combine the flour, ​baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt.
• Add the dry ingredients to creamed mixture and mix well.
• Shape the cookie dough into small balls and arrange on the prepared cookie sheet.
• Press flat with the bottom of a glass. Optional: Dip the glass in sugar before flattening each cookie and use a small square of parchment paper so the glass won't stick to the dough.
• Bake for 10 minutes.
• Serve and enjoy.

OLD-FASHIONED TEA COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°. In a bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Gradually add flour. Roll dough into 1-in. balls. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets; flatten slightly with fingers. , Bake until edges are golden brown, 17-20 minutes. Cool for 2 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely. Dust with confectioners' sugar.