When people think of holiday baking, we all lean towards the fantastic candies and cookies that come with the season.
Whether its pecan fudge, divinity, breads or cookies. Everyone has a favorite holiday treat, but not everyone can actually make it. Some have the notion that if “Grandma” doesn’t make it, it won’t be the same. That rings a lot of truth.
For some of us, it doesn’t matter what we do, the recipe just doesn’t taste (or look) the same after we do it. I have had that very problem with my mother’s chocolate chip cookies. Her cookies always turn out exactly like a picture in a book, always! Mine?
Well, they have only turned out twice to resemble hers, but they weren’t quite there. The taste was the same but they sure didn’t look like hers did! I am an avid baker; I learned from my mother and have acquired some of her tricks along the way.

I am going to share a recipe that I think everyone would enjoy, as these are amazing cookies, but they are also like little cakes, just with no frosting.
These amazingly light cookies are called “Teacakes” and one of my father’s favorite cookies to this day. Usually when people hear the word teacake, they automatically picture the little white round cookies that come out a lot in the holiday season. These are called “Wedding Cake Cookies” or “Russian Teacakes”.
These teacakes are very light and simple. They do not have a lot of sweetness but it’s there. It’s just enough. This recipe has been handed down from my father’s side of my family for a long time.
I can tell you, from personal experience, if you make these too small, they will be hockey pucks. These are supposed to be big and fluffy cookies, so my suggestion is to use a large-mouth plastic cup for these. About a 32oz size is perfect.
I also suggest getting all the ingredients out and measured before you begin. This is a lot easier, especially if you are making these for the first time. You will also need a baking cloth or pastry cloth. It can’t be just a regular towel, like terry cloth, it has to be linen of some sort.
Nothing fancy or expensive, just a linen cloth. I can find a pack of 5 at Walmart for about $5.00.
Let’s get started!

Teacake
Ingredients
- 2 cups Sugar
- 1 tsp Baking soda
- 1 cup Butter milk store brand if fine
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract almond if you don’t like vanilla
- 1 cup shortening heaping-mound on the top
- 4 Eggs
- 3 tsp Baking powder
- 4 cups Flour sifted
Instructions
- You will need extra flour in a bowl to dip your cup top and baking cloth with so the dough doesn’t stick
Notes
Directions:



