Frosted Tea Cakes

Frosted Tea Cakes

There's a childlike glee in me when I see cookies; my eyes widen  and my mouth becomes an O, and all my senses rush to tell me, these are going to be so good! 

And these are very good, far better than a look-alike, store-bought version, in my opinion.  Tender, thick, oh-so-buttery, moreishly good.  Plus, they're pretty. Pink frosting and sprinkles brings out my inner child.  Can you say tea party?

The first day the cookie part seemed a tad dry and crumbly and I was disappointed, but on the second and subsequent days, these become what they are meant to be, soft and sweet and delectable.  The recipe made 18 good-sized cookies for us, and lasted an entire week in a tightly covered container.  Grins, we are adults here after all and had to show restraint.  

Frosted Tea Cakes

For the cookie: 

1 cup sugar 

1/2 cup butter, softened to room temp 

2 eggs 

1/2 cup sour cream 

2 teaspoons vanilla extract 

3 cups all purpose flour 

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 

1/2 teaspoon baking soda 

1/2 teaspoon salt (reduce to 1/4 tsp if using salted butter)

For the frosting

 2 cups confectioner's sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

1 tablespoons milk or more for desired spreading consistency**

1/2 cup butter, softened to room temperature

Tiny drops of food coloring if you wanted tinted frosting

Sugar sprinkles
  
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. 

In a large mixing bowl and using your hand mixer or the bowl of your standup mixer, cream together 1/2 cup softened butter with 1 cup sugar and mix for a couple of minutes until smooth.  Add in sour cream, eggs, and vanilla and mix well. 

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. (I used a 4-cup measuring cup and sifted directly into the measuring cup using a fine strainer.)  Slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet and mix well. Measure rounded tablespoonfuls of dough for each cookie and roll into a smooth ball.  You should have something about the size of a walnut.  Place on ungreased cookie sheets (I lined with parchment paper), making sure to leave a good 1 inch between each cookie as these will rise and spread. Lightly flatten the dough a bit and gently reshape into a circle if needed.

Bake for 11-12 minutes, then immediately remove from the oven. The cookies will appear underbaked a bit but this is what you want. Carefully transfer the cookies to a cooling rack and repeat the process until all of the dough is gone.  

To make the frosting, beat butter with a mixer for about 30 seconds, then add in powdered sugar, one cup at a time. Add in vanilla and 1-2 tablespoons of milk and mix until light and fluffy.  Add food coloring (if using) in sparing drops, mixing well after each couple of drops to attain the color that you want.  Use a knife to slather each cookie with frosting.

If you're going to use sprinkles, I find the best way is to put the sprinkles in a small plate and gently press each cookie as it's frosted into the sprinkles.  The frosting tends to dry and the sprinkles will not adhere easily if you wait to the end and just try to pour them on.

Cook's Notes:

I measured my dry ingredients into a 4-cup measuring cup, with a fine mesh sieve.  

Try to resist the impulse of flattening these cookies too much.  They are intended to be a little thick and not a wafer cookie.

Believe it or not, no milk in the house, and I substituted milk in the frosting for half and half.  In the past I've used light cream and even whipping cream. The substitution makes for a richer tasting frosting; yes, it probably adds calories but in for a dime, in it for a dollar, I say.  No regrets.