Iced Tea Cakes: My Favorite Christmas Cookies
This post is part of a virtual cookie exchange hosted by Staci Troilo, so please check out the other amazing recipes here!
When I think of the classic Christmas cookie of my childhood, only one kind comes to mind: an iced tea cake. Or, more accurately, a round metal tin full of them. Every family has their own Christmas cookie of choice, and iced tea cakes are ours. My great aunt Donna made countless tea cakes every year and always brought a tin or two of them to our family gathering. I grew up devouring them one by one on Christmas Eve, sneaking back to the buffet table and reaching into the tin for “just one more” all evening. Now I make them for my family and share them with friends whenever I can, or else Christmas just doesn’t feel (or taste) the same!
If you want to make iced tea cakes, make sure you have a few hours to dedicate to them. You’ll need to make the dough, let the dough chill, cut the dough into cookies, bake them, and decorate them. I think they’re worth the effort, especially since I only make them in December!
What you’ll need! (Though you will need more butter and eggs than what is shown)
Ingredients
Butter
Sugar
Eggs
Buttermilk
Vanilla
Baking powder
Baking soda
Salt
Flour
Powdered sugar
Milk (Whatever kind you have. I had soy milk!)
Red and green food coloring
Sprinkles (Optional)
Tools You’ll Need
Stand mixer
Spatula
Cookie cutters
Medium bowl
Whisk
Rolling pin
Sifter
Cookie sheets
Parchment paper
Plastic wrap
Cooling racks
Making the tea cakes
1. Start by creaming the butter and sugar in the stand mixer with the paddle attachment.
2. Add the eggs one at a time and mix until combined.
3. Add the buttermilk and vanilla and mix until incorporated.
4. Mix in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until a dough is formed.
5. Shape the dough into two discs and wrap them in plastic wrap. Chill for a few hours. (It’s much easier to cut out shapes when the dough has been chilled and can hold its shape.
6. When you’re ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 375F.
7. One disc of dough at a time, roll the dough out on a floured surface. I like to make mine about half a centimeter thick but if you like a crispier cookie you can do them a little thinner.
8. Use your cookie cutters to shape the cookies and put them on the cookie sheets lined with parchment paper. Growing up, these cookies were always big circles, so if you want a classic round cookie shape use a jar or drinking glass!
9. Bake each tray of cookies for 8-10 minutes. The time will vary based on how thick the cookies are and how soft you want them. I like mine quite soft, so I pull them out of the oven when they are still pale with the slightest touch of gold around the edges. If you want a more crispy cookie, take them out when they are visibly golden around the edges.
They should look like this if you want a more firm cookie!
10. Transfer the cookies to cooling racks with parchment paper underneath.
11. When the cookies are cooling, make the icing by sifting the powdered sugar and whisking it with the vanilla and milk. The icing should be runny enough to spread but not so thin that it will slide right off the cookies. You can play around with the consistency by adding more powdered sugar or more milk.
12. If you want both red and green icing, divide the icing into two bowls or cups and mix in the food coloring.
13. Ice the cookies by spooning the icing into the cookies and spreading it around. This will inevitably get messy, and that’s what the parchment paper is for!
14. Get creative! Swirl the icing together with a toothpick to create a marbled look or add sprinkles of your choice. These can be as crazy or classic as you want. I happen to love both.
Here’s how mine turned out!
The classic iced tea cake of my childhood. I love remembering Aunt Donna in this way. Mine will never be as good as hers were!
I hope these cookies bring you as much joy as they bring me each year! Merry Christmas!