From my recipe box, I pulled this treasure, from my Great-grandmother on my Dad’s side, Grandmother’s Tea Cookies. She was English, although spent many years in Shanghai, China, where my Grandmother was born, but from the looks of the recipe, it sounds like she took her Englishness with her over the ocean.
For this week’s Vintage Recipe Thursday, I offer:
Grandmother’s Tea Cookies
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 Tablespoon white sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 cup of flour
- 2 small teaspoons of baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- Dash of cinnamon and nutmeg
Mix all together and add any kinds of raisins, dates and nuts or just coconut (typed exactly as it appears on the card!)
No baking instructions, I might guess 350F for 8-10 minutes.
May 29th, 2009 at 2:42 am
I’m finally here and your link is up.
It sounds like an adventurous life, especially for so many years ago and for white women. These would still be the days of foot-binding like in the “Inn of the Sixth Happiness,” only perhaps even earlier.
June 1st, 2009 at 5:40 pm
Hi Gudrun — Yes, this is your Dad chiming in with a comment. I’m honored to have you place one of my family’s heritage recipes in your Thuresday recipe post. The Great-Grandmother referred-to is Lizzie Jean _____, who married Geoge Arthur _____, then went off to China as both medical (MD) and religious (DD) missionaries. Their arrival would have been about 1890, and departure from China about 1924. Their 7 children were born in China, including your Grandmother, Gladys_____. As a side note to the recipe, all of the butter and flour that they had was imported in tins from Australia or New Zealand. Those were the days before refrigeration!!