Description

There is a deep history behind all of our recipes, but this one is very special to us because it started of our family baking tradition.  This recipe was passed down five (5) generations, and for this we pay homage to Delia Fatheree Zachary, the great grandmother of Myrtle Zachary, the owner of Ms. Myrtle’s Bakery Shoppe.

A bit of history about Tea Cakes: Outside the South, the name “tea cake” meant any cake that may be served with tea. But to Southerners, tea cakes are more than that. They are the nostalgic cookies—crispy and golden around the edges, soft and cake-like inside.  They may have a hint of lemon flavor, vanilla flavor, of course, and sometimes nutmeg.  Every recipe was specific to each family, as unique as DNA. It spoke about your family history. And like your most private secrets, you didn’t share it.  Tea cakes are most associated with the enslaved people of the South, who baked them for slaveholders—and for their own families, too. When many of them left the South after the Civil War, they took their recipes with them.  Tea Cakes have been baked and talked about in African American kitchens for generations.

Our Gourmet Cookies come individually packaged and sealed to preserve flavor and freshness.  To create a hot, out-of-the-oven experience, you have a few options: 1) cookies can be warmed in the microwave for 5-10 seconds, 2) they can be heated in a traditional over for 2 minutes at 375, 3) they can be frozen, and when you’re ready to enjoy , re-heat them for 20-30 seconds in the microwave or heat for 3 minutes at 350 degrees in a traditional oven.

To save our cookies for later, here are some tips: Do not refrigerate any of our sweets, as that will dry them out. Instead, store them in their original sealed packaging or an airtight container at room temperature for up to two weeks. For longer storage, they can be frozen in original sealed packaging for up to 6 months.