MAMMAW THOMPSON'S TEA CAKES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. 1. Blend margarine (or butter)and sugar until creamy. 2. Beat eggs and blend into sugar mixture.. 3. Add vanilla, then flour, and blend into mixture. (You can blend the ingredients with a potato masher - especially helpful for young children - then stir with a long wooden spoon.) 4. Gather the mixture into a loose ball and sprinkle lightly with flour. Lightly flour the surface you'll use for rolling, then roll out the dough. 5. Next remove about half of the dough onto the cutting surface and roll it out with a rolling pin to a thickness of about 1/4 inch. 6. Cut circles in the dough with a tea cup, glass, or cookie cutter about 2-3 inches in diameter. (Dip the rim of the cup in flour between cuttings to prevent the dough from sticking.) 7. Place the circles on a baking sheet that has been lightly buttered or use a nonstick baking sheet. 8. Set the cookies about 1 inch apart on all sides. 9. Sprinkle (turbinado) sugar lightly over each cookie. 10.Repeat for the second half of the dough. (Refrigerate the dough if it will sit for more than ten minutes. Chilled dough is easier to roll out and cut.) 11. Place the cookies in the preheated 375 degree oven for about 15 minutes. The cookies are done when they are lightly browned. 12. Remove them from the oven and let them cool a little before you lift them off the baking sheet to eat them.