Jackson Free Press

When she was alive, Polkville, Miss., resident Anna Franklin used her teacakes to comfort the bereaved. "Everybody who went into the coffee room at Ott and Lee Funeral Home in Morton knew Anna Franklin had been there," my mom said. "She brought teacakes to the funeral home every time she heard about a death in the community."

My grandmother added that Mrs. Franklin has shipped teacakes to people in the service.

Sometimes, comfort food becomes famous in a community. Such is the case of these teacakes. Franklin passed away, but her recipe for teacakes has lingered on, shared by generation after generation of Crossroads, Miss., cooks.

Mrs. Franklin was happy to pass on her recipe to anyone who wanted it. Anyone in Crossroads who doesn't know the recipe already can probably call someone who does or who knows someone with the recipe.

Once, I inadvertently sparked a family controversy when I mentioned substituting butter for Crisco and shortening the baking time.
My grandmother shook her head disapprovingly at this heresy. "You're supposed to use Crisco," she said. "That's what the recipe calls for. And I don't time mine. I watch them to see how brown they're getting."

My stepfather jumped in. "Did they turn out OK with the butter?" He asked. "You know, I never thought about using butter."

Yes, I said, I had tried butter instead, and they came out wonderful. Sadly, I had left the evidence of my success at home in their sealed plastic containers. The only consensus we reached was that these teacakes are a local treasure and so addictive that nobody can consume just one.

Here is my version of Anna Franklin's cherished teacake recipe. Bless her soul! I can certainly say I owe her a debt of gratitude.

Mrs. Franklin's Teacakes

1-1/2 cups organic sugar
1/2 cup organic unsalted butter (1 stick), softened
2 organic, free-range eggs
2-1/3 cups self-rising flour
1 teaspoon vanilla flavoring

With a pastry cutter, cream butter and sugar in a large bowl until the mixture reaches a flaky consistency. In a smaller bowl, beat the eggs thoroughly with a wire whisk. Add eggs to the sugar and butter mixture. Stir in flour and vanilla until well blended.

Sprinkle a pastry mat or wax paper generously with flour to prevent dough from sticking. Roll out the dough to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut dough with cookie cutters. Repeat this step until all the dough is used. Place teacakes on a lightly greased cookie sheet, about 1/2-inch apart. Bake at 350 degrees. For softer teacakes, bake for nine minutes. For crispier, more golden teacakes, bake for 10 minutes.

Remove teacakes and cool on wire rack. Store in a sealed container.

Makes about 24 teacakes.