I am so excited to add another Upstate New York Recipe to my collection! These Butter Tea Cookies from Oak Hill Country Club are buttery and mildly sweet, perfectly accented with a dollop of raspberry preserves.

Oak Hill Country Club

Oak Hill Country Club is kind of a big deal in the Rochester Area. The Landmark country club located in Pittsford, New York, is listed as being among the Top 100 Golf Courses in the United States. Founded in 1901, the club has hosted multiple major championships, including the 1995 Ryder Cup and is set to host the 2023 PGA Championship

While Oak Hill may best be known as a golfing venue, dining is taken just as seriously, with an on-site certified organic garden to supply fresh produce, and the World Class facilities, I am sure dining at Oak Hill is an experience unlike any other.

I have never dined at Oak Hill, so I was tickled pink to find a vintage Butter Tea Cookie recipe in the Meals on Wheels foundraising cookbook I recently picked up at Goodwill.

The recipe for Oak Hill Country Club’s Butter Tea Cookies comes from Vicki Licata, who was at the time the Executive Pastry Chef at Oak Hill Country Club.

“I have made this exact butter cookie my whole career, it’s wonderful and easy. Today it is a staple on my menu for the grill room at Oak Hill Country Club”
Executive Pastry Chef Vicki Licata

The cookies have a traditional shortbread flavor and texture. Due to the large amount of butter, they practically melt in your mouth, and combined with the bright flavor of a fruit preserve this is the perfect cookie to enjoy with a cup of coffee or tea.

A Tip For Easy Thumbprint Cookies

I recently discovered a neat trick for easily making consistently sized indentations in thumbprint cookies. . . without even having to use your thumb! Use the back of a rounded measuring spoon. It works like a charm, and leaves a round indentation perfect to fill with preserves.

Oak Hill Country Club's Butter Tea Cookies

Ingredients

1 lb. soft butter
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon rind
4 cups all-purpose flour
raspberry, apricot, or other flavored jam or fruit preserves
1/4 cup sliced almonds (optional)
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Instructions

In mixing bowl combine butter, sugar, vanilla, and lemon rind, Mix until smooth.
Add flour to the butter mixture and mix until well combined.
Scoop rounded tablespoons or use a mini ice cream scoop to form round balls of dough onto ungreased cookie sheet. Press a thumbprint into the center of each cookie and fill with your choice of flavored jam.
Bake at 350° degrees for approximately 8-10 minutes or until just barely starting to turn golden brown on the bottom edges.
Cool and decorate the the cookies with sliced almonds if desired.
Sift powdered sugar on top of the cookies.