In a bowl sift flour, baking powder, and salt, and set to the side. Using a standup or hand mixer, cream butter and shortening until fluffy. Mix in sugar until combined. Add in vanilla and egg until combined. Add in half of the flour mixture and mix for a few seconds, then scrape down the sides. Add in buttermilk and the remainder of the flour mixture and mix until combined. You don’t want to over-mix, it should only take a few seconds to combine.

Turn out the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap. The dough will be sticky. Form dough into a 2 inch disk, wrap, and refrigerate for at least an hour or freeze for 30 minutes. You want your dough to be very cold to prevent spreading.

Preheat oven to 325 and line the baking sheet.

Remove from the refrigerator and roll the dough until about 1/4 inch thick. I don’t like to flour my surface or rolling pin because I think it dries out the dough. Try rolling on parchment paper. Cut dough into the desired shape. I use a large biscuit cutter.

Place tea cakes on a baking sheet and bake 9-11 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheet for 1-2 minutes then finish cooling on a rack. Tea cakes don’t rise they’ll look about the same as when you put them in the oven. Also, the color stays a bit the same, you know they’re done when the edges/bottoms turn slightly golden.