Tea Sandwiches, Cookies, and Baby Showers!

My sister and I are both pregnant (her first and my second--both boys! Plus, we're due only 5 days apart!). We were so happy to have her come to town so that we could throw her a baby shower. My mom actually made all of these tea sandwiches (I helped by scouting out the recipes). She has been so busy and her computer has been on the fritz, so I thought I would do her a favor and put the recipes onto our blog to save her some time. However, I will leave it up to her to edit this post later and add her explanations, notes, and suggestions.

The shower was beautiful and the tea sandwiches were oh so yummy! They got gobbled up quickly! In addition to the tea sandwiches, my aunt made some awesome cupcakes and my sister-in-law brought her famous sugar cookies (aka cugar shookies because my mom kept mixing up the name the first time she shared them with us).

I am including recipes for the four tea sandwiches pictured here (though we made quite a few more kinds--but these were the best of the best!). I am also including the wonderful sugar cookies recipe.

You will love them. And we are all anxiously awaiting my mother's additions and comments to this post!



Cucumber Tea Sandwiches with Mint-Chile Butter

Use this recipe as a template, and customize according to your preferences. Try adding watercress, baby lettuce greens, or thinly sliced poached chicken breast.

Yield: 12 servings (serving size: 2 sandwich quarters)

Ingredients:

6 tablespoons butter, softened
3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 serrano chile, seeded and finely chopped
12 (1-ounce) slices white sandwich bread
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced English cucumber
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

Directions:

Combine first 4 ingredients, stirring until well combined.

Trim crusts from bread; discard crusts. Spread each bread slice with about 1 1/2 teaspoons butter mixture. Place cucumber in a small bowl, and drizzle with lime juice; toss to coat. Arrange cucumber slices in an even layer over buttered sides of 6 bread slices; top with remaining bread slices, buttered side down. Cut sandwiches diagonally into quarters.

Nutrition information: CALORIES 89 (63% from fat); FAT 6.2g (sat 3.6g,mono 1.5g,poly 0.2g); IRON 0.4mg; CHOLESTEROL 15mg; CALCIUM 25mg; CARBOHYDRATE 7.9g; SODIUM 163mg; PROTEIN 1.2g; FIBER 0.4g

Source: Cooking Light, JUNE 2007

Goat Cheese-Pecan Finger Sandwiches

Instead of pimiento cheese for your party sandwiches, try this filling of creamy goat cheese and crunchy pecans. These sandwiches are great with wine for a fun night with the girls.

Ingredients:

4 ounces goat cheese, softened
3 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup finely chopped toasted pecans
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
14 bread slices, divided
1/3 cup red pepper jelly

Directions:

Stir together goat cheese, cream cheese, pecans, and parsley. Spread on 7 bread slices. Spread 7 more bread slices with red pepper jelly; top with cheese-covered bread slices. Remove crusts; cut into desired shapes.

Southern Living, NOVEMBER 2009



Smoky "Pimiento" Cheese Sandwiches

Hands-On Time: 10 min.; Total Time: 15 min. Cut into smaller sandwiches for easy pickup.

Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Other Time: 5 minutes
Yield: Makes 7 servings

Ingredients:

1 (3-oz.) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups (8 oz.) shredded smoked Cheddar cheese
2 cups (8 oz.) shredded smoked Gouda cheese
1/2 (8.5-oz.) jar sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and chopped
14 bread slices (sourdough and dark wheat)

Directions:

Stir together cream cheese and next 3 ingredients in a large bowl until blended. Stir in shredded cheeses and sun-dried tomatoes until combined.

Spread cheese mixture on half of bread slices (about 1/3 cup on each); top with remaining bread slices.

Source: Southern Living, OCTOBER 2009

Crisp Vegetable Tea Sandwiches

You can change the flavor of these simple sandwiches by varying the herbs you add to the cream cheese. Any favorites will work well alone or in combination.

Makes 8

Ingredients:

4 ounces cream cheese
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh herbs, such as flat-leaf parsley, basil, tarragon, or mint
8 slices wheat bread
1 piece (4 inches) cucumber, very thinly sliced into rounds
2 radishes, trimmed and very thinly sliced
2 tablespoons softened butter

Directions:

Place cream cheese and herbs in a bowl; stir with a rubber spatula until combined.

Spread cream cheese mixture on 4 slices of bread; layer with cucumber and radish slices. Spread remaining slices of bread with butter. Place, butter side facing down, on radishes. Trim crusts; cut sandwiches in half.

Source: Martha Stewart website.

Sugar Cookies aka Cugar Shookies

Ingredients:

1/2 c. butter
2 eggs
1 1/2 c. sugar
3 c. flour (you will need more flour)
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. soda
1 tsp. salt
1 c. sour cream
1 tsp. vanilla

Directions:

Cream butter, eggs, and sugar. Combine rest of ingredients and mix well. Add extra flour until dough isn't too sticky, and chill for a couple of hours or overnight. Roll out and cut (they will be sticky so add more flour to roll them out). Bake 350 for 8-10 minutes.

Frosting:

Ingredients:

Powdered sugar
Butter
Milk
Vanilla, almond, or coconut flavoring

Directions:

Mix ingredients together in the proportions you desire to attain the consistency of frosting you prefer.