cucumber tea sandwiches

Before trying cucumber sandwiches, I didn't imagine that they'd be very good because cucumbers and white bread just sounded so... dry. Turns out that I was completely wrong- and thank goodness! Because these delicate little sandwiches are a must-have for any tea party!

The sandwiches that we used at our tea party were Jenna's recipe, but I'm going to share my simple recipe (even though they're almost identical). And, although it's nicer to get things done early, I don't recommend making these too far in advance, otherwise the bread might get a little hard as it sits out.

cucumber tea sandwiches

1 8oz. package of cream cheese
1/8 - 1/4 cup fresh dill* chopped
juice of half a lemon
salt
pepper
1 cucumber
1 loaf white bread

When your cream cheese is room temperature, mix in the dill and lemon juice until well blended. Add salt and pepper to taste. Slice cucumber thinly- (yes, just one. It goes a looooong way). Traditionally, the slices should be thin enough to read the letters of a newspaper through them, but if they're a little thicker it's alright. Spread a thin layer of the cream cheese mixture onto a slice of bread and evenly distribute cucumber slices along the bread.

If you would like closed sandwiches, just place another piece of bread on top. (We decided to go with open-faced sandwiches because we were running out of bread for the large amount of people that we had. Either option is good- closed sandwiches are more filling but open sandwiches allow you to see the beautiful cucumbers.) Slice crusts off bread.** Serve with tea!

*This might sound like a lot of dill, but a lot of the herb throughout the cream cheese really adds a lot more flavor. At one tea party, we even used 3/4 of a bunch and the spread tasted so fresh!
** You can save these for later to feed ducks or other birds! Or you can slowly eat them as you assemble your sandwiches.