YumSugar

'Wich of the Week: Benedictine Cheese Tea Sandwiches

YumSugar — Wed, 07 May 2008 13:15:02 -0700

I love the tiny sandwiches, scones, and petit fours served at afternoon tea, but rarely do I make dainty crustless sandwiches at home. So for today's 'Wich of the Week, I used the Kentucky Derby as an excuse to make some teatime treats. These ladylike sandwiches are filled with Benedictine cheese, a creamy cucumber-and-scallion spread that's native to Louisville and often served on Derby Day.

The Benedictine is a twist on the usual cucumber and cream cheese sandwich, which is by far one of my favorite teatime combos. These sandwiches benefit from the added kick of scallions; in fact, they were so flavorful that no one even complained about the low-fat cream cheese. The only somewhat odd ingredient is green food coloring, but since that's the tradition, I went with it, and it gave the spread a nice pastel hue. To see how I made them, including a step-by-step photo gallery, read more.

Benedictine Cheese Sandwiches
Adapted From Roadfood Sandwiches

Ingredients

1/2 cucumber, peeled, seeded, grated, and drained of moisture
1 bunch scallions, white parts plus two inches of green parts, finely chopped
8 oz. cream cheese, softened (I used low-fat cream cheese)
1 Tbsp. mayonnaise
1-2 drops green food coloring
8 slices white bread, crusts removed
3 red leaf lettuce leaves

Directions

Peel the cucumber, slice it in half lengthwise, and scrape out the seeds with a spoon. Using a microplane grater, grate the cucumber into a colander and drain the moisture off. Transfer cucumber to a bowl.

Finely chop the scallions and add them to bowl with the cucumber.
In the bowl, combine the cream cheese, mayonnaise, and food coloring and mix thoroughly.

To make each sandwich, spread a thin but significant layer of the cheese spread onto each slice, spreading just almost to the edges of the bread.
Place a single layer of lettuce atop one of the slices, then press the two pieces of bread together so that the lettuce is between the two layers of cheese.
Cut diagonally into four triangles and serve.

Print recipe with images | without images

View 15 Photos ›

Come Party With Me: Book Party - Menu (Sweet)

partysugar — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 10:13:18 -0700

Gorgeous cookies decorated to look like little packages are perfect for my Pride & Prejudice themed party. Elegantly placed on a variety of plates at different heights, these cookies will enhance the look of the party. I'll pair them with a decadent box of store bought chocolate truffles to round out a light snack menu of grissini with prosscuito and tea sandwiches. These cookies take a while to prepare, so if you are short on time make a quick, tried and trusted cookie recipe or simply buy pretty cookies from your favorite local baker. However if you're like me and couldn't imagine not having a homemade dessert at any party, get the recipe for these delicious treats, just read more

Tea Cake Sandwich Cookies
From Bon Appetit magazine
Image Source

3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups (21/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons whole milk
1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
Assorted decorations (such as powdered sugar, icing, colored sugar crystals, and edible glitter)
2/3 cup preserves (such as apricot, seedless raspberry, or seedless blackberry)

Whisk flour and salt in medium bowl to blend well. Using electric mixer, beat butter and 2/3 cup sugar in large bowl until fluffy. Beat in milk, lemon peel, and vanilla extract. Add flour mixture and beat until blended. Gather dough into ball; divide in half. Flatten into disks. Wrap in plastic and chill at least 2 hours. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled. Let soften slightly before rolling out.)
Roll out each dough disk between sheets of waxed paper to 14x11-inch rectangle, occasionally lifting waxed paper to smooth out wrinkles. Refrigerate dough on baking sheets, still between sheets of waxed paper, until cold and firm, about 30 minutes.
Place 1 dough piece on work surface. Peel off top sheet of waxed paper. Press same waxed paper gently back onto dough. Turn dough over (still between waxed paper sheets). Peel off top sheet of waxed paper and discard. Using 2 1/4-inch scalloped round cutter and with dough still on waxed paper bottom, cut out cookies. Using 1- to 1 1/4-inch scalloped round cutter, cut out center from half of cookies. Gather dough centers and excess dough around cutouts; shape excess dough into disk and chill. Slide waxed paper with cutouts onto baking sheet and chill. Repeat with remaining dough disk, cutting out rounds, cutting centers from half of rounds to make top rings, and gathering and chilling excess dough. Roll out excess dough between sheets of waxed paper, making more cookie bottoms and top rings. Repeat rolling and cutting until all of dough is used.
Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Spray 2 large baking sheets with nonstick spray. Using metal spatula to lift cutouts from waxed paper, transfer cookie bottoms to 1 prepared sheet and top rings to second sheet, spacing slightly apart (cookies spread very little). Sprinkle some top rings with colored sugar crystals (or leave plain to decorate later). Bake cookies, 1 sheet at a time, until pale golden, about 8 minutes. Cool cookies on baking sheets 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to racks; cool completely.
Arrange cookie bottoms on work surface. Spread each with 1 teaspoon preserves. Sift powdered sugar over plain cookie rings or decorate with icing and sugar crystals or edible glitter as desired. Press 1 top ring onto each prepared cookie bottom. (Cookies can be made 3 days ahead. Store airtight between sheets of waxed paper in refrigerator.)

Makes 32 cookies.

Print recipe with images | without images

Come Party With Me: Book Party - Menu (Savory)

partysugar — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 09:01:38 -0700

The book party that I'm planning begins in the late afternoon - between lunch and dinner - so a light, afternoon snack will be great for guests. Choose dishes that fit the theme, time, and tone of your book. If certain foods play a prominent role in the book, make variations of those dishes. Pride & Prejudice will be the topic of discussion, and since it's a book about the fabulous frivolity of girls, the menu will consist of appropriately girlie dishes. Wrap long, skinny breadsticks with paper thin slices of proscuitto. An assortment of homemade tea sandwiches are dainty, bite sized, and perfect to munch on while chatting about the delicious Mr. Darcy. You can find the all vegetarian recipes for radish, apple and cheddar, and goat cheese chive tea sandwiches if you read more

Radish Tea Sandwiches
From Everyday Food magazine
Image Source

1/2 bar (4 ounces) cream cheese, room temperature
8 slices (sandwich-size) whole-grain pumpernickel bread
4 large red radishes, ends trimmed, halved and thinly sliced
Coarse salt and ground pepper
4 leaves Bibb lettuce, or butter lettuce, ribs removed

Spoon 1 tablespoon cream cheese in center of each slice of bread, spreading to the top and bottom, leaving a 3/4-inch border on sides. Layer half of bread slices with radish slices, overlapping slightly.
Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper; top with lettuce and remaining bread slices (cream cheese side down) to make 4 sandwiches.
With a serrated knife, trim off crusts; cut each sandwich in half. Serve.

Serves 4.

Print recipe with images | without images

Apple and Cheddar Tea Sandwiches
From Trish Magwood

1 large loaf (1100g) or two small loaves (550)g artisan style raisin walnut bread
1/4 cup honey and Dijon mustard (50 mL)
6 Granny Smith apples
10 slices extra old white cheddar cheese

Slice large loaf into 10 slices (to make 5 sandwiches).
Spread each slice with honey mustard.
Thinly slice apples with a mandolin or a sharp knife.
Top bread with a single layer each of cheese and apple slices.
Cut crusts off and cut each sandwich length-wise into three pieces.

Makes 30 sandwiches.

Print recipe with images | without images

Goat Cheese and Chive Tea Sandwiches
From Martha Stewart's Hors d'Oeuvres Handbook via Heidi Swanson
Image Source

8 ounces fresh goat cheese
24 very thin slices of white sandwich bread, crusts removed
1 medium bunch watercress leaves, enough to make about 2 lightly packed cups
2 bunches of fresh chives, finely snipped to make 1/2 cup
2 tablespoons homemade or prepared mayonnaise

Spread goat cheese liberally on all the bread slices. Arrange the watercress leaves in an even layer on 12 of the bread slices. Top each of these slices with a second slice of bread, goat cheese side down.
Place the chives in a small shallow bowl. Halve each sandwich on the diagonal. Using a small spatula, carefully spread mayonnaise along the long side of one tea sandwich, and then dip this long edge into the chopped chives. Repeat with each tea sandwich.

Makes 2 dozen.

Print recipe with images | without images

Jamba Juice Goes Beyond Smoothies, Debuts Food

YumSugar — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 12:50:36 -0700

Starbucks isn't the only beverage chain looking to regain its footing: Jamba Juice is also struggling to get its mojo back. In addition to its recently introduced oatmeal and licensed supermarket products, the smoothie giant will also unveil a new menu of food items.

Jamba's new menu will contain food items such as wraps, salads, and flatbreads, and will debut next week in California, with stores in the rest of the country following over the year.

The ready-made wraps include Asian-Style Chicken, Chimichurri Chicken, Gobble'licious Turkey, Greek Goddess, and Grains and Greens for vegans, and two salads, Caesar the Day, and Couscous Produce. All wraps and salads will retail at $5.50.

In addition, Jamba is also installing turbo ovens in stores for new baked-to-order California Flatbreads, which will come in four flavors: Four Cheesy ($3.50), Smokehouse Chicken, Tomo Artichoko, and MediterraneYum ($3.75). The company is also adding iced tea beverages and fruit-tea infusions in exotic flavors like prickly pear, passion fruit, and pomegranate. All will be made without high-fructose corn syrup or artificial flavors.

In times when money's tight and people are more health conscious than ever, smoothies have seemingly fallen by the wayside. Because they're not filling enough - yet often have the calories - to be a meal, these fruity frosties have never played a part in my everyday routine. While it's a risky move for the chain, I could see how its on-the-go options might be appealing. Would you buy food at Jamba Juice?

Source

Come Party With Me: Outdoor Concert - Dessert

partysugar — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 13:00:31 -0700

Picture this: it's that wonderful time of day when the sun has just set and the weather is perfectly comfortable. You're enjoying the merry sounds of a symphony. After devouring a delectable steak sandwich and tomato salad, you are satisfied, but desire something sweet. Your wish comes true when you take one last look into the picnic basket and see, individually wrapped in parchment paper and tied with satin ribbons, luscious apricot tarts. You pass them out to your friends who marvel at your culinary creativeness. Doesn't that sound like fun?! Thanks to this fabulous recipe, you can live that scenario in the near future. If apricots aren't your cup of tea, substitute cherries, peaches, plums - whatever floats your fancy. Check out the recipe.

Nancy Silverton's Fancy-Pants Sandwich Cookbook

YumSugar — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 12:17:38 -0700

How you feel about Nancy Silverton's Sandwich Book depends on how you feel about sandwiches. If you see sammies as a fast dinner option on a busy night, then this is not the book for you. But if you prefer to elevate your humble sandwich with gourmet ingredients, then you should give Silverton's book a shot. As she writes in the intro, "Don't look at them as complicated sandwiches, but as satisfying entrees on bread."

This cookbook grew out of the Thursday sandwich nights at LA restaurant Campanile, where different twists on classics like the grilled cheese are showcased every week. The 100-plus recipes are divided into eight categories, some more sandwichy than others. For a detailed breakdown, read more.

The recipes fall under various headings: open-faced and closed-faced sandwiches, tea sandwiches, "sort-of sandwiches," bar snacks, sandwich cookies, condiments, and breads. As you can probably guess, Silverton's sandwich philosophy lets cooks choose between complexity and (relative) simplicity.

If you prefer, you can make everything from scratch, right down the homemade hot dog buns and caper onion mayonnaise. Or, to prevent the less fussy sandwiches, such as the pancetta, lettuce, and tomato, from getting too fancy, you can use store-bought aioli and other ready-made ingredients.

Admittedly, even the simpler sandwiches in Silverton's book are way more complicated than your standard PB&J. But combinations like Gorgonzola, radicchio, honey, and walnuts are truly creative, and Silverton always offers substitutions for the more exotic ingredients, such as pequillo peppers, that might be hard to find. As for the labor-intensive individual elements, such as braised artichokes, what the recipes require in extra steps pays off in extra flavor.

Have any of you cooked any sandwiches from this book? Or eaten at the Thursday sandwich nights at Campanile? If so, please share in the comments!

Come Party With Me: Tea Party - Drinks

partysugar — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 06:58:32 -0700

It's tea time! This week I'm planning an afternoon tea party. On Monday I sent out beautiful floral invitations to my girlfriends and yesterday I put together a menu full of scones, tea sandwiches, and shortbread cookies. Now it's on to the drinks, the tea of the tea party. Start by picking out which teas you will offer your guests. You could make several pots of the same kind, or a few different kinds. I am a fan of options and will brew a couple different kinds of tea. At all of my parties I like to offer an alcoholic beverage, so for those who are in the mood for an afternoon aperitif, I'll shake up a green tea martini. For my tips on brewing the perfect cup of tea and the recipe for the mar-tea-ni, read more

In honor of the tea party that I am planning this week, I thought it was necessary to go over a few basic suggestions for brewing a warm, wet, wonderful cup of tea.

To ensure freshness, store in an airtight container in a cool, dark space.

A good cup of tea is only as good as the water used, so choose fresh, flowing, cool, bottled/filtered water.
Take care when measuring out the tea because the tea's strength and flavor depends on the quantity of tea in the pot and the amount of steeping time.
Generally one bag or 1 teaspoon of leaves is considered a 1 person serving.
Do not overboil the water because once it begins to lose oxygen, the flavor of the tea will weaken.
The most important step of tea making is the correct brewing time. Brew for too long and the tea will taste bitter, brew for too little and the tea won't have maximum flavor.

Tea Brewing Time Chart
Tea Type Steep Time (in minutes)

black tea 3-5

herbal tea 5-10

green tea 1-3
Wrap the teapot with a towel or cozy to retain heat while steeping.
Strain tea leaves or remove tea bags before pouring into a cup and enjoying.
Milk dissolves the best into hot tea so plan accordingly.
Do not leave tea uncovered for a long period of time after brewing - drink or refrigerate to retain antioxidants and prevent bacteria from growing.
For the best tea, fill a teapot with hot tap water to warm it up; likewise warm up your teacups in a cup warmer or with hot tap water.

**Tea Brewing Time Chart**
Tea Type	Steep Time (in minutes)
black tea	3-5
herbal tea	5-10
green tea	1-3

Green Tea Martini
From That's The Spirit

Ice
1 ounce green tea, chilled
2 ounces citron vodka
1 teaspoon Cointreau
1 teaspoon simple syrup
Orange twist

Fill a shaker with ice. Add green tea, vodka, Cointreau and simple syrup.
Shake well and strain into a cocktail glass.
Garnish with an orange twist.

Makes 1 cocktail.

Print recipe with images | without images

What are your secret tips for brewing the best cup of tea around? Please share them with us below. Next up on the party plan to-do-list: the look.

Come Party With Me: Tea Party - Menu (Savory Appetizers)

partysugar — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 06:58:42 -0700

To celebrate the arrival of Spring I am planning an afternoon tea party this weekend. After guzzling down way too many beers last Saturday during the St. Patrick's Day festivities, I felt it was time for an elegant afternoon of relaxed entertaining. While a stuffy image of little old ladies in oversized hats may come to mind when you think tea party, my tea time is going to be modern, chic, and youthful. To set the mood I sent a floral present shaped invitation to my friends requesting their presence and asking that they sport floral prints. Whenever I plan a party after I'm done with the invite I move on to arranging the menu. Food is an integral piece of any party and I'll be offering my guests classic tea time snacks. To see my scone and tea sandwich recipes, read more

I'll set up a buffet of several scones and tea sandwiches. The menu should be light because the party is after lunch and to best pair with the teas I'll be pouring. I'll plate classic Cream Scones with Parmesan Chive Scones and have small silver bowls of jams and creams to top these scones. Crustless triangle finger sandwiches will be filled with smoked salmon or fresh turkey.

Cream Scones
From Joy Of Baking

2 cups (280 grams) all-purpose flour
1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated white sugar
2 teaspoons (10 grams) baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup (76 grams) cold unsalted butter
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup (120 ml) heavy whipping cream or milk
Glaze:
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon cream or milk
Garnish:
Jam or Preserves
Clotted or Whipped Cream

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) and place rack in middle of oven. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut the butter into small pieces and blend into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or two knives. The mixture should look like coarse crumbs.
In a small measuring cup combine the whipping cream, beaten egg and vanilla. Add this mixture to the flour mixture. Stir until just combined. Do not over mix.
Knead dough gently on a lightly floured surface. Roll or pat the dough into a circle that is about 7 inches (18 cm) round and about 11/2 inches (3.75 cm) thick.
Cut this circle into 8 triangular sections. Alternatively, you can cut the dough into rounds with a 2 1/2 inch (6.5 cm) cookie cutter.
Make a glaze of one well-beaten egg with 1 tablespoon cream or milk. Brush the tops of the scones with this mixture. This helps to brown the tops of the scones during baking.
Bake for about 15 - 18 minutes or until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into the center of a scone comes out clean.
Remove from oven and then turn your broiler on high. Sift confectioners (powdered or icing) sugar heavily over the tops of the scones and place them under the broiler. Broil for just a few seconds, turning the pan as necessary, until the sugar has melted and turns golden brown. Make sure to watch the scones carefully as the sugar will burn very quickly.
Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Serve with Devon cream or softly whipped cream and your favorite jam.

Makes 8 triangular scones or 10 - 2 1/2 inch (6.5 cm) round scones.

Print recipe with images | without images

Parmesan Chive Scones
From Apartment Therapy

1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup fresh grated Parmesan
1/2 cup chives, chopped fine
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup cream

Heat the oven to 350ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Sift or mix the dry ingredients, including the Parmesan and chives.
Chop the butter into small squares and work into the dry ingredients with your fingers until texture is like tiny peas or marbles. (Alternate method: put the dry ingredients and butter into a food processor and blend until well mixed. This has the benefit of keeping the butter cold.)
Add the egg and cream and mix with your hands just until the dough barely holds together.
Turn out onto a floured countertop and shape into a rough wheel. Again, handle the dough as little as possible; if it's lumpy and floury that's OK.
Cut the wheel into small triangles and put on the baking sheet.
Bake for about 25 minutes or lightly golden.

Makes 1 dozen.

Make ahead: these scones freeze very well.

Print recipe with images | without images

Smoked Salmon Tea Sandwiches
From Ina Garten

Herb butter:
2 1/2 pounds unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/4 teaspoons minced garlic
5 tablespoons minced scallions (white and green parts)
5 tablespoons minced fresh dill
5 tablespoons minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
5 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
5 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/4 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
Sandwiches:
5 loaves dense 7-grain or health bread, unsliced
40 slices smoked salmon

For the herb butter: combine all the butter ingredients in a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat until mixed, but do not whip.
For the sandwiches, have the store slice the bread lengthwise on a meat slicer into 1/4-inch-thick slices. (If that isn't possible, you can slice it crosswise with a very sharp knife.)
Lay out 40 slices of bread and spread them all with a thin layer of herb butter.
Place smoked salmon on 20 of the slices. Top with the other 20 slices of bread, butter side down.
Place the sandwiches on a baking sheet and wrap with plastic.
Refrigerate until the butter is very cold. Place the sandwiches on a cutting board.
With a very sharp knife, cut off the crusts, cut each large sandwich in half crosswise, and then cut each half diagonally twice to make a total of 40 small triangles. (If the bread was cut crosswise, follow the assembly directions, then cut off the crusts and cut diagonally, twice, to make 20 small triangles.)
Serve chilled.

Serves 50.

Print recipe with images | without images

Smoked Turkey Tea Sandwiches With Arugula Mayonnaise
From Epicurious

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup (packed) coarsely chopped arugula leaves plus 30 whole arugula leaves (about 4 large bunches total)
1 tablespoon minced shallot
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel
12 thin slices firm white sandwich bread, crusts trimmed
10 ounces thinly sliced smoked turkey

Mix mayonnaise, chopped arugula, shallot, parsley and lemon peel in small bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
Place bread slices on work surface. Spread mayonnaise mixture on each slice, dividing equally.
Top 6 bread slices with turkey, dividing equally. Place 5 arugula leaves atop turkey on each.
Top with remaining 6 bread slices, mayonnaise side down, pressing to adhere. Cut each sandwich diagonally into quarters.

Serves 6.

Print recipe with images | without images

Would anyone like a sweet appetizer? Stay tuned later today I'm featuring a few more recipes for the tea party.

What's Cooking at Slashfood

YumSugar — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 04:00:35 -0800

We love Slashfood so much that every Thursday we round up their most delicious stories. Here are this week's finds:

Pair mahi mahi with maple syrup and ginger for an elegant Autumn dish.
How to host a meatless Thanksgiving meal that's just as fulfilling.
Homemade honey liqueur is the perfect pairing for those chilly nights.
Looking for a fresh take on the tea sandwich? Meet the sandwich torte.
Europe decides it will no longer discriminate against oddly-shaped produce.
If Bulgarian wine is the second largest bottled wine export in the world, why aren't we drinking it?

Source

Come Party With Me: Tea Party - Menu (Sweet Appetizers)

partysugar — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 11:58:32 -0700

Today I am putting together a menu for an afternoon tea party. I've invited over some of my girlfriends and am praying that Saturday afternoon will be beautiful and sunny so we can sip tea and eat finger sandwiches in my courtyard patio. Tea parties, which until recently were reserved for old ladies and little girls, are making a huge comeback and modern makeover for 2007. Tea bars and tea tastings are all the rage so a tea party is timely and appropriate. Tea parties are also a sophisticated way to host a bridal or baby shower: if you are throwing one in the future, bookmark this plan to help you organize your event. I'm doing my event buffet style with an assortment of savory and sweet treats. Scones and classic tea sandwiches, puff pastries filled with chocolate and shortbread cookies round out the light, nibble-friendly menu. For the sweet appetizer recipes, read more

I've made these Petit Pains Au Chocolat for lots of my parties and they are too easy for the rave reviews they receive. The puff pastry filled with creamy chocolate is a bite sized treat and the Almond-Orange Shortbread cookies can be made in advance and baked the day of the event.

Petit Pains Au Chocolat
From Epicurious

2 sheets frozen puff pastry (one 17.3-ounce package), thawed, each sheet cut into 12 squares
1 large egg beaten to blend with 1 tablespoon water (for glaze)
4 3.5-ounce bars imported bittersweet or milk chocolate, each cut into six 2x3/4-inch pieces
Sugar

Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
Brush top of each puff pastry square with egg glaze.
Place 1 chocolate piece on edge of 1 pastry square. Roll up dough tightly, enclosing chocolate. Repeat with remaining pastry and chocolate.
Place pastry rolls on baking sheet, seam side down. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover pastries with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Cover and refrigerate remaining egg glaze.)
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Brush tops of pastry rolls with remaining egg glaze. Sprinkle lightly with sugar. Bake until pastries are golden brown, about 15 minutes.
Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes 24.

Print recipe with images | without images

Almond-Orange Shortbread
From Everyday Food magazine

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup confectioners' sugar
3/4 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled)
Grated zest of 1 orange, (about 2 teaspoons)
3/4 cup sliced almonds

Make the dough: In a mixer bowl, beat butter, sugar, almond extract, and salt until smooth. With mixer on low speed, add flour and orange zest; mix just until a dough forms.With a wooden spoon, rubber spatula, or your hands, gently mix in almonds.
Freeze the dough: On a piece of waxed paper, form dough into a rectangular log, 12 inches long, 2 1/2 inches wide, and 1 inch thick. Wrap log in the paper, and freeze until firm, at least 1 hour and up to 3 months. If freezing longer than 1 day, wrap log again, in plastic wrap.
Bake the shortbread: Preheat oven to 325 degrees; remove dough from freezer. (If dough has been in freezer a long time and is frozen solid, let it sit at room temperature 30 minutes so it slices without crumbling.)
With a sharp knife, cut dough into 1/4-inch-thick slices; place on ungreased baking sheet at least 1 inch apart.
Bake until edges just begin to turn golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool 5 minutes on baking sheet; transfer cookies to a rack to cool completely.

Makes 40 cookies.

Print recipe with images | without images

What would you serve at an afternoon tea? Please share with me below. Come party with me tomorrow when I discuss drinks (an essential part of a tea party!).