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Breaking Bread

Tea Time

Menu

Bleu Cheese on Water Crackers
Cranberry Hazelnut Crème Scones
Quiche Lorraine
Lemon Bars
Coconut Macaroons
Congo Bars

One of my favorite events is an afternoon Tea! Here are some recipes that, taken together, will make a luscious and interesting tea! You may add some fresh grapes and/or strawberries for color. A lovely tea cup will make it taste even better. Be sure to include beverages for those who may not enjoy hot tea.

Bleu Cheese on Water Crackers

Serves 8
8 oz. (1 cup) cream cheese
4 oz. bleu cheese, crumbled
Tabasco sauce as desired to taste
Worcestershire as desired to taste
Chopped olives
Toasted almonds, sliced

Blend together cream cheese, bleu cheese, Tabasco sauce and Worcestershire sauce in a food processor, or large bowl. Fold in olives, and shape mixture into a cylinder, slightly smaller than the crackers. Spread sliced almonds on paper or film; roll cylinder in almonds. Refrigerate.

To serve, cut 1/4-inch rounds from the cheese roll and place on crackers.

Cream Scones with Cranberries and Hazelnuts

Serves 8
3 cups Bisquick mix
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup hazelnuts, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Follow directions on Bisquick box for biscuits. Add sugar and use cream for liquid; mix well until the dough forms into a ball. Be careful to use only enough liquid needed to form a ball.

Roll or pat into rounds, and then cut into wedges or use a cookie cutter. Bake just until lightly browned. Do not overbake. Serve warm. Can be made the day before, refrigerated and baked just before serving. Serve with lemon curd and/or whipped cream.

Quiche Lorraine

Serves 8
Pastry for 9” one crust pie
½ cup cooked, crumbled bacon
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
4 large eggs
2 cups whipping cream
¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne (optional)

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Make pastry (or purchase) and ease into dish, pressing firmly against bottom and side. For larger amount, this recipe may be baked in 2 half-sheet pans or in 6 pie pans.

Line pans with pastry, and bake for 10 minutes or until the pastry begins to brown and has become “set.” Sprinkle bacon, cheese and onion in pie crust. In large bowl, beat eggs slightly with fork or wire whisk.
  
Beat in remaining ingredients. Pour into pie crust. Reduce oven to 325 degrees. Bake 45 to 50 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

To serve smaller portions for tea, cut first in fours, and then cut each wedge in thirds.

Coconut Macaroons

Makes 20 cookies
3 cups of coconut
1/2 cup flour
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Place ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Drop from spoon onto a greased cookie sheet or baking parchment. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes, until set and lightly browned  (for uniformly sized cookies, use a small ice cream scoop to form cookies).

Lemon Bars

12 Servings
Crust
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 cups flour

Filling
2 cups sugar
¼ cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
4 eggs, beaten
¼ cup lemon juice
Grated rind of 2 lemons

Mix butter, flour and sugar together. Press into the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch pan, (for 50, a half-sheet of a whole sheet pan). Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Mix together sugar, flour and baking powder. Add eggs, juice and rind.

Pour over baked crust and bake 25 minutes at 350 degrees. When cool, frost with a glaze of 2 cups powdered sugar and lemon juice (using just enough juice to make glaze the proper consistency).

Congo Bars

Serves 20
2/3 cup butter, melted
3 eggs
1 lb. light brown sugar
2 ¾ cup flour
2 ¾ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
1 cup real chocolate chips
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix together butter, brown sugar and eggs. In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt; add to butter mixture. Add walnuts and chocolate chips. Spread in well-greased 10-by-15-by-1-inch pan (or one of similar size). Dough will be sticky, and you may need to spread it with your hands.

Bake for 35 minutes until still slightly soft on top. Remove from oven and
place pan on rack. While bars are still warm, cut into 20 pieces.

These recipes originally appeared in the May 2008 issue of our Cooking for a Crowd e-newsletter, by Priscilla Taylor. Click here to subscribe to any of our great e-newsletters.