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    You are here Home » food

    By: Melissa

    Stained Glass Cucumber Tea Sandwiches

    If tea parties and little nibbles are your thing, you will love these stained glass cucumber tea sandwiches. I call them stained glass tea sandwiches because the cucumbers that poke through the center of the sandwiches looks like stained glass and are so beautiful.

    cucumber tea sandwiches
    Jump to Recipe
    Total Time: 25 minutes

    If you are not familiar with tea sandwiches, they are little sandwiches that you serve, well at tea time, but you can also serve these little bites anytime you want a light meal. I like making light sandwiches like this in the summer when it is too hot for a heavy meal and I do not want to cook or drink hot tea.

    There are many variations of tea sandwiches but this one uses cucumbers, cream cheese and chives. The cucumbers and chives I grow in my garden so that is why I chose this combination. I only had to purchase white sandwich bread and cream cheese to make them.

    cucumbers on vine
    Cucumbers from the garden.

    When you are making these cucumber tea sandwiches, you will be following these basic steps:

    Cut your bread with various sized cookie cutters.

    If you want a sandwich that is not too small (like I did here) then you will want to find a regular sized cookie cutter for the shape of your sandwich (circle, star, heart...). I then used a smaller cookie cutter to cut little holes out of the top of the sandwich so the cucumbers can be seen.

    For reference, each sandwich that I made came from 2 slices of bread (top and bottom) with the center cut out. If you prefer even smaller sandwiches, you could definitely choose smaller cookie cutters for the base shape of the sandwich.

    Alternately, you could just cut the crusts off of your sandwich bread and then cut the sandwich into quarters. From there you can use small cookie cutters to cut out a piece of the top slice of bread to expose the cucumbers.

    Let your cream cheese come to room temperature.

    cream cheese and chives

    You want it so that it is soft and spreadable. Once the cream cheese is soft, add your chives to the cream cheese and mix well.

    Slice your cucumbers very thin.

    cucumber slices for tea sandwich

    You want to slice your cucumbers as thin as you can. They do not need to be perfect and you can pick the best ones for your sandwich.

    Start assembling your sandwiches.

    Spread your cream cheese mixture on one slice of the cut out bread shape you are working with and then add your sliced cucumbers. Place the top of the sandwich on top of the cucumbers and add that to your serving plate. I like to use a cake stand to make them stand out more.

    cucumber sandwiches

    Now I think these cute tea sandwiches really deserve a spot outdoors in nice weather. I really love using them as afternoon tea sandwiches. I will make these and my peach galette and place them outside under a cloche (to keep the bugs out) on our patio table for when people are coming in from the pool and want something small to eat.

    It is nice to have some food waiting for you when you are done swimming. It is also nice that these tea sandwiches are light and refreshing thanks to the cucumbers.

    They are very versatile. Use them as an afternoon sandwich or use them at a tea party as tea sandwiches. No matter what you use them for, these cucumber sandwiches are delish.

    cucumber tea sandwiches

    These little sandwiches are very easy to make too. One suggestion so there is no food waste is to save the cut out bread pieces in a plastic bag for a quick breakfast of eggs in a hole. Since the bread you cut your shapes out of will have a hole in the center, just place this bread on to a frying pan and drop an egg in the center of it to cook.

    Super simple and no waste!

    More Recipes With Cucumbers:

    • Refrigerator pickles (3 flavors to choose)
    • Cucumber Aqua Fresca
    • Greek Cucumber Salad

    cucumber tea sandwiches
    Print Recipe
    5 from 1 vote

    Stained Glass Tea Sandwiches

    Fun and pretty tea sandwiches that are great for tea parties or anytime you just want a small bite.
    Prep Time15 mins
    Assembling10 mins
    Total Time25 mins
    Servings: 6 sandwiches

    Tried the Recipe? We Would Love To Hear From You In The Comments Below!

    Author: Melissa

    Equipment

    • Your favorite shaped cookie cutters- various sizes

    Ingredients

    • 1 package of cream cheese softened (room temperature)
    • 1 cucumber
    • ½ cup fresh chives diced finely
    • 1 package of soft white bread I like Pepperidge Farm but any soft white bread will do
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    Instructions

    Cream Cheese Mixture

    • Let your cream cheese come to room temperature.
    • Once the cream cheese is soft, add your chives to the cream cheese and mix well.
    • Set aside

    Cucumbers

    • Slice your cucumbers very thin.
    • Try to slice your cucumbers as thin as you can. They do not need to be perfect and you can pick the best ones for your sandwich.
    • Now set aside.

    Preparing your bread

    • Stack two slices of bread on top of each other
    • Cut your stacked bread with your large cookie cutter.
    • Take the top slice of bread and with a your small cookie cutter shape, cut out a portion of the middle.
    • Set these aside and repeat these steps for the other slices of bread.

    Assembling the Sandwiches

    • Spread your cream cheese mixture on one slice of the cut out bread shape you are working with and then add your sliced cucumbers.
    • Place the top of the sandwich (the slice that has a small cut out) on top of the cucumbers and gently press down.
    • Keep doing this until all your sandwiches are made.
    • Add your sandwiches to a nice serving platter or cake stand.
    • Refrigerate if you are not eating right away.

    Notes

    These sandwiches can be made up to 6 hours ahead of time (fully assembled) or you can prepare all of the ingredients and store separately in the refrigerator up to 24 hours in advance. 
    If you are making these ahead of time, take them out about 1 hour before serving/assembling so they can come to room temperature.
     
    How to use up the extra bread from the cutouts:
    You will have bread with a hole in the center left over after making these sandwiches. I like to add the bread to a pre-heated saute pan with butter and crack an egg into the center for a delicious breakfast of "egg in a hole"

    Nutrition

    Calories: 19kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 22mg | Potassium: 83mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 183IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 21mg | Iron: 1mg

    Nutrition Values are estimates only.

    See full nutrition disclaimer here
    Course :Main Course

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Emilia says

      February 26, 2022 at 5:44 pm

      5 stars
      These came out so adorable and were the perfect little sandwiches for our daughter's birthday.

      Reply

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