Tea Party by Tracy Stern with Christie Matheson is one of the library books I picked out awhile ago. I wanted to copy some of the recipes, but I haven’t been able to get to a copy machine. I figured at this point, I’ll just take a few of the recipes down and recheck out the book at a later date. I’ve included a few of my favorite ones here for you guys.
The20 themed tea parties mentioned in the book were: New Year’s Day Brunch, Proper Afternoon Tea, Moroccan Valentine’s Day Dinner, Mad Hatter’s Tea Party, Mother’s Day Tea, Fashionable French Tea, Garden Tea Party, Chai Breakfast, Gentlemen’s Tea, Easy Sweet Tea, Bridal Shower (Girl’s Night Out), Engagement Dinner, Baby Shower Luncheon, Children’s Tea Party, Summer Picnic, Artist Tea, Palm Beach Tea, Fall Harvest Dinner, Russian Tea, and White Winter Tea.
These ideas are so cute, but entirely sound like someone who has their life put together WAY more than I do. My idea of fancy is like… springing for the clear cups instead of using the usual red solo. The only reason I own a vase is because I suggested my SO give his daughter a bouquet of flowers for the Daddy Daughter dance since the corsage was $30.
NONE OF THESE ARE MY RECIPES~!
Lepeshki (Russian Cookies)
- 2 cups self-rising flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- pinch of salt
- 2 large egg whites
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoons almond extract
- 1 Tablespoon milk
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly grease a baking sheet.
Whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients.
Reserve about 2 tablespoons of egg white in a small bowl. Whisk the remaining whites with the egg yolk, sour cream, vanilla and almond extracts, and milk in a small bowl. Pour the sour cream mixture into the well in the dry ingredients and mix to form a soft dough.
Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface until it’s about 1/2 inch thick. Cut rounds with a 3-inch cookie cutter. Using a spatula, transfer the circles to your prepared baking sheet. Lightly beat the reserved egg white, then brush the cookies with it and sprinkle with the sliced almonds.
Bake for 10 minutes, until light golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. Makes about 24 cookies.
Vanilla Tea-Infused Sugar Cookies
- 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground decaffeinated vanilla black tea leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
With an electric mixer, beats together the butter and sugar until smooth and fluffy. Beat in the egg. Add the vanilla.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, tea leaves, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix until just combined. Wrap the dough in plastic and chill for at least 4 hours or overnight.
Preheat the oven to 350°F
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to about 1/2 inch thick. Using a teapot-shaped cookie cutter (or another favorite shape), cut out the cookies and transfer them to an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until just turning golden. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.
Serve the cookies warm with tea, or let them cool completely before frosting and decorating them.
Tea Time sandwich ideas:
- Strawberry Cream Cheese
- Blue Cheese(Cream Cheese too), Walnut, and Pear
- Apple, Goat Cheese, and Lavender
- Ham or Prosciutto and Banana (with Mango Chutney)
I love the idea of a tea party and I used to have them quite a bit when I was younger. At one point, my mom dated a Brit so tea time was a really important part of our lives. I wasn’t a fan of the recipes listed in the book, but ideas of mini spinach quiches, wild mushroom risotto, and classical scones sounds so good right now.
If I actually end up making these cookies or doing myself a mini tea party, I’ll definitely post some photos. I’ve got plans to do a major overhaul of our bedroom while the family is gone on Fall Break. If I’ve got the entire house to myself, besides SO, I’ll be pulling all my stuff out of the room, and reorganizing.
Until then, I’m going through these library book! I’ve run out of renewals so I’m panicking as their return date swiftly closes in. Thanks for reading, guys! I know it was mostly notes about someone else’s recipes, but I like sharing.
Atelier Whootique 