Tea Finger Sandwiches
Elegant crustless sandwiches in classic flavors—cucumber cream cheese and egg salad—perfect for one-handed eating at cocktail parties, a staple at 1920s speakeasies.
- 12 sliceswhite bread, crusts removed
- 8 ozcream cheese, softened
- 1English cucumber, thinly sliced
- 4hard-boiled eggs, chopped
- 2 tbspmayonnaise
- 1 tbspfresh dill, minced
- 1 tbspfresh chives, minced
- to tastesalt and white pepper
- 1For cucumber sandwiches: Mix cream cheese with dill and a pinch of salt until smooth
- 2Spread cream cheese mixture on bread slices
- 3Layer cucumber slices on half the bread, top with remaining slices
- 4For egg salad: Combine chopped eggs, mayo, chives, salt and pepper
- 5Spread egg salad on bread and top with remaining slices
- 6Cut each sandwich into 4 triangles or rectangles
- 7Arrange on tiered serving platter
Use day-old bread for easier cutting. Slice cucumbers paper-thin with a mandoline. Keep sandwiches covered with damp paper towel until serving.
The finger sandwich — also called a tea sandwich — was born from British afternoon tea culture, which originated around 1840 when Anna, 7th Duchess of Bedford, began requesting a light snack of tea with bread and butter to bridge the gap between a noon lunch and a fashionably late dinner at 9pm. The custom spread rapidly through upper-class Victorian society, and by the 1880s, afternoon tea had become a structured social ritual. The cucumber sandwich became the quintessential tea sandwich because cucumbers, requiring heated glasshouses to grow year-round in England's climate, were a luxury item accessible only to the wealthy. Removing the bread crusts reinforced the aristocratic character of the food — only those with plenty to eat could afford to discard nutritious portions for aesthetics. The tradition crossed the Atlantic and entered American cocktail party culture, where finger sandwiches became associated with upscale entertaining from the 1920s onward.