Heart-Shaped Strawberry Tea Sandwiches
Ingredients
- 8 slices soft white bread
- 4 oz cream cheese softened
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup fresh strawberries hulled and thinly sliced
- 1 heart-shaped cookie cutter about 2.5 inches
Instructions
- Beat the softened cream cheese with the honey and vanilla until fluffy and pale, about 2 minutes with a hand mixer.
- Hull the strawberries and slice them into rounds about 1/8 inch thick.
- Lay the bread slices flat and cut 2 hearts from each slice with the cutter, for 16 hearts total.
- Spread a thin, even layer of the honey cream cheese over half of the hearts, right to the points.
- Blot the strawberry slices briefly on paper towel so they do not weep onto the bread.
- Arrange 3 to 4 strawberry slices on each frosted heart, slightly overlapping, keeping them inside the edge.
- Top each with a plain heart, cream cheese side down, and press the edges gently to seal.
- Transfer to a parchment-lined tray and chill for 15 minutes so the layers settle and hold their shape.
- Move to the stand just before guests arrive: strawberries soften the bread if they sit much longer than an hour.
Good to Know
No heart cutter? A sharp paring knife and a steady hand get you close enough; nobody checks the symmetry once there is jam involved.