Turkey Tea Sandwiches

I threw a baby shower for a friend recently and these babies were on the menu.   They were divine.  The basil really makes them superior, so don’t skip it.  I used about 4 leaves per whole sandwich (1 leaf per tea sandwich).

The recipe calls for Raisin Nut bread, but I couldn’t find any without cinnamon, so I substituted Cranberry-Orange bread with great success.  Any non-cinnamon fruit bread should do the trick.

TURKEY TEA SANDWICHES

Ingredients

Scallion cream cheese:

• 3/4 pound (12 ounces) cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/2 cup minced scallions (white and green parts)
• Pinch kosher salt
• Pinch freshly ground black pepper

Sandwiches:

• 16 thin slices of dense raisin-nut bread (or any fruit bread without cinnamon)
• 8 thin slices fresh or smoked turkey breast
• Fresh basil leaves

Directions

For the scallion cream cheese, combine the cream cheese, scallions and the salt and pepper in an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Do not whip.

Lay out 16 slices of bread and spread them all with a thin layer of scallion cream cheese. Place a single layer of turkey on half the slices, cutting the edges to fit the bread. Place the basil leaves randomly on top of the turkey. Top with the other 8 slices of bread, cream cheese side down. Lay the sandwiches on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper, cover with damp paper towels and wrap the sheet with plastic. Refrigerate until the cream cheese is cold and firm. Place the sandwiches on a cutting board and, with a very sharp knife, cut off the crusts. Cut each large sandwich in half diagonally, twice, to make a total of 4 small triangles. Serve chilled.

Adapted from The Barefoot Contessa cookbook.