Cucumber Sandwiches

Our Cucumber Sandwiches are made with soft white bread slathered with cream cheese, mayonnaise, fresh herbs, and lemon – plus thinly sliced cucumbers.

What are Cucumber Sandwiches?

They’re a classic English sandwich served during afternoon tea or as a light snack. The crusts of the bread are typically cut off, and the sandwiches can be cut into dainty little triangles, rectangles, or strips – allowing the pretty green of the cucumbers to show through.

Cucumber Sandwiches were once considered a seasonal delicacy – and even today, these little tea sandwiches are often reserved for serving at parties, bridal and baby showers, and other special occasions.

Delicious Variations

The original Cucumber Sandwiches were simply crustless, buttered white bread and thin slices of English cucumber.

Today, there are many different variations and accompaniments, reflecting different taste preferences as this delicious sandwich has gained popularity in other countries and cultures.

Our recipe replaces the butter with a cream cheese-mayonnaise mixture – flavored with fresh herbs, spices, and lemon – that is slathered over slices of soft white bread. Then, thinly sliced cucumbers are added.

Even with all the additional ingredients – the flavor of the cucumber is still the star of this light and refreshingly delicious sandwich.

• The flavors go so nicely together: crisp cucumbers, fresh herbs, plus lemon, and a little tang from the cream cheese and mayonnaise. Every bite is wonderfully refreshing and delicious.
• These sandwiches are simple to prepare with ingredients that you can readily find at the supermarket.
• Dainty little triangles of soft pillowy bread with bits of bright green in a creamy filling are such a pretty dish to serve – just perfect for any special occasion.

• English Cucumbers – These are the long, thin, individually shrink-wrapped cucumbers you’ll find in the produce section of the supermarket. We choose this variety because the seeds are small and tender and they have a mild flavor. You could buy a package of mini cucumbers, but we prefer larger cucumber slices for this sandwich recipe. Avoid a standard cucumber – the seeds are too large for this delicate sandwich.  
• Kosher Salt – This is used to salt the cucumber slices to remove excess moisture before assembling the sandwiches.
• White Bread – Choose a freshly-baked square, white sandwich bread for this recipe – sometimes called a “pullman” or sandwich loaf – typically found in the bakery section of the supermarket.  (Avoid the commercial brands of white bread if possible.)  You should have between 12 and 16 slices per loaf and the loaf should weigh about one pound (16 ounces). Our loaf had 14 usable slices and two end pieces.
• Cream cheese – We suggest using a full-fat cream cheese, but you could also use a lower version if you prefer.
• Mayonnaise
• Herbs and Spices – You can vary this combination to suit your tastes. We used fresh dill sprigs, fresh chives, garlic powder, mustard powder, black pepper, lemon zest and juice.

1. Peel the cucumbers, leaving a little of the skin showing between each peel.
2. Cut cucumber on a mandolin into very thin (one-eighth inch thick) slices.
3. Lay the slices of cucumber on a sheet pan lined with paper towels. Sprinkle a teaspoon of kosher salt over the slices and let sit for 20 minutes. (This process will draw out moisture and any bitterness.)
4. Mix softened cream cheese with mayonnaise, chopped fresh dill, chopped fresh chives, garlic powder, mustard powder, black pepper, lemon zest, and lemon juice.
5. Blot the tops of the salted cucumber slices with more paper towels. This will remove excess moisture as well as most of the salt.
6. Lay out bread slices and divide the cream cheese spread between all the slices. Do not trim the crusts off yet.
7. Lay the cucumber slices over half of the bread slices. Top with the remaining bread slices.
8. Cut crusts of the outer edges off each sandwich, then cut the sandwich in half – corner to corner – using a sharp serrated bread knife. Wipe the knife between each cut.
9. Cut each half sandwich in half again to make little triangle cucumber tea sandwiches.
10. Serve as soon as possible after assembling the sandwiches.

• Can I make Cucumber Sandwiches ahead of time?  These sandwiches should be made as close to serving as possible, however the spread can be made in advance and the cucumbers sliced and salted ahead of time.
• How do I store leftovers?   Keep any leftovers refrigerated but note that the shelf life of an already-assembled sandwich is less than one day. The bread will start to get soggy.

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