Holiday tea parties require attractive and sweet finger foods. Miniature cheesecakes, pies and cheese fruit squares are easy to make.

Tea party food is a unique mixture of snacks and finger foods. There should be one “savory” item, such as a mini-sandwich or quiche, and a sampling of sweets, such as cookies, mini-pastries or petit fours. These are some easy but fancy sweets for holiday tea parties.

Miniature Cheesecakes

Cupcake size cheesecakes are attractive and easy to make. Use cupcake forms and a cookie on the bottom instead of pastry shells for these cute little cakes. Mini-cheesecakes make a colorful display at the table when topped with fruit, such as cherries, blueberries or a slice of peach. Arrange in a circle with alternating fruit colors.

Ingredients:

• 24 round vanilla wafers or round chocolate cookies
• 16 oz cream cheese, softened
• 2 eggs
• ¾ c sugar
• 1 T lemon juice
• 1 tsp vanilla
• Fruit topping: fresh or frozen or canned cherries, blueberries and cherry and peach slices.

Recipe for Miniature Cheesecakes

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Place cookies at bottom of 24 cupcake forms.
3. In small bowl combine cream cheese and eggs.
4. Add sugar, lemon juice and vanilla.
5. Beat mixture until fluffy and light, but do not over-beat.
6. Fill cupcake forms with mixture until they are ¾ full.
7. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.
8. Chill and top with fruit before serving.

Miniature Walnut Pies

Ingredients for crust:

• 1 c sifted flour
• ¼ cup butter at room temperature
• 3 oz cream cheese at room temperature

Ingredients for filling:

• 1 egg
• ¾ cup brown sugar
• 2 oz. bag chopped walnuts
• 1T butter
• 1 t vanilla

Recipe for Miniature Tea Pies

1. Blend butter and cream cheese.
2. Add flour gradually, until well mixed.
3. Refrigerate overnight.
4. Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
5. Form dough into 24 balls.
6. Press balls into cupcake pans.
7. Mix brown sugar with butter.
8. Add egg and blend well.
9. Add vanilla and salt.
10. Cover bottom of each pastry shell with chopped walnuts.
11. Pour 1 t filling over walnuts.
12. Bake at 250 degrees for 45 minutes.

Easy Cream Cheese Fruit Squares

Cream cheese squares are attractive red, green and white sweets for a holiday tea party.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sugar, divided into ¾ cup and ¼ cup
• 1/3 cup butter
• 1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs
• 3 packages 8 oz. cream cheese
• 4 eggs
• 1 t vanilla extract
• One 21 oz can of blueberry topping
• Fresh or frozen strawberries
• Fresh mint leaves

Recipe for Cream Cheese Fruit Squares

1. Preheat Oven to 325 degrees.
2. In medium saucepan heat ¼ cup sugar and butter until butter is melted, stirring occasionally.
3. Stir in graham cracker crumbs and spread mixture evenly over 13 x 9 inch baking pan.
4. In large bowl with electric mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth.
5. Gradually beat in remaining ¾ cup of sugar.
6. Beat in eggs, 1 egg at a time.
7. Add vanilla until well blended.
8. Spoon blueberry topping over crust
9. Carefully pour cream cheese mixture over blueberries
10. Bake until set, 45-50 minutes
11. Cool and then chill until cold (about 2 hours)
12. Cut into 24 squares
13. Garnish with a mint leaf and 1/2 strawberry in the upper left corner of each square.

Recipes for a Holiday Tea Party

Sweet snacks for an afternoon tea can be as simple as cookies or cupcakes. However if you like to bake, these recipes are easy, attractive and unique items to serve for holiday tea parties.