Recipe: Benedictine Cucumber Tea Sandwiches

This recipe for Benedictine Cucumber Tea Sandwiches is a very old one and popular in Kentucky. The recipe for this cream cheese and cucumber spread is basically “common knowledge”, if you live in the south or if you have heard of them…

To those of us, Northerners… well… let’s just say… I was completely unaware. My son, oddly enough, knew all about them and gave me a quick rundown on what they were, the history of them and how to make them before I could even tell him I did the research on them….. kids… go figure… who would have known…

I honestly didn’t think I would like them… but you know me.. I’ll try most things … and try I did… they were surprisingly tasty… a definite do-over.

As for the history, apparently, a caterer named Miss Jennie Benedict from Louisville, Kentucky created these wonderful tea sandwiches around the turn of the century. It’s a tradition in Kentucky to serve them at gatherings.

I will tell you… my picture came out a good deal lighter than they really were… but I also suspect I didn’t add enough green food coloring for fear of making them look like the color of shamrocks. They were tasty though and devoured moments after the picture was taken.

This can be used as a dip or a spread for Tea Sandwiches (with the crust cut-off, of course).

Enjoy!

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Benedictine Cucumber Tea Sandwich Recipe

All you need:

1 large cucumber
8 ounces Philadelphia cream cheese, softened (*you may need about 2 tablespoons more.. see note below)
2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
¼ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
Dash of green food coloring

All you need to do:



Peel and grate the cucumber. I used my food processor.

Take out the cucumber and place in a mesh sieve and gently press out the water.

Wipe out the excess water out of the processor.

Cut-up the cream cheese in chunks and put in the processor.

Add the salt, onion, cucumber, mayonnaise and food coloring… start a drop at a time.

Using the metal blade, process cream cheese mixture until smooth and well incorportated.

*Mine was a little thin… you can add a little more cream cheese to get a spreadable consistency.